Knoxville Nationals

So this blog isn't exactly about Knoxville Nationals, but rather in honor of them.  (For those of you who don't know, the Nationals are the four day series of races (per car type - so it's actually eight days I think) in Knoxville every August that is the climax of the race year for fans.  The best of the best come to race and anyone who is serious about keeping up with the races and drivers try to make at least one of the nights just for the experience and excitement.)  In honor of the Nationals, the local mall put on display four sprint cars from the past and present.  Last Sunday, we packed  a picnic lunch for after church and then, after eating, we headed over to check out the sprint cars up close.



I will be totally honest and say that I'm not sure exactly what is special about each car, but this was one of them on display.




This is a car from the way past.  Several racers raced in it, the last one being killed in a very unfortunate accident in Mount Pleasant in the '50s.  The car styles and safety features have been extremely changed and improved in the last half decade so that now there is hardly anyone hurt, let alone killed. 




Um, yeah... not sure about this one.  A car is a car, right?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is a modern car without the top wings.  The wings are a safety feature that help the aerodynamics of the car and prevents flipping.... I think.

 I would like to take a moment before I share the last picture to apologize to Papa Loren and my hubby Josh for the sure shame I know they must be feeling while reading this at my not knowing the details. There will be homemade Dutch letters made for coffee time in the near future to make up for my sprint car ignorance.  :-)



This is the modern sprint car.  You can make out the roll bar cage that sits around the driver, as well as the wings on the top and front of the car.  All for the safety of the insane man (and very occasional woman) who CHOOSES to get in the thing and race at 100+ mph on a little dirt track. 
I joke and tease the guys about the races, but I will say that it is kind of fun to watch a race every once in a while and experience the adrenaline.  Emphasis on the 'every once in a while'.   ;-)