One rainy day in Charlotte, NC — while I was in town for the Giants-Panthers game — I went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Until then, the few things I knew about the sport came from Will Ferrell’s “Talladega Nights,” which it turns out was not a true story. I also knew that Ricky Rudd drove a car covered in the Tide logo, but mostly I loved his alliterative name. In other words, I was clueless.
Luckily, my friend, who grew up in the South watching the sport, filled in some blanks. After the tour, I bought a few Dale Earnhardt beer koozies and put a NASCAR race on my bucket list. I thought of it as a Southern delicacy, one requiring logistical planning and airplanes.
As it turns out, I was wrong: Just two hours from Manhattan, the Poconos has been hosting NASCAR races since 1974.
And NASCAR returns on Sunday, to the sprawling raceway known as the “Tricky Triangle” for the Gander Outdoors 400.
For a truly immersive experience, some people camp out in the infield for the weekend. Other fans show up hours before the race and wander around the grounds, which is more like a carnival complete with inflatable jousting and bouncy houses. I went to the Pocono 400 race in June and when I arrived at 9 a.m. for a 2 p.m. race, the place was more than halfway full.
Forget the flashy concession stands selling $12 beers and $8 hot dogs. The vendors at Pocono Raceway offer the kind of grub you’d find at a street fair — sausages, nachos and burgers — at street-fair prices.
“We don’t have all the pomp and glitz,” says Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky. “We like keeping it a little rustic.”
One of the biggest treats of NASCAR in general is how close you can get to the action. A $150 VIP ticket lets you see pit crews priming cars and setting up on Pit Road.
You can even interact with drivers, who do Q&As with fans — which is like standing on the field at MetLife, tossing around a football with Odell Beckham Jr. hours before kickoff.
On the day I visited, the stands were full by the time the drivers were introduced. All of them were cheered except Kyle Busch, whom I learned was a NASCAR heel because of his cocky antagonistic driving style. Thus, he immediately became my favorite.
You can learn some of the finer points of racing on the fly. One of the highlights is watching the freakishly athletic pit crews do their thing: change four tires and gas up a car in about 16 seconds.
Just don’t expect to socialize. The race lasts about three hours, and the cars are so loud, you’d better wear earplugs.
Loud noise can be an issue for people with autism or post-traumatic stress disorder. Luckily, Pocono Raceway is a sensory-inclusive motor-sports facility. They have two sensory rooms offering quiet, and the staff is specially trained to deal with sensory-overload issues. They also have a large playground that accommodates children with physical and developmental disabilities.
There’s also a dog park, so families can bring their pooches.
Since I had neither dogs nor children with me that day, I was glued to the finish, in which Martin Truex Jr. prevailed, edging out Busch and Kevin Harvick. I watched, stunned, as he did celebratory doughnuts by the winner’s circle and then sprayed Champagne like in a bad rap video.
And then it was over. I got into my car and breezed back to Manhattan in just under two hours. And I even did the speed limit.
NASCAR at the Pocono Raceway, Sunday at 2 p.m., starting at $45 for grandstand seating; 1234 Long Pond Road, Long Pond, Pa.; 570-646-2300
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