NASCAR -- Which airports (MIS race)?

[flyinhigh21]

I was hoping to go take a look at some of the NASCAR planes arriving this week for the race at Michigan Int'l Speedway. What airports do the drivers usually fly into? What would be my best bet as far as time (Fri morning, Thursday evening)? I would guess either JXN or maybe ARB, but not quite sure. Thanks!

 

[DrewBlows]

I was hoping to go take a look at some of the NASCAR planes arriving this week for the race at Michigan Int'l Speedway. What airports do the drivers usually fly into? What would be my best bet as far as time (Fri morning, Thursday evening)? I would guess either JXN or maybe ARB, but not quite sure. Thanks!

JXN is your best bet. Some go into ADG as well.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

Thursday afternoon at JXN will get you the best results. There will only be a couple guys at Adrian...more than likely Mark Martin will be among them.

 

[flyinhigh21]

Thanks, guys. What about Ricky Rudd (my personal favorite)?

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

Ricky sold his Falcon 10 last year when he took some time off. I don't think he has a new airplane. Your best bet for catching him would be to look for a King Air 300 tail# N88RY.

 

[flyinhigh21]

Do the drivers usually fly in Thursday, too, or do they usually come Friday morning?

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

Asked and answered! The drivers fly in on Thursday for races that qualifying is on Friday. Practice will start early on Friday, thus they don't want to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to get there. In addition, they don't want to get screwed if the aircraft has a mechanical. There is a chance some of the guys could fly back out tomorrow night. This all depends on sponsor obligations or if there is another race they want to run later that night.

Looks like Michael Waltrip went into ADG. As for JXN, it looks like Dale Jarrett, Clint Bowyer, and Joe Nemechek...along with a few team planes are scheduled in over the next few hours. I see a bunch of other guys flying all over the place, but they are sure to end up at JXN or ADG before the day is up.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

If you are looking for Rudd, N88RY just scheduled into ADG. There is probably a good chance he is onboard that aircraft.

 

[flyinhigh21]

Thanks for the heads up. You are appreciated!! Not sure yet if I will be able to make it out there or not. Do those guys not like to be bothered, or do you think it would be wise to maybe take a camera and ink pen (for an autograph), just in case I can get close enough to them? I don't want to be a nussiance, but after 10 years of buying the guy's souviners, it'd be nice to say "Hey" to the guy in person!

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

Assuming they get off on time, the aircraft is scheduled to land at 18:27 EDT. As for autographs, as long as the rental cars are not brought out to the aircraft, you probably won't have much of a problem getting them. These guys know the deal and this is just part of the gig. Sunday after the race might be impossible, but on a Thursday you have a good chance. If you were looking for Dale Jr. or Jeff Gordon I would say you might have a tough time, but with anybody else you have a good shot.