{"id":152,"date":"2016-02-21T15:47:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-21T21:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=152"},"modified":"2016-03-13T08:12:31","modified_gmt":"2016-03-13T13:12:31","slug":"race-day-reflection-daytona-500","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/21\/race-day-reflection-daytona-500\/","title":{"rendered":"Race Day Reflection: Daytona 500"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am not a life-long race fan.\u00a0 I have become a race fan strictly through proximity.\u00a0 I married into it.\u00a0 When I said \u201cfor better or worse, in sickness and in health\u201d that included race day, race weekend, race season and all that comes with it.\u00a0 Granted, I didn\u2019t marry a driver, so I escaped the danger.\u00a0 What I did marry is a reporter.\u00a0 When Mike and I first started dating, he told me he wrote about motorsports.\u00a0 Every weekend during racing season he spent at the local circle track, San Antonio Speedway.\u00a0 I was unimpressed.\u00a0 Cars driving in circles?\u00a0 What on Earth could be so exciting about that?\u00a0 But, as women do who are interested in men, I tagged along.\u00a0 Little did I know the extent of the rabbit hole I was jumping into!\u00a0 I have met many incredible people, seen adults bicker like children, been awed by the sheer genius of technological manipulation, and experienced the thrill of the roar and vibration of being within feet of full throttle Sprint Cup cars.\u00a0 I have to admit that even though I continue to find the poetry and intellect of the sport, there is an elemental pull to motorsports.\u00a0 I don\u2019t complain as much about every TV in the house showing or recording a motorsports event for ten months out of the year.\u00a0 I even participate in fantasy sports some years and make the odd Vegas bet related to the Sprint Cup Series, but I am always looking for ways that an intellectual person like myself can thoroughly enjoy and participate in the racing culture.\u00a0 Over the years I have found many unique experiences that were only possible through the racing world.\u00a0 So, even though I began as a reluctant race fan, I have learned to embrace it over the years, even relish it.\u00a0 As the green flag drops on today\u2019s Daytona 500, I will be looking forward to the 2016 season.\u00a0 I will be excited to see how Jeff Gordon does as a commentator.\u00a0 I will watch to see how Dale, Jr.\u2019s positive outlook and renewed enthusiasm will translate on the track.\u00a0 I will await the latest interview with John Force.\u00a0 And I will attend some races in person.\u00a0 This year will be one to remember. . .like all the others before it.\u00a0 All in all, it ought to be a great race day!<\/p>\n

\"On
On the set of old Speed TV.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Buying
Buying a program from Mikey the Monkey at Texas Motor Speedway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Asphalt
Asphalt Chef Celebrity Cooking Competition at Texas Motor Speedway. That’s Guy Fieri!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Checking
Checking out Dale, Jr.’s car at Texas Motor Speedway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not a life-long race fan.\u00a0 I have become a race fan strictly through proximity.\u00a0 I married into it.\u00a0 When I said \u201cfor better or worse, in sickness and in health\u201d that included race day, race weekend, race season and all that comes with it.\u00a0 Granted, I didn\u2019t marry a driver, so I escaped<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[98,27,11],"tags":[34,32,16,33],"class_list":["post-152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dixiesracereflections","category-motorsports","category-nascar","tag-dalejrfan","tag-daytona500","tag-nascar","tag-racingwife"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-2s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31407,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/30\/texas-motor-speedway-announces-full-season-of-changes-across-2021-nascar-indycar-schedule\/","url_meta":{"origin":152,"position":0},"title":"Texas Motor Speedway announces full season of changes across 2021 NASCAR \/ INDYCAR schedule","author":"racedaysaeditor","date":"September 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Courtesy of TMS Media Relations FORT WORTH, Texas \u2013 Texas Motor Speedway today announced its 25th\u00a0season schedule for 2021 in spectacular fashion, showcasing a NASCAR tripleheader weekend concluding with the $1 million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, June 13. 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The \u201cTexas Two-Step\u201d Promotion announced Thursday will see COTA\u2019s world-class, 3.41-mile\/20-turn natural terrain road-course in Austin move up to NCS Race No. 3 of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Circuit of The Americas"","block_context":{"text":"Circuit of The Americas","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/circuit-of-the-americas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/TexasTwoStep.png?fit=640%2C280&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/TexasTwoStep.png?fit=640%2C280&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/TexasTwoStep.png?fit=640%2C280&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54159,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/nascars-national-touring-series-will-two-step-into-texas-in-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":152,"position":3},"title":"NASCAR’s national touring series will two-step into Texas in 2026","author":"John Sturbin","date":"August 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio NASCAR\u2019s national touring series will again double-up in Texas in 2026 during separate weekends at Circuit of The Americas in Austin and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. 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