Bristol is one of those tracks where something is happening everywhere at once.

 

Bristol always gets my juices flowing. So does Darlington. Martinsville is special. These are the tracks I’d be at even if I wasn’t being paid.

This is my 17th season covering NASCAR pretty much full-time. I covered occasional races during the 1980s: a couple at Darlington, one at Rockingham, the Daytona 500 twice. I went to the Indianapolis 500 five straight years but was only there as a journalist once. (Footnote: I also did the Indy-Charlotte double with Tony Stewart once but didn’t get to see the end of the Indy 500 before I had to board a plane back to Charlotte for the 600.)

I probably loved it more when it wasn’t my job, which is something, I think, that most everyone can understand. The hustle and bustle, the wear and tear, of travel takes a lot of the fun out of it. After many years of covering practically every Cup race, I now go to about 70 percent. I kind of enjoy those weekends when I’m away from the track, watching the race on TV. I probably wouldn’t enjoy it if that’s all there were. TV coverage drives me crazy at times, and the best thing about being at the track, in the press box, is that TV doesn’t dictate what I see.

I probably like best the tracks where it’s better to be in the stands than in the living room. I love the tracks TV can’t possibly describe or capture comprehensively. Darlington. Bristol. Martinsville. Richmond. Dover. Places where something is always happening, even if it’s not at the front of the pack.

NASCAR may be better now that it doesn’t visit Rockingham or North Wilkesboro, but it was better for me when races were run at those tracks.

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