First NASCAR race. Going to Dover. Help!!

O

OtisCampbell

Guest
My son is a huge NASCAR fan, so I got him tickets to Dover for the fall race. We've never been to a NASCAR race. For anyone who has ever been to Dover, any advice? We plan to drive in from central PA the morning of the race. Google says it's a 4 hour drive on a NON-race day. How many hours should I add to account for race morning traffic? Green flag is at 2pm. What time should I leave my home to get there in plenty of time to tailgate a bit, park, look around, etc etc?

Thanks for any advice!
 
I've always driven from Chester County Pa, but thats only about an hour to an hour and a half but we would leave at 5:30 am so not sure of later traffic.
 
My initial plan was to leave home at 5am. The drive takes 4 hours on a NON race day. Did I allow myself enough time to make up for race day traffic?
 
OtisCampbell said:
My son is a huge NASCAR fan, so I got him tickets to Dover for the fall race. We've never been to a NASCAR race. For anyone who has ever been to Dover, any advice? We plan to drive in from central PA the morning of the race. Google says it's a 4 hour drive on a NON-race day. How many hours should I add to account for race morning traffic? Green flag is at 2pm. What time should I leave my home to get there in plenty of time to tailgate a bit, park, look around, etc etc?

Thanks for any advice!
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dpkimmel2001 is the one to ask.
 
Truthfully, I'd get a room as close to the track as you can then get up early on race day and drive over to the track.
I have not been to Dover in many years but traffic getting to any track can eat into many hours.
 
Bobw said:
Truthfully, I'd get a room as close to the track as you can then get up early on race day and drive over to the track.
I have not been to Dover in many years but traffic getting to any track can eat into many hours.
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I already tried that. There are no hotel rooms within reasonable driving distance to the track. It seems the nearest available room would still put me outside of the traffic window.
 
As long as you're in the town a couple hours before race start you'll be fine. The most I've sat in traffic was at Martinsville this year and I got there REALLY late and still saw the green flag drop.
I see you want to tailgate etc.... so if it were me, I'd just leave an extra 2 or 3 hours early and I bet you'd have no problems at all.
 
So you think leaving home at 5am will be sufficient? That gives us 9 hours to drive, sit in traffic, eat a bite, and find our seats.
 
Thanks for the info! I just checked, and I think the green flag is 2pm for this race.
 
OtisCampbell said:
So you think leaving home at 5am will be sufficient? That gives us 9 hours to drive, sit in traffic, eat a bite, and find our seats.
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That's excellent. I did Loudon this year. Normally a 3 1/2 hour drive and I left at 6:30. Green flag was also 1, not 2. Northbound traffic after the race is rough. IDK about south/west bound.

I did Dover last year and it was great. They really put on a show for the fans in the Fan Zone. Much more to do than Loudon. I loved it. Just wondering, where are your seats?
 
Welcome to the forum Otis . Please don't forget to let us know how you made out . We'd love to hear your stories and see some pictures . Have a great day.
 
We're in 136, row 29, seats 1-2-3. That's in turn 4. Good view?
 
I'm sure your good by now Mr. Campbell but when I went to Dover in 2012, I drove up from Virginia Beach, made sure to get there with 2 hours to spare before racetime. Surprisingly traffic & parking wasn't that bad, probably because the race wasn't a sellout as there were lots of empty seats. I sat on the frontstretch just down from the flagstand. You guys are gonna have a blast, it's one thing watching the race on TV but completely different being there in person...
 
OtisCampbell said:
We're in 136, row 29, seats 1-2-3. That's in turn 4. Good view?
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Should be an awesome view, you'll be looking down the frontstretch & that's high enough to where you'll almost be able to see all around the track...
 
OtisCampbell said:
We're in 136, row 29, seats 1-2-3. That's in turn 4. Good view?
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You are going to have a great view of the track from there. The pits, not so much. You are to the left of where I used to sit but I believe that you are one row from the top of the original section, isle seats. It's a hike down to the restrooms and concession stands from there but you'll like your seats.

Another word of advice for Dover. Immediately after the race all of the A-holes in the stands decide that it's a great time to dump their cooler water. You don't want to be under the stands while that is going on. It's no way to end what will be an otherwise perfect day at Dover. Never understood why they can't wait until they get down to ground level. :mad:
 
I plan to rent a 3-headset scanner setup for myself, the boy, and my wife. He's an #88 fan, while I root for Aric in the #43. Hope to listen in on Jr & Aric during the race.

