As a disclaimer, I am a first time NASCAR viewer as I am normally a fan of F1 and WEC.

I think it’s unfortunate that the poor weather is going to doom this event’s reception. I purchased a reserved seat ticket for the weekend (~$460 after tax) and intended to essentially be there for its entirety, and that’s what I did yesterday starting with first practice until we had to evacuate due to a nearby thunderstorm, nearly 8 hours on site!

I’m sad to see all of the hate and vitriol thats getting thrown at the event organizers on twitter, obviously those who are most frustrated are likely to vent and twitter is twitter, but I think the public perception is going to really tank any future chances of this happening again, not that the perception was high before it happened either.

I personally did enjoy what I got though! The deep rumble in my body when the xfinity cars went past was really special. Weather is always a natural enemy of any festival, and safety with all the trees and metal around on the course I think is understandable. As for going to the cup race coming up, the rain has largely stopped but I’m not sure I want to tread through the flooded park to get to my grandstand. Sunk cost perhaps?

Anyhow, as a Chicagoan first timer, rock on.