Posted on 04/12/2008 7:52:23 AM PDT by GeorgiaDawg32
MONUMENT HILL, Ariz. -- Twenty-one years before Arizona became a state, a surveyor named A.B. Gray stood atop this precipice scouting the nearby Salt and Gila rivers as part of an expedition dispatched by President James K. Polk. On Friday afternoon, Mike Owens of Arkansas sat in a lawn chair in almost the exact same spot, munching on peanuts and watching Nationwide Series cars circle the 1-mile racetrack below.
"You should have seen the 66-year-old guy who came with me. He beat me up here," said Owens, sporting a Razorbacks cap he bought, strangely enough, in nearby Buckeye, Ariz. "He went back to check on his dog. He's the one who got me up here. He said, 'You want to come up with me?' I said sure, I'll go with you. I got up here and said, 'I ain't believing this.' It is amazing, isn't it?"
It is that. The best seat at any NASCAR track in America isn't a seat at all, but a spot on this dusty, sun-baked hilltop overlooking Phoenix International Raceway.
(Excerpt) Read more at nascar.com ...
Every race I have attended I have spent as much time on my feet as sitting in my seat.
In fact, as crowded as the seats are together with 4 inches of knee room from the back of the head of the fan seated in front, some places it is almost as comfortable to stand.
The front stretch at Charlotte is disappointing for fan comfort and accessability. But the view is astounding.
My opinion as for Charlotte’s best seats comfort wise are the middle of turn 3 and 4. Can’t see the pits, but seeing the cars coming down the back stretch at 200 mph right at you is breathtaking. Our other choice is near the top of the Ford Tower at the exit of the pits. Way up high we can see everything on track, but take binoculars. And take a jacket. The top of the Ford Tower is windy and gets pretty cool.
We were going to fly to Phoenix last fall for the race. But the cost was staggering. someday........
“...an expedition dispatched by President James K. Polk.”
Arizona statehood in 1912 minus 21 years = 1891; Benjamin Harrison was president. Polk was president 1845 to 1849.
I don’t know, didn’t write the article. The when isn’t as important as the why and how or the now.
;-)
You’re right.
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