Drag racing a tasty treat for this novice

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, April 6, 2009 | 5 p.m.

Tasty foot-long corn dogs, juicy roasted turkey legs and pink lemonade were on my lunch menu last weekend.

Who wouldn't love that combination on a Sunday afternoon?

Mix in sampling food from various other vendors and visiting with race fans throughout the facility at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and you can classify a day at the races a success for this motor sports novice.

The only thing missing was a set of earplugs.

Stationed at the speedway for the NHRA's SummitRacing.com Nationals, I received a crash course on how drag racing works.

The speed and power of the cars jetting down the strip at speeds of more than 300 mph can be startling. Sitting in the stands, unaware of what was about to happen, cars from the Top Fuel division darted past me in the blink of an eye.

There was one problem — I had my back turned doing interviews.

The cars were going so fast — times are typically under 4 seconds — that it shook the bleachers, rattling me while I was talking to a few racing diehards. In addition, the noise was brutal on my ears.

It my was my baptism of sorts at the speedway.

Race fan Kevin Olson of East Las Vegas summarized the action this best. "It's the vibration from when those big boys fly by. I love it when my teeth start rattling," he said.

You don't have to be a racing fan to have fun at the races. It's about spending time with family, making new friends and enjoying events beyond the track.

There was a post-race concert, plenty of vendors selling everything from carne asada to barbecue pulled pork sandwiches and a nearly-full facility of roughly 25,000 fans passionately cheering from start to finish.

And, as much as I'm surprised at myself for admitting it, watching cars go fast was a blast.

It was even better than the corn dog that left a mustard stain on my shirt.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected].