You sure can't say NASCAR races are unfriendly to RVers.
Instead, they seem more like RV rallies themed around racing.
At least that was our take after our first NASCAR event, the Roadtreking Motorsports and Music NASCAR gathering held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklin, MI. There are about 10,000 other RVs camping around us. The speedway has 10 campgrounds that can hold nearly 9,000 rigs. That's the infield campground on the featured image above. Private campgrounds around this huge racetrack are also filled with another 1,000 or so RVs.
NASCAR is very, very friendly to RVers.
We Roadtrekers had two days worth of racing. Trucks raced on Saturday in the Camping Works 100-lap NASCAR Truck Series and on Sunday, it was the Sprint Cup's Pure Michigan 200, which drew such NASCAR giants as Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski.
Roadtrek Motorhomes and Roadtrek Dealer American RV in Grand Rapids were our official hosts.
There were about 30 Roadtrekers in attendance, and we all parked together in the Brookfest Acres campground. We set up a “Roadtreking Central” area for nightly meet and greets around a CS Adventurous and a Roadtrek 2010 Popular brought by Chad Neff of American RV and a Roadtrek Zion brought by Roadtrek rep Joe Murray. Jennifer and my Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL was the fourth rig that created a sort of “town square” gathering spot for us to gather under the collective awnings of the RVs.
The weather was hot and steamy all weekend. A violent thunderstorm blew in Friday night with wind gusts up to 60 mph, scattering campers for the safety of their units. We Roadtrekers all had our awnings in but others throughout the campground weren't fast enough and several awnings were lost.
We spent Friday and Saturday watching the races, with food and refreshment provided in the VIP Acceleration Tent by Roadtrek and American RV. At nights, we had concerts and lots of socializing around the circle of Roadtreks previously mentioned.
I need to point out right up front, though, that NASCAR events are not for everyone. There's a lot of beer drinking and revelry. They are not quiet places, that's for sure, and you will need ear protection when near the track. At night, generators, music and lots of partying people can be heard, though the campground does try to quiet things down after 11 p.m. All this is to say that if you like a lot of action and excitement, and don't mind being around a lot of people who may like it even more than you do, it's an experience well worth trying. For me, people watching was almost as much fun as race car watching.
You will also walk a lot. I chalked up almost eight miles Saturday, going to and from the campground a couple of times, to the stands, under the track to the pits, over to the Acceleration Tent and throughout the various booths and attractions in the parking lot around the racetrack.
For us, being with our Roadtreking friends, made for a great weekend. Thanks to Roadtrek's Events Manager Joe Morales who spent days working out the details and all the perks that made this weekend so special.
Here's a bunch of photos to give you a flavor of what a NASCAR event is like.
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