Join me as I go to my first-ever NASCAR race! This is the Xfinity Series at the Phoenix Raceway in Arizona. It exceeded expectations and was super thrilling. I'm a city boy so I didn't know what to expect. But now I'm hooked! The exhilarating feeling of the cars zooming by at around 150MPH is out of this world. You literally feel it as the "herd" rumbles by. And adrenaline rushes as the cars soar to the finish line. I love NASCAR now!

0:00 - Intro
0:22 - Riding the Tram and Entrance
0:49 - Goodyear Blimp
0:56 - Lucha Libre Wrestling
2:12 - Mariachi Performance
2:31 - Prayer
3:23 - National Anthem & Blimp Flyover
5:25 - Start Your Engines
5:58 - Heading out for Warm Up Laps
7:03 - About to Start
7:34 - Race Start
8:30 - Front Row/Fence View
10:49 - Restart after Caution Flag
14:21 - Final Lap

Some interesting things I noticed:
*The Phoenix Raceway is only one mile around! This is less than half of the famous Daytona International Speedway (2.5 miles) and many other tracks. So, the cars are a little slower here in Phoenix than they are elsewhere (they can hit over 200 MPH on the longer tracks!).

*The grounds were very clean and well-kept, and full of "community." As in, there were RVs, tent campers, and beach cruiser bikes. There was plenty of free entertainment, like lucha libre wrestling (shown in my video) and live music. There were also food trucks, picnic tables, and more, like a park. This was a pleasant surprise because I'm used to other sporting events that only include the game itself, no other extracurricular activities, and you go straight to your seat and leave afterwards. So, I spent six entertaining hours at the raceway, enjoying everything. Great value!

*I didn't find any NASCAR fan stereotypes to be true. Everyone was polite, having fun, and respectful. I didn't see any controversial flags, although there were signs up that the Confederate flag was banned. There was a Christian prayer before the race (see video). I'm not religious, but I didn't see any issue. It was short, respectful, generic, and inclusive of everyone. So, I actually found it to be an interesting touch.

*I am still amazed by how exhilarating the race is. I always heard people describe NASCAR as "sensational," "thrilling," and other high-energy words. But I didn't understand. Now I do. You literally feel the cars go by. It rumbles in your chest and blows your hair. You smell gasoline and tires burning, which I loved. Your adrenaline rushes as you see the herd of cars approaching you at blazing fast speeds, each driver ferociously competing to beat the next place. It is a rush from start to finish.

*With that being said, it does feel repetitive at times. There are 200 laps in the Xfinity Series and 500 laps in the full Cup series on a different day. So, you start to feel a little complacency or fatigue after a little bit. But they split up the race into phases to help your senses refresh. And there are occasional crashes (no injuries usually), and interesting maneuvers like cars flooring it to overtake each other, and plenty of caution flags that slow and restart the action. And even if it feels repetitive sometimes, it's still a blast. It's stunning to watch such powerful machines and drivers competing. And the weather was perfect (~70 degrees Fahrenheit / 22 Celsius). After all, nobody ever died wishing they enjoyed less time at a fun event with their friends and family!

*The pit stop mechanics really are THAT fast! I thought it was just something from Hollywood. I only ever saw that in movies and videos. But I was surprised at how speedy they really are!

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