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Living near a
large race track does have its advantages. We live near
Dover International Speedway and two years ago a friend
of my step daughter asked if we wanted to work at the
NASCAR races that comes through here twice each year.
What they needed was some people to work the merchandise
trailers selling tee shirts. Well I pictured in my mind
a little run-down trailer bumping elbows with another
person hawking tee shirts.
The morning came
when we were to go to work. It was the first time that I
was ever at a major race and I had no idea what to
expect. It was 5:30 in the morning and it was pitch
black outside so I couldn’t make out much, it was like
those elephants that you see at the circus, trunk to
tail and so on. Well we walked into the back of some
trailer, a bunch of us huddled into a small room.
A person finally
walks in and judging by the body language of the veteran
part timers I immediately knew that he was the boss.
With clip board in hand he starts calling out peoples
names and talking in NASCARease, things like, “you two
will be working Alltel 2” and so on. Sure, I really
knew what he was talking about.
Finally my wife
and I got our trailer assignment. We were going to be
working in the same trailer, thank god I would be
working with somebody I knew and somebody that is my
“rock”. So we opened the door and walked outside
just as the sun was coming up. It was an amazing
spectacle to behold. All of these beautifully painted
NASCAR merchandise trailers were lined up in two neatly
formed rows so it was like walking down the isles of a
department store.
When we got to
our designated trailer we were astounded to see how
beautiful and spacious they were inside too. All of the
equipment from cash register computers to fully equipped
bathrooms. The vets of the trailer showed us where
everything was located which was set up all very logically.
The computer cash registers were a little intimidating
at first but they were so automated that a monkey could
use them.
It was a long
day working for NASCAR and I was hurting bad because I
was not used to being on my feet for so long. But in
slow times we got to watch the race on the TV, yes there
are TVs in the trailers too, wow. A lot of the time it
was fast paced and I didn’t get a chance to feel my
muscle pain. All in all it’s great fun and I highly
recommend it. The money ain’t bad either!
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