Category: Racetracks

About Those Race Camping Trips!

It’s been a while since I posted, and I’ll apologize for that right now. My next big camping trip was to the two races in late summer or fall, in Atlanta and Talladega. I totally mis-scheduled Atlanta due to some work conflicts, so I was unable to make that trip, but there was still Talladega. If you remember from last year, I was unable to complete the trip due to a transmission issue with my 2016 GMC Canyon. After fixing that, I figured I’d trade and get a new truck to avoid any future issues. I love the 2024 Nissan Frontier I bought. But then, while driving around town one day, I got a check engine light, as the transmission jumped out of gear. The Lynch Service Department ran a computer check and it called for the transmission to be replaced. Lynch was great, it took several weeks for the transmission to arrive, Nissan was pretty quick to say yes, and all was good. Unfortunately, it all arrived after the Dega race. I may not schedule that again, because I am wondering if I’m snake bit on that one. By the way, the truck is running great. I believe it’s an updated version, because I don’t notice the nine speed transmission shifting, as I did in the original. The transmission was changed out after 12 months and just under 5,000 miles for the record.

I have a new interest now; one I’ve had for just over 60 years. When I was a kid, I had a cousin that was into Ham Radio. From pictures I saw he had a really cool setup. But, for me, it never happened. Now, I am studying for the Amateur Radio Technician license and dabble in GMRS (General Radio Mobile Service). That deserves its own post and will expand what I discuss here.  

So Much Camping – So Little Time!


Let me tell you about all the fun camping I’ve done in the past few months. Okay, I haven’t been anywhere.  This isn’t the way I had planned it.  But, alas, two trips are coming. Both trips to NASCAR events, first the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Quaker State 400 on Sunday, September 8th, and then Talladega’s Yellawood 500 on October 6th.  Plus, I may have other camping news to announce here in the coming days. I hope I didn’t just jinx it.

Night 1 – AMS Infield

Lots of campers have arrived and the area is filling up. Glad I got here to drive across empty spaces, so I didn’t have to back ino a space. Not my best skill There were a couple of events on the track today. You could ride your bike around the track and after 6:30 PM, drive the track for a fee.

Lisa and her kids came over from the other Puma camper in my area. It’s a big one, but I think the kids want a small one.

The generators on site are not overpowering as I had remembered in years past. Lots of quiet ones, similar to the Honda or my Wen. Quiet time is Midnight to 7AM, we’ll see if anyone turns theirs off. If you are a fan of 80’s music, you’d be right at home here tonight. It’s everywhere and loud.

The picture above this post is my spot. That’s turn 3 and 4 track within view.

Arrived Alive

The map program in the Nissan Frontier quickly corrected only two wrong turns. It’s never good to hear, “Make a U-Turn when you can,” and the road head gets narrower. I’m set up and on the generator for now. Plenty of propane. It took a minute to find the staging area. I could see it, but I just seemed to be on the wrong side of the fence. I won’t show the entrance because I don’t want to hear you all say, “You missed that?”

The picture n this post is coming into the tunnel for the infield spot. The camper across from me has a larger Puma camper. They have a big setup with another camper. I’ll beat there is food (aka extra food) over there. I’ll report back. Looking for some LSU folks, they have the best food. .

Hello Atlanta – Here I come!

It’s NASCAR weekend in Hampton, Georgia, a.k.a. the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Oh my, where will I be? Inside the 1.5 mile oval for the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday. Yep, Infield camping, in turn three, is my home for five days. Entrance to the infield is open at 2 PM Eastern on Thursday (2/22/24). I’ll drive up on Thursday morning, getting into the marshaling area about 2 hours later, then onto the track. It’s the first time for me on the infield.

What can you expect from me here? Daily updates, maybe twice daily—the exploration of the Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) Infield with many pictures and some videos. I hope to provide a better overview than I was able to find on the internet. Watch for short, to the point videos. Well, that’s my goal anyway.

I plan to post specific questions and answers, so maybe the internet will find what I hope to be valuable information for the camper. Let’s see how that works!  What do you want to know about the infield? Let me know in the comments below.

Talladega Infield Campers Beware of Protecht (My Problem Was Resolved)

POST UPDATE – After this post and a complaint to the Better Business Bureau I received a call that they wanted to escalate my request up for approval. I provided documentation requested on when i called to schedule the truck repair and it was approved. From the time they called me, it was resolved in less than 20 hours. The company admitted they were working on fixing some of the shortcomings of their systems.

ORIGINAL POST – Buying insurance for the race and camping at Talladega this October seemed like a good idea; however, after my truck broke down while towing my camper to the race on the Wednesday before the race, I realized it was a waste of money. In turning down my claim twice, Protecht said it had to happen within 48 hours of the event, the Sunday race I assume.  My ticket was for infield camping, and I tried to go when the campgrounds opened.  I could not have my truck serviced for the transmission problem for almost two weeks.  I even provided a receipt showing the nearly $500 I paid to fix the truck.  The company should be more forthcoming with clearer language that arriving a few days before the race to take advantage of the $500 camping fee isn’t covered.  Their agreement is more about what isn’t said than what is said.  If Protecht isn’t going to be more upfront, then maybe Talladega Superspeedway should consider a better partner. I’m unhappy about the financial loss and sad I missed going back to my first race in 10 years.

And That’s That!

Talladega race weekend has come and gone. Unfortunately, a problematic transmission scuttled my plans to camp at the infield this year.  Or as I call it, “Brand New Camper and no way to pull!” I’m counting on the event insurance to save the day and roll me over to the spring race at no charge.  I’ll let you know.  Truck is off to the shop on the 12th, so wish me luck. Oh well!

Post Update: 10/12/23 1 pm – Good News, the truck is back at 100% again. The PROBLEM: transmission torque converter creating shudder through gear ranges. SOLUTION: Performed transmission fluid exchange to correct.

Talladega’s October Race

The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. It is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered spacers, the others being the GEICO 500 in May, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Daytona 5001. The YellaWood 500 marks the 107th race hosted by Talladega Superspeedway in Cup Series history. The 2.66-mile oval located in Lincoln, Alabama is known as the largest oval on the NASCAR schedule. With 33 degrees of banking in the turns, 16.5 degrees of banking on the tri-oval, and 3 degrees on the backstretch, drivers have to work together in the draft to succeed. It’s Sunday October 1st.

Written with the help of Bing AI. Okay, the AI wrote it all. (Source: Wikipedia, and NASCAR)

Use Your Head Man

So, many months ago, I joined TikTok to try and figure out if I had any reason to be there.  It’s a great time waster, and I know what I can do to waste your time.  I’ll post about my trials and tribulations of getting back into camping. So, the first person to follow me there after I posted about going camping again was Can Head. We met at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan in May 2010. I hope to see him again at Talladega.