The Experience, part II

After that education, I decided to take the race simulator course. Basically, its a video game where you practice learning to drive on a NASCAR course. They had five video game consols with steering, brakes, accelerator, and gear shifts. Unlike in most arcades, you sit on this rail and reach your arms and legs for the controls. You had to wait in line to get into this. Kids loved it. When it was my turn. I couldn't do a thing but crash all the time. You had this guide who tried to show me the controls especially in the steering wheel area of how to use gear shifts, down shifts, and the red buttons to start over in case you crash. I couldn't figure and had to start over. When I came back, I didn't crash but I couldn't shift to the right speed and stayed on 2nd gear the whole race. As a result, my speed time was this ------ on the screen. I asked the guide why? She said, you weren't fast enough.

She said to try it again but in looking at the line. I felt I was ready for the real race simlator course. Next to the preview course was this "test your NASCAR Knowledge" screen. You had to put in your entry card screen which I did but I didn't put my information at the relations booth who let you enter the experience. I seem to remember this lady who was a Derek Jeter fan from Ohio who said that she was having computer problems of entering my information. But I was able to enter the info and continue. However, one glitch that I noticed is when you start typing, it always gives you typo errors. I typed trivfun@gmail.com but it coming as trvfun. Therefore, I didn't get all the information to my email that I was supposed to get. I downloaded some past drivers and contributors from the past and other exhbits on the third floor which was the history floor of legends and the pasts. When you passed an item, you placed your card down to show that you went by that exhibit. It would test your NASCAR knowledge and IQ, failed some and past some. Oh, well.

The typo errors continued when I wanted to type a letter for "legends that have passed" on. Might as well as call it the "Dale Earnhardt, Sr." room if it isn't called that already. The room was dark except for a movie screen of his of Sr.'s life and his last race. They showed other guys who passed on in still photos in police light against the wall. There was this desk where you wrote to a person who passed on. I wrote to Neil Bonnett and downloaded his file. However, I kept trying to type on this computer instead of writing it on pencil. Everytime, I typed the letter b it would show v. I figured it out: type the letter x and you get b. RIP Neil Bonnett. I still think you are alive and ready to do your TV show.

The third floor had the front ends of both Donnie Allison's and Cale Yarborough's car from the 1979 Daytona race with a Bill France statue looking directly at the car. Likewise, you had a TV screen above the car showing that race. The exhbits were amazing with old trophies, racing uniforms from old, bios of lesser known racers, Spirit of 76 tower at Daytona, pamphlets, magazines that took place in the 30's. My favorite one was the garage shop where they had this car which was painted in red called Kiekhafer . There was a phone that was ringing and you picked it up with somebody telling when the race was on. My personal favorite was the Junior Johnson exhibit of his moonshine distillery in a glass case with a diagram of how moonshine is made. Even this dummy knows that NASCAR came from moonshine runners who could out race the cops. That is why the tracks are so far away from the cities in obscure places in the south.

I can't give justice on this floor but let me just say it covered everything from Daytona to lesser races with TV screens filled with historical clip and interviews. But make no mistake about it, this is and was the Founder of NASCAR's production. Bill France and still in the family. You see a plenty of exhibits of him. No problem with that except for one thing. The France family had a lot enemies including the racers. Some the racers who weren't that good got more praise than the ones who didn't like Curtis Turner. When you try to unionize or go against Mr. France, you get your butt kicked. I'm just sayin. This is just an isolated incident, either? It seems that when you cross Mr. France, weird things happens to you some years later, you get killed and its never solved. Forgiviness is not one of his strong traits. Its good to be the King or David Pearson. Maybe, even Tim Flock. I guess that is how you judge good racers. Then maybe not.