Our section is a "Family Friendly / No hooch or smoke" section. Do they enforce this rule, or just hope people behave?
 
OtisCampbell said:
We're in 136, row 29, seats 1-2-3. That's in turn 4. Good view?
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Since the track is banked you shouldn't have a problem. At New Hampshire I was in a similar spot and it was hard to see turn 2 because the track is flat and its far away. Dover's straights aren't as long and the turns are highly banked. When I went to Dover I was near the top of turn 4... I think it was row 58 or something ridiculous. That was a little too high.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
You are going to have a great view of the track from there. The pits, not so much. You are to the left of where I used to sit but I believe that you are one row from the top of the original section, isle seats. It's a hike down to the restrooms and concession stands from there but you'll like your seats.

Another word of advice for Dover. Immediately after the race all of the A-holes in the stands decide that it's a great time to dump their cooler water. You don't want to be under the stands while that is going on. It's no way to end what will be an otherwise perfect day at Dover. Never understood why they can't wait until they get down to ground level. :mad:
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Very good advice DP. Don't walk under the grandstands at any track after the race.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
You are going to have a great view of the track from there. The pits, not so much. You are to the left of where I used to sit but I believe that you are one row from the top of the original section, isle seats. It's a hike down to the restrooms and concession stands from there but you'll like your seats.

Another word of advice for Dover. Immediately after the race all of the A-holes in the stands decide that it's a great time to dump their cooler water. You don't want to be under the stands while that is going on. It's no way to end what will be an otherwise perfect day at Dover. Never understood why they can't wait until they get down to ground level. :mad:
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True, if your not in a hurry to leave Mr. Campbell I reccomend just chillin & watching the victory burnout & celebration. This will give the people who are in a unneccesary hurry time to leave. I mean your gonna have traffic wait time anyway getting out of there but after the race I made a last run to the souveneir trailers after watching the victorylane celebration so by the time I got to my car, traffic was at least moving.
 
Sounds like right around my seats in June.
 
OtisCampbell said:
My son is a huge NASCAR fan, so I got him tickets to Dover for the fall race. We've never been to a NASCAR race. For anyone who has ever been to Dover, any advice? We plan to drive in from central PA the morning of the race. Google says it's a 4 hour drive on a NON-race day. How many hours should I add to account for race morning traffic? Green flag is at 2pm. What time should I leave my home to get there in plenty of time to tailgate a bit, park, look around, etc etc?

Thanks for any advice!
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Oh, Otis I am afraid your calculations are incorrect. Set your originating GPS coordinates to Mayberry NC rather than Central Pa. Otherwise your entire route will be skewed to the Northeast and off by two of three states, perhaps enroute to Canada or even the Atlantic Ocean.
 
OtisCampbell said:
I plan to rent a 3-headset scanner setup for myself, the boy, and my wife. He's an #88 fan, while I root for Aric in the #43. Hope to listen in on Jr & Aric during the race.

Our section is a "Family Friendly / No hooch or smoke" section. Do they enforce this rule, or just hope people behave?
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Doesn't the Misses have a favorite? I hope she's not like mine, she doesn't have a favorite and can't understand why I don't want to spend the whole race talking to her. Anyway I hope all of you have a great time. If it's your 1st race I'm sure you will.
 
OtisCampbell said:
I plan to rent a 3-headset scanner setup for myself, the boy, and my wife. He's an #88 fan, while I root for Aric in the #43. Hope to listen in on Jr & Aric during the race.

Our section is a "Family Friendly / No hooch or smoke" section. Do they enforce this rule, or just hope people behave?
Click to expand...

Not sure if I follow the hooch point correctly. But if I follow you correctly I would take a small note pad too. That way you and the misses can write dirty talking notes to each other the whole race.

Really it is good way to explain stuff etc during the noisy race.
It may sound silly but I really loved it when my dad pointed out the technical stuff so that I could understand it when I was a boy.

Plus there is always the wifey note stuff too.
 
Great thread.

Just one of the reasons that I enjoy this board.
 
