There are a lot of things I really enjoy seeing at the track that come as a pleasant surprise. Sometimes there are groups of people at the track celebrating, first time fans are always a lot of fun to talk to, long time race fans also provide some of the best conversations. It’s not always easy to tell which group is which but there are often hints.
Old racing shirts. If you’ve been involved in racing for any amount of time, you probably share my appreciation of old racing shirts. New shirts are nice and pretty, but anyone can walk up and grab one of those from the merchandise trailer. I still have a tote of old racing shirts from when I was a kid, several of those drivers have retired from racing, or even passed on but their shirts are a nice reminder of their legacy.
“Big Daddy” Paul Feistritzer, Mike Jewell, “Black Jack” Boggs, the “Kentucky Colonel” Steve Francis…those are a few of the shirts I’ve held onto over the years. Side note- who would have thought many years later I’d be married to one of those up-and-coming drivers (Steve) from when I was young. If you really want to stand out from the crowd at a race, pull out one of those old racing shirts-bonus if it is signed, and wear it.
Over the summer I noticed a man standing off to the side wearing a Charlie Swartz shirt. I went over and struck up conversation, telling him who I was and asked if I could please take a picture to send to Steve (Francis) as Charlie was one of his favorite drivers/people that he grew up helping at the track. I’ve also ran across a couple wearing some of Steve’s old shirts and we both love it!
Old racing shirts have a way of connecting people at the track, just like the Be an Outlaw (BaO) program does and that is why we are constantly asking fans to sign up. We are all race fans, so we already have something in common but why not have another way to connect to the ultimate race fan? We help connect people across the country at events throughout the year and we would love it if you would share our program with your friends and family too.
So the next time you are at the track, connect with someone, wear an old racing shirt, make a new friend, and enjoy the night!
