[Jim Doran]

Have a business conference in Vegas, going out a few days before with my son. Going to do a few adventure activities ( ATV, Guns, Hoover ) and also decided to first attend the race.

Never been to a Nascar event before. I have driven the vegas track w/Richard Petty school however :-)

Bought tickets, neon garage option, shuttle bus transportation to/from strip hotel, what else ? Going to bring binoculars.

Looks like race starts at 12:30, My guess is we should get there by 10am latest ? suggestions welcome.

[400 4spd.]

Never been to a race at Vegas, but have driven past the place. Massive paved parking area, unlike those in the southeast where grass or dirt is the norm. I think the interstate or a major highway borders the track on one side, so maybe traffic bottle necks are not so bad.
If you like browsing the various vendor trailers, get there mid morning. It used to be that individual teams had concession trailers, but I think NASCAR killed that and took over that $$$. Maybe they still allow car oriented vendors not tied to teams?
I used to arrive about 9 for the races in this region (Florida to Virginia) just so I could sight see for a while before finding my seat. GM and Ford would have some cool displays
of performance cars and parts. Winston had hot girls trying to give away cigarettes. Performance oriented vendors would have trailers and wares out from turns 4 to to turn 1. If that stuff still survives, it's entertaining at the least.
If a caution flies, don't waste your time getting out of your seat for food or a bathroom. It used to be that 50 thousand others had the same original thought. Today it's much less, I'm sure. Best time to take a walk is after a restart. You'll be passed by an untold number of running drunks trying to pull up a zipper.
Enjoy it!

[The Champ]

As veteran NASCAR fans that have been to all but 5 of the tracks (Chicago, Kentucky, Watkins, Glen, Pocono and New Hampshire), my wife and I hope that you have a great experience.

We went to Daytona in 1993, thinking we'd just do one NASCAR race so we could say we had done it. Ended up attending Dover and Michigan that year too...

I had to look up what the "Neon Garage" option was - and it is what I thought it was. This "insider" experience should be a fun extra.

You're taking the shuttle bus - so that will actually make your trip to the track worry free. As I understand it, the shuttles get to avoid much of the race traffic by actually driving through the Air Force base near the speedway. The shuttle will also determine the times of your travel. Personally, I would take one of the earlier ones, especially because you paid for the Neon Garage experience - if you arrive at 10 you won't have enough time to get full value for that. Depending on shuttle schedules, I would look for an arrival time between 8 - 9. The vendor area and midway can easily be a 1 - 2 hour "experience" by itself.

If you have a soft side cooler at home, pack it in your suitcase and bring it with you. You are allowed to bring one into the track with you, and food and beverages are expensive like they are at all sporting events. Remember you have to carry it, so don't bring such a big one that you'll get tired of carrying it.

I would recommend renting a scanner and a pair of headsets from one of the vendors at the speedway. This will allow you to listen in to the driver/crew communications during the race. We have our own scanner with the optional headsets that allow us to push a button and then talk to each other.

Expect to do a lot of walking. The track is 1.5 miles and depending on where your shuttle drops you off, you may be on the wrong end of the track to where your seats are - could be a half mile away or more. With your Neon Garage option, you will need to find the access way to the infield. The track website should be able to show you where this access is.

Eat and use the bathroom facilities before the race starts. I don't leave my seat during the race. Lines are too long and I don't want to miss any of the action. If you enjoy photography and have a good camera with a decent telephoto lens - bring it. You can get race shots like mine, either through the fence or over the fence, depending on where the action happens. Hopefully your seats are higher up in the grandstands to allow you to shoot over the fence.





Many people don't pay attention to the pit stop action, but I enjoy watching it. Strange things can happen during pit stops and frequently do.

Most of all, have a great time at the track!

[The Boss]

We used to show up on Thursdays - set up the camper, go to the truck race on Friday, Busch race on Saturday & Cup on Sundays. If I remember correctly Vegas traffic backs up well back on the highway - may want to get there a little earlier.

