A Different Kind of World Series

There are many things that I have the opportunity to write for this newspaper. In the past, I have written reviews on ski mountain (Ragged Mountain back in 2012), a chance to interview Doug Flutie (in 2011), and go on road trips with the Women's Lacrosse team (throughout 2012 and 2013). With each of these events, there was always something in common; the people that I would talk to within these events were passionate about what they did/were doing.

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to go to yet another sporting event that people were passionate about, that being the World Series of Racing at Thompson International Speedway, in Thompson, Connecticut.

I know, I know; I will get the typical stereotypes that people have a tendency to have when it comes to auto racing. "They go in circles", or "only rednecks watch it" are the typical comments people have whenever an auto racing conversation is brought up.  This article isn't to try to persuade you from changing your opinion, but to tell you that there is a lot of blood, sweat, tears, energy, and money put into this.

The track is about two and a half hours away from Plymouth, and had 15 separate races scheduled for the weekend. These races varied in car types, as well as speeds, with the fastest division averaging about 140 miles per hour on a track that is slightly greater than a half mile. Putting that into perspective, these specific cars (which are called super modifieds) go into the turns at approximately 165 miles per hour.

Between the three-day event, not only were there hundreds of various racecars at this event, but thousands of people attended this spectacle as well. Many of these people that attended chose to camp-out at the track in motorhomes, which was quite a site to see, as motorhomes and campers were lined up as far as you could see. This goes to show that not only are the drivers passionate about what they do, but the thousands of people that came to the track wanted to see some great racing.

As far as the drivers go, you won't see any lack of competitiveness then you would in any other sporting event. Before racing in a 150-lap race, NASCAR modified tour driver Eric Goodale stated that he "wouldn't even let my wife beat me in checkers because I am so damn competitive". Unfortunately for Goodale, he was taken out of his race due to contact from another driver. Goodale, being the passionate individual that he is, expressed his displeasure to the driver by throwing his hands up as the driver passed his during the caution flag. To take out some frustration from what had just occurred, Goodale took a hammer out, and started hitting in the bumper bars that had been knocked out of place on his modified.

The main event race itself, which was the 150-lapper Goodale was in, featured a number of drivers that are on the rise in the racing community. Ryan Preece, who is from Berlin, Connecticut, won the championship for the series after finishing third in the race. "I don't even know how to explain it to you" was what Preece said after he knew that he was the champion of the series. Being only 22 years old, he knows about the history and competitiveness of the series stating that "When I go home, whenever I get that trophy, when I see all those names and then I see mine, I'm sure it's going to really sink in." Going into the event, Preece needed to finish in only 22^nd spot out of the 28 entries, but was determined to go out and win the event. By finishing third, he left no doubt on the table as to who the man of the NASCAR modified tour truly is.

Passion is something that I truly look for when I go to a sporting event, and this was just like any event that I have covered. By seeing the magnitude of people that came to this event, as well as how passionate drivers are about what they do, allowed me to see that this should be seen as quite a relevant, and special weekend. People traveled from all across the United States to see/participate in this race (from as far away as California), and there were even a number of people/drivers that came from New Hampshire (I met people from places such as Franklin, Laconia, Campton and Canaan, amongst other places). Going to this track next year is a definite must for any race fan, and I would recommend it to anyone that is willing to give the activity of auto racing a chance.