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| Daytona 500, 2003, continued. |
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Before I describe what my day in the pits was like, let me tell you that I have been to hundreds of auto races of many types. I've been to races all over the country during all four seasons. From dirt tracks to frozen lakes to the fastest superspeedways anywhere, I've attended many racing events. But few races were as disappointing as the 2003 Daytona 500.
This was for a few reasons: (1) NASCAR made some significant rule changes for the 2003 season regarding access to the garage and pit area. The biggest change was the separation of pit passes into "cold" and "hot" passes. In the past teams, sponsors, track promoters, and race officials had access to a seemingly unlimited supply of pit passes. This created a problem for drivers and teams due to the massive number of people in the garage area. To address complaints from teams NASCAR split the pit passes into two groups. People holding a "hot" pass had access to the garage and pit area at all times with no restrictions. Those holding a "cold" pass were required to leave the garage and pit area 30 minutes before an event (practice, qualifying, or race) and would not be allowed back in until 10 minutes after an event ended. It may not sound like a major restriction, but it does keep you from places like Victory Lane the moment a winning driver pulls in or from the pit stalls while pit stops are occurring. In other words a "cold" pass keeps you from the excitement that makes racing so much fun.
(2) The weather was terrible. If you watched the race you know what I mean. From the infield it was cool, hot, wet, windy, and super humid. Yes, all 250,000 fans had to deal with the weather too but in the infield there aren't too many places to hide out and stay dry.
(3) The view of the racing action from the infield of a super-speedway like Daytona is extremely limited. It's not like a short track or drag strip where you can see almost the entire track from anywhere.
At Daytona, if you stand in or near pit lane, your view of the track is only of a portion of the tri-oval, about 4-5 seconds of racing action. Unless you can see one of the jumbo video screens from where you are standing you miss most of what's happening on the track. By comparison, if you are in the grandstands sitting in the tri-oval you can see from Turn 3 all the way to Turn 1, over a lap.
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