And lastly, the winner, Carl Edwards. I tried to snap a pic of his backflip but got bumped just as he went. This is the result.:-)
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This was a great race. Edwards and Busch battling it out until Busch got into the wall. Got to see the rookie, Bayne, nearly hit the pace car. Good times.
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Thanks for the pics Sean. :-)
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Now for the main event. The Brickyard. If you've never been, this is track that you go to for the atmosphere and history. Not real good for watching the actual race.

We've had good seats for the last 4 years. 7 rows up on the outside of the entrance to turn one. We can see some pit action, the front stretch, turn one, the short chute and the entrance to turn two. We also have a big video board directly across from us, so it's not too bad.

Our parking space was directly across the track on Georgetown. My buddy wanted to get to the track early, since we had never parked here before. We arrived at 6am:-). Only 7 cars in the lot when we arrived, but I did get this nice pic of the Pagoda as the sun was coming up. I couldn;t move more right, because there was a huge tree in the way.

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Enjoying cigar numer one, my trusty morning stick, 5 Vegas Gold. It was chilly in the shade, so yes, I am wearing a jacket.
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My brother and I. He's a rookie smoker, not on here.....yet. But apparenlty couldn't hold a beer and a smoke at the same time:-)

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Nice pictures!

I went to the Brickyard for a few years when I was younger, but you are right, it is not a good track to watch the race b/c you can only see what is in front of you. I love the atmosphere though.

Is the house still there that hangs up the sign at the entrance of the parking lot that says "Show your t**s"? :-)
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After a short walk, seriously, we parked just a short ways from where our seats were, Here are pics from inside prior to the festivities.

The scoring tower and Pagoda.
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Looking into turn one. Lots of empty seats at about 45 minutes prior to green flag. Track estimates they were down 20% in attendance. It showed.
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Pre race parade. Tony Stewart, hometown favorite. Lives about 30 mins from the track in Columbus.
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My buddy is a fan of Michael Waltrip, so this one was for him.
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Dr. Evil, the Man in the Black Hat....Kyle Busch
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Roger Penske on the right, directly across from us. He usually spends most of the race here.
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Stands looked better as the parade laps started.
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The fly over was four T-38's. Old school astronaut trainers.:-) I could not see my viewfinder, so I wasn't even sure i got them on the camera. They show up, eventually.
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Parade lap pics...
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The start. Best part of the race. You hear them coming, then you feel them as they fly past.

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Vid of lap two, watching turn one.
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Some pit action...

Brian Vickers
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The FOG, Mark Martin
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Exiting the pits, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya. This was the pit stop that cost him the race
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Martin and Montoya battling for the lead
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My brother is a huge Junior fan, so to add insult to injury, this appeared on the video board across from us. Hood up, day done.
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Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin on the final lap.
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Johnson and crew celebrating the win. He didn;t come down far enough on his burnout, so this was the best victory pick I could take.
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All in all, boring race. They went from the Flat Tire 400 last year to the Follow the Leader 400 this year. The last 30 laps were exciting, watching martin and Johnson battling it out, but it was a quiet day.

One last pic to end it all. Stars and Stripes, Forever.
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Thanks buddy!

Sadly, all the debauchery and nekkidness is pretty much gone.:-)
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Thanks for the pictures Sean!
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