COMMENTARY-Ten Things You Must Do at the Knoxville Nationals
We're still a ways off from the Nationals, but by the time mid to late July sets in, the build-up is in full swing.
Of course you go to the races, but what about the other eight hours a day when you’re not watching the races? Or, what if you just want to experience the full flavor of this enlightening cultural phenomenon? I humbly submit to you a list of ten things (in no particular order) you must do to have the complete Knoxville Nationals “experience”.
10. Drive the karts at Slideways.
Located just north of town off Highway 14, the karts look like sprinters, complete with tails and wings, and you race on an oval track. They even feature a Mini-Nationals during the week. "Get sideways at Slideways", what’s not to love?
“You’ll never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy”-it’s a line from the movie Star Wars, but it applies to the Dingus Lounge the week of the Nationals. The bar itself is extremely small, but they expand out to a super-sized beer garden. By Saturday afternoon, there’s a steady chorus of cat-calls ringing out from the patrons behind the chain link fence that surrounds the garden. The only question I have is the chain link fence there to keep people on the street out, or to keep the bar customers in?
Located next to the Skate Pit, outside of turn one, this food vendor is the best you’ll find on the fairgrounds. With hamburgers, chicken and steak sandwiches, plus the best sweet-corn east of
It’s the one place where you can be neighbors with the likes of Freddie Rahmer or Danny Lasoski for the weekend. You’re also given an all access pass to the track’s post-race nightlife. Survive staying up all night four nights in a row and you’ll have some good stories to tell your friends for years to come.
True, you can’t see the racing as well, but to be in the middle of all that commotion, is worth it. What other sports can you buy a pass and get access to every competitor during the event? Just don’t get run over by one of the fifty push trucks, or angry sprint car drivers as they come tear-assing off the track.
Ok, well there aren’t that many vendors selling shirts, but it seems like it. No Nationals trip is complete without the purchase one at least one gaudy race shirt. After all, what good is going to the Nationals if nobody knows you went? A nice t-shirt will take care of that.
It’s a nice way to get out of the Iowa heat and humidity, and in the process view some of the most beautifully restored race cars you’ll ever see. Plus they have a nice gift shop in case you needed any more excuses to buy a t-shirt.
Racer and promoter Terry McCarl has put on two separate events at nearby Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa for several years now. It’s a short 40 minute drive down Highway 92 to see the true Back Row Challenge on Monday, and USAC non-wing sprints on Tuesday. It’s just in case four consecutive nights of racing in
You’re not a true Nationals veteran unless you’ve been chased out of town by a huge thunderstorm, only to return the next day and be punished by the spectacle of a daytime show. Constant sunlight, grandstand temps topping out at 1200 degrees, and a fine layer of dust cementing itself to your sweaty forehead, all the while watching a freight train run on the bottom of the track. Then, turn around and race again that evening. If you’ve been through an afternoon like that, you’ll never have to prove your toughness to anyone ever again.
The bonus is that there are 20 or 30 thousand other people who feel the same way. They're eager to bench race at any time for as long as you want.
Posts
