Hey everyone! I hope you are all are doing well and thinking about your travels for the next year! I know I certainly am! But as always, I’m on the hunt for brand new experiences to make my adventuring across the world on a luxury travel budget. But what about New York? Can you believe that after five years of travelling, I STILL haven’t been to New York yet?
But not to worry, Cloud9 Living has certainly got my thrill-seeking juices going by seeing their stock car experience that I could.. potentially do… Let’s find out more:
Racing Adventures
If horse racing is the “sport of kings,” what does that make stock car racing? Considering those cars can have eight or nine hundred horses under the hood, that would make it the sport of the gods. Interestingly, stock car fans don’t go to races to make useless fashion statements with silly hats and eat fancy hors d-oeuvres; They want to grab a beer or two, and wait for the excitement. Could I be one?
Birth of Racing
Stock Car racing may not be as big today as it was during the NASCAR boom in the late 90’s early 00’s, but it is by no means gone or forgotten. It’s more like the tourists and fans went home, and gave it back to the hardcore race lovers.
The place where it all started for stock car was the Deep South of the United States where old school moonshine runners would race their souped-up cars, which they also used to outrun the law. It turned out that legal racing was nearly as exciting as keeping ahead of the cops, and a lot more profitable than what a family would make from an illegal still. But I’m a good boy, I like to work with the law!
The Growth of Racing
Fans of the sport can be found all over the world, even though the first thing most people think about when stock car racing is mentioned is NASCAR and the American South. There are big stock car racing circuits in England, New Zealand, and Australia. Every continent that has enough people living on it (Sorry Antarctica) has some form of stock car racing. It’s that big a deal. Whether it’s an official league, or a bunch of enthusiastic locals racing for the love of it, the fans are there.
The Fans of Racing
One of the things that sets stock car racing apart from other sports is how the fans don’t just watch the race. They want to know about the cars, the engines, the tires, the fuel, and anything else connected to the sport. If baseball fans were this into it, they would be researching the grade of leather used for the fielder’s gloves en mass. It’s not a dedication to the sport, it’s a love affair with the stock car lifestyle.
Another thing that sets stock car fans apart from other sports fans is that most of them have never had the privilege of actually being part of the sport. Not in any true sense anyway. Kids can grab a football, and play two-hand touch in a friend’s yard until the sun sets, but that same bunch of kids can’t have a stock car race with real working cars. Outside of go-cart tracks, kids are stuck playing with Hot-Wheels. There isn’t anything but the real thing for stock car racing.
The Spread of Racing
The greatest thing any true stock car fan would want is to have that real stock car race experience. And who could blame them. Not only would it be exciting to drive a track at one-third the speed of sound, but to work a pit crew or help build an engine would be heaven to any true fan.
NASCAR has long ago spread beyond its southern roots, and big time stock car races can be found all over the US and Canada. This interest has also made the smaller racing circuits and tracks grow in popularity. Even one of the world standards of sophistication, New York has a thriving stock car association made up of diehard enthusiasts ready to hit the track. And you know what? I’m going to be there.
Experience Racing in New York City
Stock car racing isn’t the first thing people think of when New York gets mentioned. It’s usually the urban excitement of Manhattan and the Five Burroughs. And for good reason. New York City is one of the most amazing places on Earth, and anyone who takes travel seriously has to visit there at least once in his life. It has more restaurants than a person could eat at in their lifetime, more sights to see than any other single place ever, and a nightlife that keeps it real – not like some manufactured machines engineered to suck money out of wallets like Vegas.
Conclusion
With as much bootlegging that went on in the Northeast during Prohibition, it’s no wonder that stock car racing took root in New York. The state is home to legends, both local and national, like Axel Anderson, Gary Shaw, and 2011’s Showtime Southern 500 winner Regan Smith. The list goes on and on, but suffice to say, New York’s stock car racing pedigree is on par with anything the south has to offer.
Bring it on!