The Shelby plant is out next to the track - if you haven't been there already it's a great visit.

Good tip on the scanner - I have one if you want to borrow it - haven't used it in maybe 14 or 15 years so if the technology has changed you are SOL.

[Jim Doran]

Excellent tips. We're aware of the traffic, and even the president of LVMS said due to some roadwork, strongly suggest shuttle bus. Wasn't happy about the $80/person cost, but it does make it worry free and yes it does cut through the air force base per the email.

After re-thinking, I agree 10am is too late, we'll catch the 7am or 8am bus.

Plan is next day ( Monday ) to hit shelby and maybe the exotic car racing track. I've done the exotic car racing once before and it was awesome. Not so sure about my 19YO son doing it just yet, but then again, he'll remember it for the rest of his life.

Good tip on scanner, Chris, thank you very much for offer, my take is I'd rather not pack it and just rent at track, but thanks nonetheless.

Yes our seats are up high in the Petty Terrace and my Research showed the sun sets behind us which apparently can be a problem in some seats. We are also far enough away from the center part of the stadium which sometimes blocks views. There are entire forums ( as Champ probably knows ) dedicated to Nascar racing. Great source of info, but more than I wanted to learn.

Can I bring a small backpack instead of a cooler ( easier to carry ) ? Rules on website say small soft sided coolers are allowed up to a certain size, but backpacks prohibited. Which makes no sense, as the only difference is the handle vs straps. Forums chatter seems to indicate small backpacks are allowed through.
@Champ, can you give first hand point of view here ?

Thanks all. With CT's weather in the 20s - Wind, will be nice next weekend to get away and also spend time with son. Wife is already worried about neck tattoos !

[The Champ]

Jim

I've taken my camera backpack into every race venue I've visited and never had a problem. It's big enough to carry my DSLR with about 4 lenses, a strobe and various other accessories. When going through security, I typically have to open it up to show that it is camera gear.

My wife has a clear backpack (which is supposed to be the officially approved style of backpack) which allows security to visually see what's inside.

If whatever you're carrying in can fit underneath your seat, you should be good. Back in the day, some folks would carry in some fairly large coolers that would literally block the aisles. I'm glad they are now prohibited.

Chris' scanner would sill work, but you'd need to spend the time to program all the channels in. Renting one will save you that hassle.

We now have three scanners - the one that I bought my wife for Christmas back in 1995 still works. In 2000 we updated to a much smaller/better quality unit and last summer we finally bit the bullet and bought the latest technology with over the air programming and the intercom headsets.

The Petty Terrace should give you some great views. The race off pit road will be right in front of you.

I typically look for seats by the entrance to pit road or the exit to pit road as both areas seem to have good sight lines. My preferred seat location is the first row in the tower section - the one with the walkway just below it. You end up with extra leg room and no one can stand up in front of you (which is preferred for when I'm taking photos). Many times those are also very short rows of 6 - 10 seats which is an added bonus.

[GT182]

Watkins Glen isn't really a track side viewer friendly place IMO. I was there in '67 for the Grand Prix and was at the section where the pits were. We could only see them come down the hill, go past the pits, and then up the hill. People that climbed up in the trees up above had the best view. LOL

That was the year my cousin and I got to see and help Mark Donahue unload his car off the trailer. Cool guy to chat with, but we never asked or thought to get an autograph.

[The Champ]

Gary

I've been to road courses before.

Laguna Seca out in California when I was stationed at the Presidio of Monterrey in 1973 - nice course - we walked around and watched from several different viewing areas.

The Grand Prix of Germany at the Nurburgring in 1975 was a bust. Crappy weather, only saw the cars about every 5 - 10 minutes. But it was a 13.2 mile track back then.

Most recently was Sonoma in 2015. I had been to the track before to scout seating locations and was able to get seats where most of the action typically happens and where we could actually see the cars for over 50% of the course. A few shots from my seats showing the wide angle view and some action from that race...