As I sit reflecting back on this very Silly Season in NASCAR,
\nthe pit\/garage area fans keep popping up in my mind. The wonderful, die-hard,
\ndedicated fans!! Although the following article does not apply to most of the
\nresponsible and sane racing fans, some are teetering on the brink of silliness.
\nYou know who you are, and for the rest of you lucky fans, enjoy your time in the
\nPits!!<\/p>\n
True, the following tips are unsolicited, but I wanted to
\nshare a few of my observations as a member of the press covering racing from the
\ninside looking out.<\/p>\n
I, too, am an avid racing fan, but a writer first, after all,
\nit\u2019s my profession to try and remain totally objective when it comes to the
\ndrivers and crews. Although, I must admit, when it comes to Sterling Marlin and
\nBobby Hamilton, it\u2019s a little difficult not to root for the home state boys!!<\/p>\n
Oops, became sidetracked, back to my list of Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts
\nfor fans while visiting the pit area at the tracks.<\/p>\n
#1. I realize how exciting it is to be inside the garage area
\nwith your favorite drivers all waltzing around and able to rub elbows with them.
\nThe anticipation of seeing your<\/i><\/b> guy, the camera cocked and ready
\nto fire, Sharpie pen in hand aimed at getting that special autograph, but the
\nSCREAMING must stop! There has been more than one occasion where a driver (and
\nI) thought someone was dying and contemplated dialing 911. One hysterical woman
\nwas screaming and chanting her drivers name incessantly and her body was shaking
\nuncontrollably!<\/p>\n
Just try to keep the excitement level to a small yelp, but
\nplease, do not scream at the top of your lungs! Not good, very scary stuff!!<\/p>\n
#2. Please do not enter the garage stall while the driver is
\npresent. Geez, he\u2019s working!! He is not there to chat. It\u2019s equivalent to
\nsomeone barging into your office, unannounced, interrupting your important
\nmeeting and totally taking you away from the work at hand. Your concentration is
\nbroken and it can take several precious minutes to regroup! Not good.<\/p>\n
The driver will occasionally stroll through the area, willing
\nto pose or sign his name, otherwise, he\u2019s WORKING! By all means, attend the
\nautograph sessions, they are strictly for the fans.<\/p>\n
#3. Physically grabbing a driver is a big no-no. It\u2019s very
\nnerve-wracking for everyone concerned! I\u2019ve actually witnessed a near mob
\nscene around certain drivers, their clothes being tugged at and even their hair
\nbeing restyled! I imagine their hairdresser would not take a complimentary
\napproach to messing with the hairdo! It must be quite alarming to have twenty
\nhands all grabbing for anything unattached or worse yet, attached!! Not good.<\/p>\n
#4. Some fans seem to forget the media is there in the pit
\narea trying to earn a paycheck. The media brings the fans the news and the
\nphotographs they all enjoy. It is not very profitable to have a strange hand or
\nhead pop up in an otherwise great shot! If you see a media representative with a
\ndriver, just give them a little space and a few minutes to get the goods for
\nyou. There\u2019s nothing worse than taking a nice shot of Jerry Nadeau and then
\ndiscover upon development of the film, Jerry suddenly has the head of a strange
\nwoman! Not good.<\/p>\n
#5. By all means, you MUST have eyes in the back of your head
\nin the pit area! Safety is the key issue, including the ever-growing number of
\nfans present in the work area. People step out in the path of an oncoming car
\nwithout doing the 360 degree scan, it\u2019s just sheer luck more fans are not
\ninjured. Just because you do not hear the roar of that big, old engine does not
\nmean a car isn\u2019t approaching you. Remember, sometimes the driver has killed
\nthe engine or the engine may have stalled, but they still coast in very quickly.
\nOne cannot get so entranced by the excitement of seeing the flurry of activity
\nthat they forget to look before leaping! Not good.<\/p>\n
STOP\u2026..LOOK\u2026..LISTEN<\/p>\n
#6. Chasing a driver, at full sprint, is another big no-no!
\nIf you are in hot pursuit, you are more likely to let your guard down and risk
\nyour safety and the safety of others. If a driver is walking away, especially at
\na quick pace, odds are he does not want to be disturbed. He may be having a
\nreally bad day at the office. His car blew up, he crapped out during qualifying,
\nhis dog died, he\u2019s just generally not in a talkative mood. Again, not good.<\/p>\n
#7. If, by chance, you had a full alcoholic breakfast,
\nchances are you do not need to be in the pit area! It\u2019s a recipe for disaster.
\nYou need your full faculties in order to safely survive your special day and be
\na responsible "pit person".<\/p>\n
#8. If you get the opportunity to ask a driver for an
\nautograph, please do not shove 50 items in his face! He may take the time to
\nsign one thing, but the limited time he can spare does not allow him to sign
\nyour whole collection! Some people actually bring their carry-on suitcase on
\nwheels chocked full of everything from the rookie card to a full body cut-out
\nposter! Don\u2019t bombard the guy, it\u2019s not good!<\/p>\n
As the sport of auto racing becomes more and more popular, we
\nmust all find a way to co-exist in the pit\/garage area safely and respectfully
\nto each other\u2019s needs. It\u2019s wonderful to see the reactions of some of the
\nfans after their first experience in the pits, but for the others, GET A GRIP!!
\nAfter all, it\u2019s just racin\u2019. And that\u2019s GOOD!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As I sit reflecting back on this very Silly Season in NASCAR, the pit\/garage area fans keep popping up in my mind. The wonderful, die-hard, dedicated fans!! Although the following article does not apply to most of the responsible and sane racing fans, some are teetering on the brink of silliness. You know who you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}