The first racing tailgaters of the year filled the lots and campgrounds this weekend in places like Daytona and Pomona, and they'll set-up their tents and RVs at tracks coast-to-coast every weekend until November.
During the past several months I've learned a lot about racing and racing tailgaters while researching and writing my new book, The Ultimate Tailgater's Racing Guide which ships to stores this week.
The first auto race in the United States was in 1895, an event sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald. It was a 54-mile course from Chicago to Evanston, and back. Six "horseless carriages" sped through the snow. Okay, maybe "sped" isn't the right word. Inventor J. Frank Duryea won the contest with a time of 10 hours, 23 minutes, and an average speed of about 7 miles per hour. Not exactly Jeff Gordon stats, but he did make history and pocket $2,000 for the victory (equivalent to more than $40,000 in 2007 dollars-not too bad).
That was the first race, but not the first tailgate party.
Historians will tell you the first tailgate party was in 1863 at the Civil War's Battle of Manassas (great concept, bad application-war really isn't the best spectator sport). Tailgating took on its more contemporary setting six years later at a Rutgers/Princeton football game. But it was when people with surnames like Benz, Daimler, and Ford started producing automobiles that America began its love affair with cars and tailgating started down the road to becoming a part of our cultural being. Of course, at the time no one could imagine how the two would later meet at places like Daytona, Darlington, and Richmond.
For racing fans, the evolution of the RV is just as important, maybe more so. After all, racing tailgating is as much camping as it is tailgating - you pull into the track's parking lots as early as Wednesday or Thursday and don't leave until Sunday. Stay much longer than that, and you may have to pay property taxes.
The forebears of today's RVs got their starts in the 1920s-although it was called "auto camping" then. Private rail cars were the primary inspiration for the house trailers and travel trailers that became popular in the 1930s.
After World War II, the industry flourished as Americans took to the open road in larger numbers. And while it was coincidental, RVs grew in size and popularity alongside NASCAR, which got its start in 1948.
Today, if you want to see the variety of styles and amenities of the modern RV, don't go to a showroom-go to Talladega, or Bristol, or Pocono. That's also where you should go to see some of the most tricked-out tailgating trucks in the country; but I'll save those for later columns.
Racing tailgaters-whether in RVs, tents, or the backseats of their cars-share a special bond most of their football tailgating cousins don't. The sense of community among racing tailgaters runs as deep as their feelings about Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Funny Cars, and Top Fuel dragsters. For many, it runs deeper. There are lifelong friendships forged in these parking-lot neighborhoods. After all, camp with someone for a few days and you really get to know them.
Stephen Linn is the author of The Ultimate Tailgater's books and shows which are the ultimate how-to resources for tailgaters who want to throw the best party in the parking lot. His newest book, The Ultimate Tailgater's Racing Guide, has tips, recipes, and nearly 300 track guides for racing tailgaters. For videos, podcasts, recipes, and to learn more visit www.theultimatetailgater.com.
