3 Days at the Races
I spent the past 3 days at the California Speedway in Fontana working as a volunteer at the Skybox check-in booth. This weekend was the fall NASCAR races – West Series, Busch Series and the Nextel Cup. This is a fundraising activity for the Centennial Band Boosters that I've participated in for the last 5 years. We'll make about $1400 for this weekend thanks to 18 volunteers!
Here's where we work:
Our job is to check-in the Skybox ticket holders. This is for the best and most expensive seats in the place, so we deal with the more sophisticated part of the crowd. It's quite a juxtaposition to see some of the executive types mixed in with the no-shirt, beer in each hand NASCAR fans. After a couple of hours of watching people come in, it's really easy to spot the Skybox holders.
Here's some other things I saw.
Lamest Sponsorship: The Relocate Here 200 sponsored by the County of San Bernardino.
I'm not sure which is funnier - San Bernardino for having to start a marketing campaign to get people to move there or the speedway for having to sink so low to find a sponsor for the race. This was for the Friday night West Series race.
Worst "Please Help Me!" Moment: The guy trying to find a ride for his wife/girlfriend because the blisters from her cool new heels were so bad she couldn't walk anymore.
Best Hope for the Future sighting: The enthusiastic kids from Cal-Poly Pomona running the burger stand next door. Polite, talented and entertaining!
Best Celebrity Sighting: OK, pretty lame, but I saw Tom McKernan, president of the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Cutest Baby Sighting: A young mom and her baby were taking a break at a picnic table nearby. The toddler was probably around 1 year old. The mom had to hold her up while she was sitting at the table so she wouldn't fall backward. She needed her hand free to eat, so she laid her leg across the toddler's lap to hold her on the bench while she had a snack. Later, grandma was walking the little one around and proudly smiling at the admiring passers-by.
Best "You Gotta Wonder" moment: While I was chilling – literally – in the lobby of the administration building, I listened to an operator discussing with someone whether she should bring her 6-week old baby to the track to enjoy the 95+ degree heat, 120 decibel roar of the cars, etc. I hope she convinced the caller to stay home with the "every human has to have a ticket" line.
From the new insight into human physiology department: I can now report that baking in 95 degree heat for 3 days is nothing compared to baking in 100 degree heat. I think you're OK until your brain starts to go beyond 98.6 degrees. I was surprised how OK I felt after this weekend.