NASCAR is Great but....

If you haven't noticed that NASCAR has gone big time in the last few years I doubt your breathing.

With all the glitz and glamor of a Hollywood movie premiere NASCAR it kicking off it's 2007 season with a series of black tie events and races in the weeks before the 500 Daytona. Yes that's right race weeks! They might as well call it race month!

If you're new to racing then you need to make the trip down I-95 to Daytona at least once. It's the Augusta National of Stock Car racing. But hold on to your wallet. Tickets for NASCAR events even at the short tracks have not been cheap since the early 1990's. A family of four can spend over 4 thousand dollars for a weekend of racing at Daytona, once you include hotels, meals, tickets, travel costs and a few t-shirts and flags.

However, southern racing need not be expensive. Removed from the mega sponsorships of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series is real racing. The Saturday night kind, were driver and mechanic are often the same.

But let me tell ya.... this is not anything like the fancy racing that goes on in Charlotte at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. This is racing southern style where you take your not so late model stock car and add it to a dirt track for gritty kind of racing.

These are not your million dollar cars with a pit crew, shop and back office staff of 100. This is real racing. Family style.

Welcome to the Lancaster Motor Speedway, just down Highway 521 follow the signs.

More than fifty years ago Herman "Hump" Poovey and a group of fellow Lancaster businessmen thought building a race track might be a good idea. So they built a little track in a vacant field and started racing. In 1957 they even held two NASCAR races at the track.

Now owned but Doug and Sharon McManus of Rock Hill the Lancaster Motor Speedway packs them in every Saturday night during the warmer months of the year.

They have rules just like NASCAR it's just that they just don't need a lawyer and engineer to figure them out.

Rules:

1. Drivers and crew members will conduct themselves in a calm and sportsmanlike manner at all times.
2. The driver will be the spokesman for their car owner in any and all matters. Any driver or crew member that uses loud or abusive language towards any track official may be fined.
3. Fighting is strictly prohibited. Anyone caught fighting will be taken care of by the officials and Law Enforcement as needed.
4. PARTICIPANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CARRY INSURANCE.
5. The Federal government requires that all money earned be reported on a 1099 form if you earn more than $600.00.
6. Any driver caught under the influence of any DRUGS or ALCOHOL will be disqualified from competition
7. There will be no Alcoholic beverages in the pit area during competition.
8. There will be No Alcoholic Beverages allowed in the protest area.
9. No disorderly conduct at pay-off window. Violators will be subject to Penalty at Officials discretion. This can include forfeiture of winnings!
10. All cars will use their own numbers unless they ask for a change.
11. Cars must be self starting. If you have to be pushed off, you are using your time limit and others.
12. All cars must have wrecker hookups, Front & Rear.
13. Any driver who exits his/her car while race is under way, for reasons other than fire or driver safety, will be dis-qualified.
14. Double file starts off of Turn 4. Inside man sets the pace. It is the outside man's responsibility to stay beside him. Flagman starts the race.
15. No stopping on the track to avoid getting lapped. This will result in a lost lap.