10 Venues That Should Be on Every NASCAR Fan's Bucket List

Jerry Bonkowski@@jerrybonkowskiX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistDecember 19, 2014

10 Venues That Should Be on Every NASCAR Fan's Bucket List

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    I can’t count the number of times over the years that NASCAR fans have asked me what are some of the places I’d recommend they see at least once in their lifetime. Invariably, I’ll tell them two or three that would be at the top of my list, such as Daytona International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

    But NASCAR—and, for that matter, all of motorsports in the U.S.—is so much larger and more diverse, and for a fan to really see a lot, he or she has to visit a lot of different places.

    With that said, here are 10 venues that should be on your bucket list if you’re a race fan.

NASCAR Hall of Fame

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    If you’re ever in Charlotte, North Carolina, you have to make time for a visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

    If you want to see the history of the sport come to life, this is the place. There are more than enough exhibits and interactive displays to keep you busy for several hours.

    Arguably the best part is the display of those who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. To reflect back on the careers of Hall of Fame inductees like Richard Petty, the late Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr. (and Jr.) and others really allows a fan to take a trip through the sport’s rich history.

    Plus, with many race shops in the Charlotte area, as well as Charlotte Motor Speedway, a trip to the Queen City is not complete without a visit to the Hall.

Daytona International Speedway

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    The granddaddy of them all.

    If you’re a NASCAR fan, you have to make it to DIS at least once in your life, especially for the sights and sounds of Speedweeks leading up to the season-opening Daytona 500.

    The sight lines are among the best in the sport, and with the $400 million Daytona Rising renovation underway (to be completed by the 2016 Daytona 500), fans are sure to enjoy what is being called the first “Motorsports Stadium.”

    There’s something for everyone who treks to Daytona. The beaches and Atlantic Ocean are just a few minutes away. Walt Disney World and the rest of the Orlando-area attractions are an hour away.

    And there are few places on the NASCAR circuit that offer such interaction between drivers and fans. Go to a restaurant in Daytona and you’ve got a good chance of bumping into a NASCAR star, whether you’re a fan of the driver's or not.

    A trip to Daytona has to be right near the top of every fan's bucket list.

Bristol Motor Speedway

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    Controlled insanity—but that’s meant in a good way.

    That best describes the racing action at Bristol Motor Speedway, a short track unlike any other. When you can cram 160,000 people into a half-mile track, that’s saying something.

    I remember the first time I went to BMS. It was for the Saturday summer night race (arguably much better than the early spring race there). When I walked out onto pit road just as the green flag fell, the sound of the engines and the reverberating echoes made it seem like I had been dropped inside the middle of a hornet’s nest or bee’s hive.

    Bristol is almost sacred ground, a place where a visit turns into a pilgrimage. If there is a mecca for NASCAR fans, Bristol is the place.

Darlington Raceway

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    The oldest race track on the NASCAR circuit, the egg-shaped Darlington Raceway is old-school racing at its best.

    Plus, you get a good feeling of just how difficult the notorious Lady in Black can be.

    The Track Too Tough To Tame has spent well over $10 million in capital improvements over the last decade and has made the old Lady beautiful again.

    With the traditional Labor Day race date back on the schedule this year, if you can make it there, you’ll be celebrating the return of one of the best race weekends ever.

    If you visit the track, you also owe it to yourself to check out the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame just outside the backstretch. It’s like a mini-NASCAR Hall of Fame. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the board of directors of the NMPA.)

Martinsville Speedway

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    Another old-school track, the oldest short track in the sport is the bucolic, paper-clip-shaped Martinsville Speedway.

    I admit, there once was a time where I didn’t appreciate the history and the legend of Martinsville Speedway. But after a while, I came to learn just how valuable of a gem this place really is.

    This is the place where Richard Petty won 15 times. It’s also the place that awards perhaps the best trophy of all in the sport: a grandfather clock to every race winner.

    If you want to see what racing was like in the 1950s and 1960s, Martinsville is the place to go.

