Our vacation kicked off a little bit differently this year as our regular trek to the beach had a detour for a stop in Nashville.
It has been some time since I went to Music City, but we were both pretty excited to check out Broadway and spend Sunday at the Nascar race at Nashville Superspeedway. We had never been to this track, but the racing last year was fast-paced, so it was a track on the “bucket list.”
We picked up our credentials and headed to the backstretch to park when we arrived. Again, the staff was super helpful in directing us where we needed to go and how to get to the infield. Once we got into the infield, we hung out at the Tootsies fan area, with food, drinks, chairs, tents, and even a big screen to watch the race. The best part of this area was a great view of turns 3 and 4.
After leaving the Tootsies area, we headed to the garage to check out all the fun and madness before the race. Being in a NASCAR garage on race day is such an incredible experience. If you ever get the chance to do this, I highly recommend it.
(The calm before the storm.)
From the garage, we went to grab a bite to eat and watch Brothers Osborne rock the place before the race. This was my first time seeing them live, and they delivered.
From the prerace activities, we went to meet Ryan Blaney and ended up back on pit road for the driver intros. This is where things got interesting. Walking around, we ended up near the front of the stage and got to talk with WWE Superstar and former World Champion Sheamus. We weren’t sure what to expect, but Sheamus was one of the most excellent guys to talk to and joke about how hot it was and how we would all be sunburnt.
In the same area, we ran into Kane Brown and his wife. Kane was the Grand Marshal for the event, so we talked with them for a bit. I must say that both Kane and his wife were incredibly friendly, and it was awesome meeting them.
After talking with some of the drivers after driver intros and wishing them luck, we hung out on the pit road for the start of the race. The racing on the track was as hot as it was off the track, with Denny Hamlin leaving a good number of laps before lightning showed up, and NASCAR paused the race for the safety of everyone. I commend NASCAR for this; with lightning, it’s not worth risking.
During the lightning delay, we returned to the Tootsies area, where we spent the rest of the race. Shane, cheering on her favorite driver, Ryan Blaney, and I pulled for a handful of drivers I hoped would pull off the win. The view of turns 3 and 4 from the area we were in was great.
When the lightning and heavy rains returned, we weren’t sure if the race would finish that night or be pushed to the next day. NASCAR wanted to give the best experience for their fans and did everything they could to get the race back going a few hours later; Tootsies helped pass the time also, but once the racing continued, it was a fight at the end between Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott. Even with older tires, Chase had enough to put his Napa Chevy in victory lane.
WOW, we had a great race and time at the Nashville Superspeedway. We weren’t sure what to expect going to a new track, but the staff at the track and NASCAR did one heck of a job on the track and off.
We can’t wait to return to the race next year, and I would highly encourage you to make the trip to Music City for the great downtown area and the fantastic racing at Nashville Superspeedway. Thank you, NASCAR and NSS, for a great weekend.
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