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I was at Knoxville last night. Just got home. The grandstands were completely sold out a week before Saturday’s race. I showed up without a ticket. I bought one from a scalper but even the scalpers themselves didn’t have many tickets. I took what I could get. A limited # of pit pass went on sale at 2 pm. People were lining up for those at noon. The pit passes were sold out within an hour. I’ve been to the Nationals 4x. I’ve never seen it like this.
People were spending $ like there was no tomorrow on t-shirts, food. There were long lines at all food vendors outside the track. Some vendors were sold out. I tried getting a hotel room at the Fairfield Inn in Oskaloosa, 20 miles away. $308 for Saturday night. It was sold out. I don’t want to hear any BS about the economy being bad.
Saw lots of young families with kids. Just a much younger crowd in general. Everyone was happy and excited to be there. Not quite as rowdy as I remember back 30 years ago, but everyone was having a good time.
As for the race itself, I actually thought Schatz had a shot at Larson during the first half, especially when they got into traffic. And yes, watching Gravel make that charge through the field made this year’s race memorable. If Gravel didn’t lose a couple laps trying to get by Schatz after that last restart, the finish would’ve been much closer. I think another lap and Gravel would’ve been on Larson’s bumper.
Back in the day, I never got upset when I saw Steve Kinser win all the time. I knew there’d come day where I’d look back and say, “I saw Kinser in his prime.” I’m the same way with Larson. I know I’m seeing something special right now.
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