You would think that watching a race from the pits is as good as it gets, but to be completely honest, Nascar, like golf, is one sport better watched on TV. Well ok, the live sounds really can’t be replicated. The whole “crank it up” thing (when the announcers stop talking so you can crank up surround sound and hear what a race is supposed to sound like live) doesn’t even come close to the real thing, sorry. Oh, and the flying Elvis you don’t get see on the pre-race show on television. That, and my favorite shot of the day, a flyover by the Thunderbirds.

Aside from those few bonuses, most of the view from the pits were of crewmembers’ backs. It’s actually kind of cool to see the “working side” of Nascar, but I noticed this time that all of the drivers were introduced as they whizzed by on the back of pickup trucks. In previous years, they would walk out to mingle with fans and sign autographs before getting into their cars. This time there was less driver interaction which was a bit of a disappointment for me.

I did manage to watch some of the race from the pits. The second shot is of the eventual race winner and home town boy, Kyle Busch. Kyle and his brother Kurt, who attended Durango High School right here in Las Vegas, learned to race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s half mile “Bullring”. Congrats Kyle, (but I’m actually a Tony Stewart fan).