TOLeDO Magazine...2011/09/03 · Race fans pour through the front gate at Michigan International...
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Cyan Magenta Yellow Black toledoblade.com + + THE BLADE, TOLEDO, OHIO SUNDAY , SEPTEMBER 4, 2011 SECTION B, PAGE 6 Race fans pour through the front gate at Michigan International Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400. Some 81,000 fans were there on race day. NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth introduces his daughter, Kaylin Nicola Kenseth, to a group of fans. Heading to his car, driver Kurt Busch takes time to give an autograph to a fan. Ominous-looking clouds hang over packed bleachers at MIS. Fans watch Landon Cassill, No. 51, and Ken Schrader, No. 32, speed by. BLADE PHOTOS BY AMY E. VOIGT NASCAR fans are passionate about their sport By MATT MARKEY BLADE SPORTS WRITER BROOKLYN, Mich. — For stock car racing fans, the sport comes at them from every direction and they thrive on the sensory blitzkrieg. The sound of an 800-horsepower engine thrusting down the straightaway. The feel of the ground pulsing as a pack roars past the grand- stand at 200 miles an hour. The spectacle of 43 cars decked out in gaudy sponsor decals form- ing a conga line on the warm-up laps. The acrid bite of burning rubber as the winner celebrates in a blur of tire-spinning smoke. The taste of cold beer on a 90-degree summer day. The fans are the fuel that revs the marketing monster known as NASCAR. In a recent study, 17 of the 20 most-attended U.S. sporting events were NASCAR races, and at the August Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, loyalty to the sport was on parade for an estimat- ed crowd of 80,000-plus. “Our fans have a true passion for racing, and we see that on display everywhere we go around the country,” Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan New- man said at MIS. “Without the fans, there would be no NASCAR.” Brian Angel attended his first race at MIS two weeks ago. “We had passes to the garage and pit area and I was so surprised by how close the fans are with the drivers,” the 24-year-old Toledoan said. “I had conversations with a number of drivers, got my picture taken with Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman, and was just kind of blown away by the whole experience.” Chad Molter of Toledo has been attending rac- es in the area since 1998 and acknowledges be- ing enthralled with the “loud engines and the speed. “Plus a lot of the drivers are very fan-friendly, and most of them will stop and sign an autograph for you,” said the 26-year-old Mr. Molter, who es- timates that he has some 160 driver signatures. “I really enjoy the atmosphere and it makes ev- erything so much better since the drivers are all pretty good guys.” “You just don’t see that kind of contact with the fans in other sports,” Mr. Angel said. “In baseball or the NFL, you might get a wave and then they are gone.” The fan appreciation mantra extends to the ad- ministrative side of NASCAR as well. MIS presi- dent Roger Curtis has been banging that drum since he took the job here in 2006. “We want our fans to walk away from MIS with the most memorable experiences possible,” Mr. Curtis said about MIS, which hosts weekends of NASCAR racing in June and August each year. “We believe in our vision for every fan that vis- its with us — to create lasting memories for every person, every time.” Contact Matt Markey at: [email protected] or 419-724-6510. M AGAZINE TOLEDO
Transcript of TOLeDO Magazine...2011/09/03 · Race fans pour through the front gate at Michigan International...
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t h e b l a d e , t o l e d o , o h i o S U N d a y , s e p t e m b e r 4 , 2 0 1 1 s e C t i o N b , p a g e 6
Race fans pour through the front gate at Michigan International Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400. Some 81,000 fans were there on race day.
NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth introduces his daughter, Kaylin Nicola Kenseth, to a group of fans.
Heading to his car, driver Kurt Busch takes time to give an autograph to a fan.
Ominous-looking clouds hang over packed bleachers at MIS.
Fans watch Landon Cassill, No. 51, and Ken Schrader, No. 32, speed by.
blade photos by amy e. voigt
NasCar fans are passionate about their sportBy MATT MARKEYblade spoRts WRiteR
BROOKLYN, Mich. — For stock car racing fans, the sport comes at them from every direction and they thrive on the sensory blitzkrieg.
The sound of an 800-horsepower engine thrusting down the straightaway. The feel of the ground pulsing as a pack roars past the grand-stand at 200 miles an hour. The spectacle of 43 cars decked out in gaudy sponsor decals form-ing a conga line on the warm-up laps. The acrid bite of burning rubber as the winner celebrates in a blur of tire-spinning smoke. The taste of cold beer on a 90-degree summer day.
The fans are the fuel that revs the marketing monster known as NASCAR. In a recent study, 17 of the 20 most-attended U.S. sporting events were NASCAR races, and at the August Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, loyalty to the sport was on parade for an estimat-ed crowd of 80,000-plus.
“Our fans have a true passion for racing, and we see that on display everywhere we go around the country,” Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan New-man said at MIS. “Without the fans, there would be no NASCAR.”
Brian Angel attended his first race at MIS two weeks ago.
“We had passes to the garage and pit area and I was so surprised by how close the fans are with the drivers,” the 24-year-old Toledoan said. “I had conversations with a number of drivers, got my picture taken with Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman, and was just kind of blown away by the whole experience.”
Chad Molter of Toledo has been attending rac-es in the area since 1998 and acknowledges be-ing enthralled with the “loud engines and the speed.
“Plus a lot of the drivers are very fan-friendly, and most of them will stop and sign an autograph for you,” said the 26-year-old Mr. Molter, who es-timates that he has some 160 driver signatures. “I really enjoy the atmosphere and it makes ev-erything so much better since the drivers are all pretty good guys.”
“You just don’t see that kind of contact with the fans in other sports,” Mr. Angel said. “In baseball or the NFL, you might get a wave and then they are gone.”
The fan appreciation mantra extends to the ad-ministrative side of NASCAR as well. MIS presi-dent Roger Curtis has been banging that drum since he took the job here in 2006.
“We want our fans to walk away from MIS with the most memorable experiences possible,” Mr. Curtis said about MIS, which hosts weekends of NASCAR racing in June and August each year. “We believe in our vision for every fan that vis-its with us — to create lasting memories for every person, every time.”
Contact Matt Markey at: [email protected] or 419-724-6510.
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