MoPar Nats Ohio August 10-12
They (MoParNats) finally cashed my check for weekend tickets!!! It is slowly starting to sink in that I will be in a sea of MoPars for 3 whole days!!! Sweating my arse off, I don't even care. Can't wait to see all the FABO Members there!!! Ohhhhh Yeahhhhhhhhhh
You'll have a blast. I'm not going this year myself. I strongly suggest that you try to hook up before the show with someone here who will have a vendor space or a car that they will drive into the show. This could allow you to get someone to bring in a cooler full of ice, water and other cold drinks and maybe a couple chairs as well. A cheap disposable cooler and a couple chairs will be a welcome oasis in the three days of heat and would give you a home base to drop off your vendor area purchases (take cash).
Plan on reapplying your sun screen a few times during the day, and borrow a hotel towel and keep it soaked with cold water. Drape the wet towel around your neck (and keep it on all day rewetting as necessary) and it will help keep you from getting over heated. There is very little shade to be found at National Trail Raceway.
Without the wet towel around my neck at Carlisle, I would not have been able to keep walking all day long for all four days at the Chrysler show at Carlisle earlier this month. If its hot, you will sweat. If its dry, it's frequently dusty at the Nats. Dust will stick to your sweat and turn to mud. The towel will be handy to keep your face clean too.
From the spectator parking, its usually a long walk to the show, and since the show cars will be on both sides of the track, it will be alot of walking just from one side of the track to the other, as well as all the walking through the show cars, car corral, vendor area and manufacturer's midway. A wide brim hat that keeps the sun off your face ears and neck would be a good idea too and wear good comfortable walking shoes. Take a camera, and extra batteries. Warn the wife that the restroom facilities will be port a johns. The cuisine will be typical "track food".
By the way, if you don't get to the show early (maybe by 7:30AM) on Friday and Saturday, you could likely get caught in long traffic jams and spend your first hour (or more) of the show in traffic each day. Sunday is more relaxed, but many vendors and show cars either don't show up Sunday or leave very early on Sunday. Make sure that everything you want to see and do is seen and done on Friday and Saturday. Many people arrive on Thursday, so if you get there Thursday, you'll see Mopars at many of the hotels and restaurants in the area, and you'll be ready to get in to the show real early Friday morning.
On Friday and Saturday, you'll notice alot of cars leaving as early as 3-3:30 while the show and racing is still going strong. They are leaving early so they can go back to their hotels, clean up, go to dinner, and be out of the restaurants by early evening to stake out their spectator spots in Heath to watch the evening cruising.
If rain is forecasted at all, get a disposable $3 rain parka from the sporting goods dept at Wal-Mart. Folded it will fit in your back pocket and it will be appreciated if a downpour starts and you're a mile from where you parked.
The last time I attended the Nats was 2010. Here are links to the pics i took at that 2010 show. It should give you a hint of what you'll be seeing. Theres 9 albums of pics linked here. These pic are just the cars. I didn't watch any of the racing so there are no racing pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.130059630374429.21833.100001111775214&type=3&l=a93d61d45f
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.130098103703915.21848.100001111775214&type=3&l=f40edf8a16
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.130625643651161.22014.100001111775214&type=3&l=8f4581813e
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.132109303502795.22408.100001111775214&type=3&l=8ff7d44477
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.132244423489283.22460.100001111775214&type=3&l=87f258120c
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.134185899961802.23048.100001111775214&type=3&l=b911eb4ff3
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.136151786431880.23545.100001111775214&type=3&l=6dd06a205b
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.135686979811694.23404.100001111775214&type=3&l=cf18ba3ec6
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141045305942528.24971.100001111775214&type=3&l=be0d1db0ad