Texas Motor Speedway

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    They do things bigger in Texas, and that’s certainly the case at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Arguably one of the most modern and state-of-the-art tracks in NASCAR, TMS always gives race fans a Texas-sized plate of racing, entertainment, great food and an experience you won’t soon forget.

    Among the newest additions to TMS is Big Hoss, which at 12 stories high and more than 20,000 square-feet of imaging is the world’s largest HD video board. To truly appreciate Big Hoss, you have to attend a night race to get the full specter of what it is, what it can do and just the incredible picture you get.

    Trust me, you’ll want to have one of these babies in your man cave.

    And let’s not forget the on-track racing, some of the best there is, as cars routinely close in on 200 mph.

    Yeehaw, pardner. Tighten up them spurs and lasso yourself out to TMS. You’ll be glad you did, buckaroo.

Talladega Superspeedway

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    USA TODAY Sports

    This was once the wildest track outside of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wild parties, lots of booze and occasional nakedness were among things that made Talladega a racing version of Gomorrah.

    But for the better part of the last 15 years, this has become a very family-friendly track. Gone are the wicked days, replaced by a great family atmosphere. Heck, Hollywood even made a movie about the place, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

    Arguably one of the most significant aspects of ‘Dega is its massive size. At 2.66 miles around, the track itself is huge. But even bigger is the infield. Drive through the tunnel into the infield, and you’ll find such a wide expanse that you could seemingly fit a small country between Turns 1 through 4.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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    USA TODAY Sports

    Sure, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is known more for its open-wheel lore, particularly the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500.

    But this is a place that has been home to NASCAR for the past 21 seasons. It may not exactly be the best track to run Cup cars on, but how can you not get pumped up and excited watching your favorite driver make a lap around the same 2.5-mile oval that some of the greatest names have also called home, names like Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Rick Mears, A.J. Foyt, Roger Penske and more?

    When you visit IMS, make sure you also stop at the track’s noted museum in the infield. It’s arguably one of the best sports museums I’ve ever seen. Sure, it’s heavy on IndyCar, but there’s also a budding legacy that NASCAR has built and will continue to build for many years to come.

Lucas Oil Raceway

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    While Indianapolis is known more for its Motor Speedway, just west a few miles is Lucas Oil Raceway.

    There used to be some of the best Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series racing around at this place—until NASCAR decided to move those races to IMS.

    But there’s one event at LOR that should be on everyone’s bucket list: a Labor Day weekend at the Super Bowl of drag racing, the U.S. Nationals.

    Known as the “Big Go,” the U.S. Nationals are to LOR what the Indy 500 is to IMS. It’s where so much drag racing history has been made over the 60 years of the Nationals.

    Even if you’re not a drag racing fan, if you like other forms of motorsports, I firmly believe that with one visit to the U.S. Nationals at LOR, you will become a drag racing fan for sure. It’s not just the racing, but also the venue, one of the best drag racing locales in the country.

    To give you an idea of how important and special LOR has become to the NHRA and to drag racing, most of the biggest teams in the sport now have their headquarters and race shops just a couple of miles down the road in Brownsburg, Indiana, which annexed LOR several years ago.

Phoenix International Raceway

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    One of my personal favorites, PIR offers a viewing spectacle second to none.

    Name me another racetrack that has a mountain in Turns 3 and 4? And fans have an incredible view of all the action from that same mountainside venue.

    Sure, PIR is built in an arid, almost semi-desert area, about 15 miles due west of downtown Phoenix. But to have watched as the surrounding area has been built up over the last decade or so, with PIR as one of the economic engines driving such growth, is truly remarkable.

    Three decades ago, Phoenix was a no man’s land when it came to sports, other than PIR and the now defunct Manzanita Raceway.

    But PIR has been such a popular venue over its 50-year history that other pro sports leagues soon realized how great an area the Valley of the Sun is. That’s why it now is a true major league city, with teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA and even NHL.

    PIR is also situated perfectly, six hours from Las Vegas and Los Angeles and about three hours from the Mexican border.

    If you want to see one of the best one-mile tracks in the country, PIR is the place to go.

    Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski

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