Off to the Races

Last night was a special treat. One of the gals in my Mom’s Group works for a local broadcasting company (i.e. “the radio”) who just happened to be hosting this weekend out at the Magic Valley Speedway. That meant she was given tickets to hand out and when she graciously offered them to the members of the Mom’s Group I was more than willing to take 4 off her hands.

So Saturday night, with the wind howling, we bundled up the kiddos and headed off to the Speedway. Now, while the Magic Valley Speedway is Idaho’s only NASCAR sanctioned track, it’s not by any means huge or high class (really are any NASCAR tracks “high-class?”) The night kicked off with preliminary races which started with “clunker cars”….yes there was a Geo Metro out there running laps….and worked up to the more expensive racecars. I’m not a huge racing aficionado (pretty sure this way my first time at a “speedway” unless you count the grain truck races at the Lind Combine Derby) but basically this track is used by people who drive as a fun side hobby and/or are looking to use it as a foothold into the next division up. Hoping to someday make it to drive with the big boys like Gordon, Dale Jr., and Biffle.

Anyway, the kids had a BLAST! There were a couple of other Mom’s Group friends who braved the weather and it was fun to watch them all react to the racing. There was lots of wiggling, jumping, screeching, and waving. It must have been like the movie Cars come to life. Jack loved it when one would spin out into the infield. Emilie loved the big Vroooom they made as the cars zipped past the bleachers.

We didn’t stay until the end. Between the wind, cool weather, and colds both kids (and me) are fighting we called it after about 2 hours. We could see things were headed downhill and sometimes it’s nice to finish your evening on a happy note and not wait until someone melts down. Despite that, we had a great time and will definitely be back!

Thanks again to Tammy D. for the tickets, and to Theresa, Susan, and families for braving the wind with us.