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A day in the warm
sunshine where life’s
biggest concern (at
least for that day) is
deciding what to cook
for lunch followed by
what to cook later that
day for supper before
heading into the track.
A day-long tailgate
event followed by the
sights, sounds and
excitement of a NASCAR
night race, multiplied
“times two,” have made
Richmond International
Raceway a long-time
favorite of the fans
making the semi-annual
trek to central Virginia
for not one but two
great days of racing.
Years ago, before the
introduction of Jell-O
as a “social culinary
delight” as well as a
staple of NASCAR
tailgating; the menu at
a NASCAR pre-race grills
took diligent planning
and innovative thinking
as well as the
collaboration of all
within the group to pull
off a full-fledged day
of feasting. The sheer
volume of ice chests and
ice was enough to tax
the resources and
muscles of at least one,
if not two member of the
group. Another in the
group was assigned the
responsibility for
bringing the charcoal
(old school) grill or,
in this day and age the
requisite gas grill.
And, with forty+ percent
of the NASCAR fan base
being female, menu
selection will include
input from Miss/Mrs. as
well as Mr. NASCAR fan.
With the help and
assistance of the
congenial RIR parking
lot attendants, having
the vehicles aligned in
adjacent parking slots
(nowadays conveniently
white-lined) is easily
attainable yet still
allowing sufficient
space for the essentials
of the day. One last
Hardees’ biscuit and the
remainder of the
morning’s coffee to get
the blood flowing and,
before you know it, the
pop-up tents are quickly
assembled and the camp
site /tailgate arena is
well underway. Looking
into the multitude of
ice chests to discover
what is on our menu for
the day, we no longer
see merely the basic hot
dog and hamburger….in
this new millennium, It
is now custom omelets,
venison cutlets, Omaha
Steaks, Caesar salad
(remember potato salad
and deviled eggs?),
briskets of beef, wine
(appropriate to the
dinner entrée) and
desserts to tempt even
the fullest of stomachs.
Ah, for the good old
days of a grilled hot
dog, a handful of chips
and a cold….glass of
iced tea.
And if tailgating had
not evolved far enough,
we now see many of the
modern conveniences of
today’s fans in our
“TOT” (tailgate of
tomorrow)….generators,
satellite radio &
television, fans and
even private porta-johns…..convenience
knows NO limits when it
comes to NOT having to
wait in the queue at a
porta-john gathering.
Just as the COT (car of
today/tomorrow) has
evolved so indeed have
our tailgating
habits…and now….”Boogity,
Boogity, Boogity , let’s
go night racin’ at
Richmond boys.” |
