My Travel Album - LVMS - Las Vegas Motor Speedway  

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
  Click Here to see my first Nascar adventure at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway! Click here to view the pictures from my first drag racing event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!  
  NASCAR NHRA  
 
 

Roll your mouse over the photos to view additional commentary.

NASCAR

A friend and I were sitting at turn 3 of the track.

Unfortunately, I only have these three pictures of my first experience at a race. I should have known better! Nascar was great! There were a lot of people there and the track is huge!!! I was viewing the start of the race from the starting line. They had their engines revving and the crowd was excited, including me!

Another picture of turn 3. I didn't take great pictures,(or many pictures). Interesting, huh?

When we got to our seats we watched them go around and around. One of the persons I was with had a bet on Tony Stewart to win. I was betting on Bobby LaBonte. Stewart led the race for quite a while.  There were 5 or 6 caution flags during the race. Luckily nobody was hurt. No major accidents.

The last picture I have of the Nascar Race. I guess I really shouldn't have made an album for this section. HEHE

The winner ended up being Sterling Marlin. This was a fun experience for my first race!!! The track was beautiful, you could see everything! The hum of the motors and the cars passing by at fast speeds was a thrill! The cars in these pictures are turning left, for those that aren't familiar.The cars are so small in the pictures you almost can't tell if they are coming or going!

The cars weren't too loud like I thought they would be. It wasn't necessary for me to wear the ear plugs that Rick got for me. The sound of the cars passing by was actually very cool!  I did manage to get a shot glass that said Winston Cup Series on it for my shot glass collection, compliments of Rick. YAY! Another extra special thank you to Rick for his generosity and kindness. My first race, and the trip to Las Vegas was awesome! My next racing event was the NHRA drag races at The Strip, which was across the street from the track that the Nascar event was held at. I have lots of pictures there.I learned my lesson from not having very many pics from the Nascar event! To view the NHRA event, scroll down.

NHRA

The Strip at LVMS was a small venue in comparison to other ones, as told to me by my cohort, Rick. This is the first time I have been to a drag racing event, though I used to watch the races on television growing up, so I was incredibly excited! We walked around for a bit looking at the cars and the trailers of souvenirs and car parts for sale by the vendors. We then went to our seats to see where they were located, and wow, our seats were on the starting line up enough rows to see down to the end of the drag strip!!!The seats were in a location better than I expected when I bought them!We then walked around vendor row for a bit more, got a much needed drink, and then went to our seats to view the opening ceremonies, which included skydivers, a fly-by by two fighter jets, and then a color guard and the singing of the national anthem.

Pre-Event Mumbo Jumbo
The Strip is the venue for the drag racing event. This is a picture of the inside looking towards where the cars come out to prepare to race. The Christmas Tree is the light fixture that tells the drivers when to go. It moves from yellow to green, and when the light is red on one of the lanes, that driver is disqualified for a false start.
Outside of the stands were the trailers and promo areas for the different vendors. This is a picture of me in front of a functioning model dragster. This is a pic of me next to one of the actual cars that would be competing in the event.
Rick and I are recieving a much-needed drink. The gal who was bartending was nice enough to take our picture for us. The drinks were ten dollars a piece and not very potent. Still great on a hot day! Our seats were in the section closest to the far left which was right at the starting line! We sat in row 16. Row 1 starts at the bottom.

The opening ceremony included two sky divers who waved flags on their parachute-ride down.      We were told that the guy in the photo was one of the Flying Elvis' in a movie and has over 6000 jumps under his belt!
The Strip at LVMS was a small venue in comparison to other ones, as told to me by my cohort, Rick. This is the first time I have been to a drag racing event, though I used to watch the races on television growing up, so I was incredibly excited! We walked around for a bit looking at the cars and the trailers of souvenirs and car parts for sale by the vendors. We then went to our seats to see where they were located, and wow, our seats were on the starting line up enough rows to see down to the end of the drag strip!!!The seats were in a location better than I expected when I bought them!We then walked around vendor row for a bit more, got a much needed drink, and then went to our seats to view the opening ceremonies, which included skydivers, a fly-by by two fighter jets, and then a colorguard and the singing of the national anthem.

Start Your Engines!!!
Kenny Bernstein's car, and his opponent preparing to go to the line. Two of the dragsters at the starting line waiting for the green light.
Two cars from another class all lined up and ready to go! The cars would pull up doing a burnout on their tires to warm them up. And then reverse into their position at the starting line.
Two of the Funnycars at the line up. One has the shell of it's body raised so the pit crew can take a final gander. Second round of the eliminations, two of the pro-stock competitors are ready for action!
In this class there was a handicap of how long they thought it would take to get to the end and the closest person to exceed their time by the least won the race. The only picture that my camera was able to get of any of the cars coming off of the line at the green light. They were so fast they would already be out of view by the time the camera clicked no matter how I timed it!

Different classes of cars race in single rounds. The winner of each group of two cars advances, and the other car is then eliminated from the competition. Reaction time to the lights was of utmost importance. The pictures above show the several classes of cars setting up at the starting line. They roll out onto the strip, do a burnout on their tires, get one last check on the engine and stuff, and then line up at the starting line and wait for the lights. Pair after pair of cars, the event ran quickly and smoothly. The vibration of the cars as they took off from the line is unexplainable.

As much as I tried to time it I couldn't really get a picture of the cars taking off from the time the light hit green. By that time they were already about ¼ mile down the stretch. I think the top speed hit on that day was 318mph.

It was one of Kenny Bernstein's last races at LVMS. He will be retiring after this year, and, if he qualifies, his last racing event at The Strip will be at the Nationals in October.

Addendum: (Until he came back in 2003 to win the Winter Nationals in Pomona!)

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