The day began much earlier than a normal Sunday. This Sunday was special because it was Pocono Sunday. My son and I make an annual trip to Pocono International Raceway to watch the stars of NASCAR perform. Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and of course Dale Earnhardt Jr., among others would be driving their cars around the track known as the “Tricky Triangle”.
After picking up my son Chris and son-in-law Mark we headed the 90 minutes or so to Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Unlike many Pocono Sunday’s, this Sunday had no hint of rain in the forecast. Partly cloudy skies (with a slight refreshing breeze) and temperatures in the mid-70’s made for a spectacular weather day.
Of course like any red blooded American, we tail-gated. At the track we met up with our family friend Joel Trocino and his wonderful family. Joel is the owner and Chef of Amici’s Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Needless to say the fare was anything but standard for a typical tail gate event.
As folks around us were enjoying their burgers and hot dogs, Chef Joel had a more interesting menu planned. As an aside I am attempting to lose some weight. There is a scene in the movie “Airplane” when the Air Traffic Controller tells the world, “I picked the wrong week to quit smoking!” Well, I picked the wrong week to diet!
So while I’m eating my salad of crisp lettuce and a pear, the gang around me was enjoying strawberry miso glazed duck, King crab legs, Hawaiian Sliced steak, mini Cuban sandwiches, garlic sausage, banana BBQ ribs and lobster Mac and cheese. The personable and friendly Chef Joel was feeding people who had the good fortune to park next to us making new friends of complete strangers. We shared a few adult beverages and sodas among strangers who had nothing but NASCAR in common. It’s what race fans do.
Pocono Raceway, is environmentally progressive with an aggressive recycling program. It is the only NASCAR track with its own solar power producing facility. It is also very fan friendly track! Track President and CEO, Brandon Igdalsky is a huge user of twitter and chats with many fans. Chef Joel and I have been fortunate to have had NASCAR related conversations with Brandon on many occasions. Brandon took time out from his busy race day schedule to find us in the parking lot and spend a few minutes with us.
The entire staff must take after Brandon as we are always met with smiles and offers of assistance from the moment we arrived at the track. From the parking attendants, restroom attendants, ticket takers and security personnel, the staff ensures that customers will have a great experience.
So I suffered through my home made salad and was glad when it was time to go to our seats. Inside I looked around and saw people enjoying a heaping helping of Nacho’s with cheese, huge pieces of pizza, ice cream and other food I can’t have. I remembered I still had some no buttered air popped popcorn I had brought from home. It was then I looked to my left and saw a fan who had just bought some popcorn at the concession. The bag, I swear to God was the size of a garbage bag. Perhaps 10 gallons of popcorn and I imagine it was just smothered with butter. Ugh!
Just about that time the engines fired up and the cars paraded around the track. Looking down at the track and what do I see? The 99 car driven by Carl Edwards which was being sponsored this week by Cheez-it crackers, my favorite snack of all time! You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! I picked the wrong week to lose weight for sure.
As near perfect as the weather and tail-gating experience had been, the race also was outstanding. When Dale Earnhardt Jr., took the lead with 3 laps remaining the crowd from the stands actually drowned out the noise from the powerful car engines. Fans were on their feet cheering and hollering as Junior took the checkered flag to win his second race of the season.
As we exited the grandstands to head back to our cars, shouts of “Junior, Junior, Junior” were heard from all over. It was a scene that reminded me of Gary Carter’s first game as a Met after he won the game with a home run and the words “Gary, Gary, Gary” could be heard from the concourse as fans exited Shea Stadium.
As we neared our cars my son said, “That was the best race I’ve ever seen. It was perfect.”
As Father’s Day approaches I thought what a wonderful gift I was given by my son Chris and son-in-law Mark. Perfect weather. Perfect food (for them). Great fans. New friends. A great track. And another memory of a Pocono Sunday with my son and son-in-law. I smiled and thought to myself, “Yep. A perfect NASCAR Pocono Sunday.”
On to Michigan we go. My picks:
- Carl Edwards
- Denny Hamlin
- Jeff Gordon
You can find Brandon Igdalsky on twitter @bigdalsky
For more information on Amici’s Restaurant go to http://www.amicis-restaurant.com/
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