June 19 – 21, 2015. Thunder Valley is our favorite track. We camp at Earhardt East Campground adjacent to Bristol Motor Speedway. Our view is of the Nascar Track. It’s a short walk through the campground and parking lot to the drag strip.
This is out first year having E T with us. She’s going to spend a lot of time alone in the RV, so I went on line and found a great park to walk her, Steele Creek Park, not 10 minutes from the track. Gotta love the internet 🙂
Friday night qualifying doesn’t start until 4:30 p.m., so we get second round under the lights. Thunder Valley sights, sounds and smells are intensifying. This is the only venue where you can get seats as close as 75 feet from the starting line. From the burnout to launch of the 10,000 horsepower nitro dragsters and funny cars you are on the edge of your seat. The strip is built in between two mountains, hence Thunder Valley. The Grand Stands are built into the side of one mountain. This venue brings new meaning to the saying Shake, Rattle and Roll!
Saturday we had rain showers on and off throughout the day. You might think this would ruin the day. No way! It made it better, we got to enjoy two night sessions of racing instead of one.
Sunday mornings most tracks have a track walk where fans can actually walk the 1/4 mile track with many of their favorite drivers. The National Hot Rod Associations boasts that your ticket is a pit pass. This is one of the reasons that David and I enjoy going to NHRA events so much. You can talk to the drivers, get autographs and photos, watch the crews work on the cars in the pits and so much more.
This was a great weekend of racing. One of my favorite drivers, Richie Crampton won, driving the Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster. He ran 1,000 ft in 3.88 seconds at 321 MPH. Matt Hagan won driving the Rocky Boots Funny Car, running 1,000 ft in 4.16 seconds at 303 MPH. Erica Enders-Stevens won for Elite Motorsports in Pro Stock running the 1/4 mile in 6.68 seconds at 206 MPH.
David has been a Gear Head since he was in his teens. Ten years ago, he took me to my first event in Englishtown, N.J. and I’ve been hooked ever since. We spent our honeymoon in Indianapolis, Indiana at “The Big Go” the premier drag race of the year and have attended at least 4 events and at least one new venue a year ever since.
Next Stop Knoxville, Tennessee to get our RV repaired from the Tappan Zee Bridge accident.