Questions Asked by 1st-Time Racegoers

For the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway two weeks ago, I briefly traded in the media hat for a fan hat and got to see the race through the eyes of three first-time race attendees.

I brought three friends of mine to the track on that rainy Saturday (April 1), and instead of watching the race from the media center or the press box, I watched with them in the grandstands. Don’t worry, I still ran down to pit road in the closing laps to grab some post-race content for the Frontstretch YouTube, such as this interview with Chris Hacker on his top 15 after not having a ride two weeks prior.

Not only had all three never been to a NASCAR race before, but none of them had ever even watched a full race on TV before (I’m still waiting for NASCAR to send me a check for getting them new fans, especially in a time when ratings are down).

With new fans with little to no knowledge about the ins and outs of NASCAR came plenty of questions. Unfortunately, the loud sound of Air Titans drying the track prevented them from asking even more questions before the race started, and of course it was too loud during the race to ask a lot of questions, but I jotted down as many questions asked by these first-time race goers as I could.

Here are their questions.

1. Where can I find a schedule? It’s not really clear online.

On Richmond Raceway’s website, it is hard to find a rundown of what’s going on each day at the track. Sure, it’s easy to find the race dates and times those races start, but where do you find the schedule for the midway or the schedule for practice and qualifying sessions?

I’m sure those things are probably on that site somewhere, but it takes far too much digging for a first-time race attendee. The home page is instead crammed with ticket specials, PR stories and pictures of people having a good time at the track.

2. Is tailgating allowed?

I might’ve laughed at this question because what sporting event doesn’t allow tailgating? They were pleasantly surprised to find out as well that most NASCAR tracks (Richmond being one of them) allow outside food and drinks. They didn’t even think to ask that question because it’s such a foreign concept after going to football, basketball, etc., games that don’t allow outside food and beverages.

That is certainly something that gives NASCAR a leg up on other sporting events….