I love Nascar. So far, I have been to the Daytona 500, Phoenix International Raceway, and Kansas Speedway. Watching the race on television is okay, but when you’re at the track…nothing compares. The sights, the sounds, the mullets. It’s all there, adding to the experience of race day.
A month ago, Jonathan and I were guests of Brandt Professional Agriculture at the Kansas Speedway. We had the privilege of meeting Rookie of the Year contender, Justin Allgaier at a Saturday evening reception, and again on Sunday morning before the race. Let me just say, after meeting him, having a conversation with him, and listening to his in-car audio during the race, he has a couple of new fans! Thank you, Brandt Professional Agriculture for the opportunity to meet Justin!
Because we were there with an agriculture company, I was a little more aware of other ag related sponsors there were at this race. The Brandt hospitality tent was right next to the Fastenal tent (where I was able to snap a quick photo of Carl Edwards). Down a little further, there was a Farmland Foods golf cart, complete with a curly tail. I noticed the Farmer’s Insurance car out on the race track, as well as the Farmland car.
As I looked around at the crowd there in Kansas, I thought about how perfect the pairing of Nascar and agriculture is. The spectators are pretty much as diverse as any gathering, but there tends to be more hunting and agriculture decals on their pickups in the parking lot than you would see at most events, making it a great place to advertise Farmland, Fastenal, and Brandt Professional Agriculture, to name a few.
As I mentioned earlier, we had the opportunity to meet the driver sponsored by the agriculture company we were guest of. We also had pit and garage passes, so we were able to go down and see everything up close and personal before the race. That part was awesome! When we arrived at the hauler for the 51 car, Jeff Gordon’s car was going through inspection. Jimmy Johnson’s and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s cars also went through inspection while we were down there. After our garage tour, we were able to go to the pit boxes for a bit. The Brandt crew has Alumacraft seats in their box, which is cool, since Alumacraft boats are made in Minnesota.
The race itself was exciting, even though our drivers were involved in wrecks. When you are watching the race on television, it seems like the races drag on for so long. However, watching the race at the track, time flies by! There are so many things to look at, and you aren’t limited to just what the broadcasters are showing. We had so much fun, that I am looking forward to checking another track off the list soon!
What are some of your hobbies, or events outside of agriculture that you like to attend? Do you have a goal of seeing every baseball diamond, or attending races at certain tracks? Let me know in the comments below!
Day 1: Pizza
Day 2: Shoes
Day 3: Shout Stain Remover
Day 4: The Ability to Vote
Day 5: My Heritage
Day 6: NASCAR
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