This message was edited on
November 30, 2013 at
12:36:17 AM by dbbd022
Last night was my first TNGP, a race that has been on my "bucket list" for over 20 years. I was fortunate to attend it with my wife and 5 year old son and will say that for as long as the race is held at Perris, WE WILL RETURN.
We didn't encounter any problems with security and gladly had our bag searched before entering. This is becoming a new norm in our country unfortunately. We had a couple of sweatshirts and ear protection in our bag. When we presented it the guard told me he couldn't reach in the bag itself so I moved things around for it to be checked. It wasn't invasive at all and they treated us respectfully - even making my son smile as he handed the guard his ticket..I'm sure their objective was more than just food. I've attended sporting events and concerts recently where we had the metal detecting wand over us as we entered...and once you exited even once, there was no return. That said, I did exit twice to take things to and retrieve things from my vehicle. Again, its unfortunate that this country has arrived at a place where we have to be searched but that's another subject for another board..
We enjoyed looking at and talking to the owners of the vintage cars and wish we had arrived a little earlier so we could have spent more time there. The shirts were really nice and reasonably priced.
The crowd seemed down from what I expected, but with weather that looked bleak until Wednesday, I imagined some people - especially those with younger kids opted to stay away. Too bad they missed a great race.
I will admit I thought the breaks were a little long. By my watch, Time Trials started a little early. I thought maybe with the PPV they didn't want to get far off the published schedule or delayed things a little to sort out the tech issues. I can't speak for anyone, but at least there was something going on. It was nice to hear from Page Jones, Darren Hagen was great, Robin Miller and shane Hmeil. The Leffler tribute was well done.
Thanks to the PAS, USAC, the Agajanians and the drivers and owners for putting on a great race. Also thanks to the fans in the top rows of section H. It was great meeting you and my son appreciated the peanuts!
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