Greg said:
Not sure if I follow the hooch point correctly. But if I follow you correctly I would take a small note pad too. That way you and the misses can write dirty talking notes to each other the whole race.

Really it is good way to explain stuff etc during the noisy race.
It may sound silly but I really loved it when my dad pointed out the technical stuff so that I could understand it when I was a boy.

Plus there is always the wifey note stuff too.
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What I'm asking about the "hooch" is if they actually make sure no one in our section is drinking/drunk, or if they just hope people follow the rules?

My boy is almost 14. He's been racing go karts on dirt since he was about 7 years old. We are coming to the end of his first season racing in the adult class. He just loves racing. I'm sure he'll be thrilled when I show him the tickets!
 
Get there as early as you can, there is a lot to see and not a lot of time to get it all done IMO

Enjoy the race !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
OtisCampbell said:
What I'm asking about the "hooch" is if they actually make sure no one in our section is drinking/drunk, or if they just hope people follow the rules?

My boy is almost 14. He's been racing go karts on dirt since he was about 7 years old. We are coming to the end of his first season racing in the adult class. He just loves racing. I'm sure he'll be thrilled when I show him the tickets!
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Racing families are great. Best wishes to your son in all of future racing endeavors.
 
OtisCampbell said:
What I'm asking about the "hooch" is if they actually make sure no one in our section is drinking/drunk, or if they just hope people follow the rules?

My boy is almost 14. He's been racing go karts on dirt since he was about 7 years old. We are coming to the end of his first season racing in the adult class. He just loves racing. I'm sure he'll be thrilled when I show him the tickets!
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If you have an issue @ Dover, they have a service where you can text the track and have security sent directly to your section. I don't recall the number that you use but is should be printed on the info provided from the track or simply call the track to get the number. We've had to use it before in our section and they responded immediately.
 
OtisCampbell said:
What I'm asking about the "hooch" is if they actually make sure no one in our section is drinking/drunk, or if they just hope people follow the rules?

My boy is almost 14. He's been racing go karts on dirt since he was about 7 years old. We are coming to the end of his first season racing in the adult class. He just loves racing. I'm sure he'll be thrilled when I show him the tickets!
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God bless you and your wife for letting your boy race. He'll thank you later when he knows all the time and money you guys have spent on him. Its also nice that you're taking him to a race and surprising him.

As far as smoking and drinking... well... good luck. I don't know how "clean" the family sections are. But I do know after the race on the return trip to the car you'll find quite a few people who had too much to drink and a lot of smokers.
 
Historically, how often has the fall race been rained-out, postponed? What do most people do if that happens? Do they go home and throw their tix away, or does everyone make a mad-dash for any available hotel rooms?
 
OtisCampbell said:
Historically, how often has the fall race been rained-out, postponed? What do most people do if that happens? Do they go home and throw their tix away, or does everyone make a mad-dash for any available hotel rooms?
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Hotels are booked. Anything 30 minutes away or less is booked solid already. My plan (which has never had to come to action, thank God) is to drive home and drive up again on Monday. Rain ain't gonna stop me from going to a Nascar race, and I'm not dropping $150 on a hotel either.

I can't remember any Dover race (spring or fall) that's been rained out in recent years. But that stat means nothing since the Northeast doesn't exactly have a rainy season or a dry season.
 
Only rained out Dover race I recall was spring race 2007, ran on monday.
 
kkfan91 said:
Only rained out Dover race I recall was spring race 2007, ran on monday.
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Martin Truex Jr's first win. A group of us were camped a little south in Harrington, DE at the state fairgrounds for that race. It rained buckets that Sunday. Never bothered heading up to the track. It was pretty obvious it was never going to be run. Went to the race on Monday and had a great time.

I'd suggest that if any of you are an RV'er and your heading to Dover, stay in Harrington, DE. Very inexpensive with water/electric hookups. Shuttles to/from the track.
 
OtisCampbell said:
We're 4+ hours away. Would make one heck of a drive.
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Head south of the track on 13 to look for a place to stay if you have to. Lot's of little towns down that way and not a lot of race traffic heading from that area. You'd find a place if it came to that.

If you had to, stay in your vehicle overnight at the place I mentioned in the above post. They have restroom facilities there with hot showers and the like. Casino, restaurants & a horse track too.
 
They'll let us park overnight at the Blue Hen? If so, that would work.
 
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