Friday night, Morgan and I left Leah with my parents and went out to watch a friend of ours race at Mission Raceway. Not the most romantic date but fun none the less. Between a busy Friday afternoon that lingered into the evening, trying to rush out of the house to try make it worth the effort and not wanting to pick up Leah too late, we still managed to enjoy ourselves.
The whole atmosphere at the races is definitely worth the admission and the drive out there. When you drive up in your four door, 1998 Honda Civic with a car seat in the back and they ask if you racing or spectating, you know you are up for a good time.
I know, this car doesn’t look like a race car put if you are willing to put a few bucks down, you can pretend all you want. Just please, don’t blow anything up as I need it to put up my child from her grandparent’s after the show.
Some nights even a few mini vans are trying to burn up the quarter mile. I can only assume those men are in denial, having been required to give up their two door sports car in exchange for something that can carry the wife, children, strollers and soccer equipment without making 5 trips. Here is one that I found on their website.
When I first heard of the variety of vehicles that race, I laughed but by the end of the night, I was contemplating putting our car out there. What can it hurt and where else can you find such great entertainment for $30 on a Friday night? Since I wasn’t likely going to be any faster than 14 seconds, no helmets or other safety equipment required. I could choose to race against a Yaris, Mustang, Mini Austin, Dual Cab Dodge Ram or even a Ford Festiva.
That green Ford Festiva had my vote every single time. It may not look like much but often creamed the car beside it while cruising at a top speed of over one hundred miles an hour. This is the Festiva at the starting line and in a separate race, our friend cruising past us.
Watching the races was entertaining but equally entertaining was the crowd which I believe numbered fewer than the cars registered to race. There was the lady in the cow costume trying to get the meager, spread out crowd to do the wave or the drunk guy sitting all alone on the bleachers after the races commentating to himself. The group of young ladies all dressed like there were attending a bachelorette party were also quite the sight though it didn’t appear that anyone was getting married.
So next time you are bored on a Friday night and only have $5 to spend, empty your change drawer as well for some treats and head out to Mission. If finances are extremely tight, just wait until the end to buy your hot refreshments and you will get them half price.