After a few trips to Dover Downs and the Charlotte Motor Speedway, my family decided to try camping at the race track instead of staying in cheap motels. So in 1993, my mother, father, brother and I hopped in our new Palomino pop-up trailer and made the trip from New Jersey up to the Finger Lakes area of New York. Although the scenery was nice, we were going for one reason and one reason alone. The Bud at the Glen - our first try at NASCAR road racing.

Our family and the rest of the NASCAR community were still reeling from the terrible news that one of the sport's biggest stars and most popular drivers, Davey Allison, had lost his life after suffering head injuries in a helicopter crash. After taking a week off after the incident, Robby Gordon stepped in to drive the No. 28 Texaco/Havoline Ford at Davey's home track - Talladega Superspeedway. As the series made its way north to Watkins Glen, Lake Speed took the reigns.

Pulling into our camping spot in the infield we were right by the fence at the top of the esses turns. The weekend consisted of not only the Cup Series race, but also an SCCA event. Staying in the infield allowed us to be surrounded by Hardcore Race Fans 24 hours a day. This nine-year-old's dream come true, we could walk from our camper straight to the garage to watch the crews work and hope for a driver to walk by.

Without an actual garage pass, all we could do was watch as Dale Earnhardt Sr. slowly walked back and forth from the garage to the haulers, almost taunting those of us on the outside. With cars lined up to go out for qualifying, we got a first hand look at the machines that I had only seen far away on the track or on TV.

Standing beside the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet was a man in white shoes and a blue DuPont shirt. I told my mom, "That's Jeff Gordon over there," to which she quipped, "That's not Jeff Gordon, he doesn't have a mustache." Stubborn as I am, I insisted it was the "Rainbow Warrior" himself and made my way over to say hello. As it turned out I was right and the freshly shaved kid was the real Jeff Gordon. A snapshot and autograph later and I made my way to the next driver I saw.

That weekend I was able to meet the likes of Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, Mark Martin, Bill Elliot, "The Hat Man" Bill Broderick, and Derrick Cope - who made his way around a chain link fence in order to sign my yearbook. The weekend was truly one to remember and one this writer will never forget.

As for the race it was a good one. Many had told us, "Don't go to a road course, you won't be able to see anything." Man, were they wrong. We had one of the best seats in the house called the "Esses Pub Pass" a ticket that included entrance to a tent with catered food and drinks, the race playing live on television and access to a fence to watch as the cars zoomed up the hill and down the backstretch. The ticket also granted us access to the grandstands next to the tent, so we could see the field climb up the hill and zigzag through the esses.

The highlights of the race included an incident where Kyle Petty took out Dale Earnhardt in our section of the track. Petty, being the sportsman he is, pulled up to Earnhardt's wrecked No. 3 and offered the Intimidator a ride back to the pits.

Roush Racing's Mark Martin went on to capture the event, with then teammate Wally Dallenbach Jr. in second spot and Jimmy Spencer, Bill Elliot and Ken Schrader making up the top-5. The win was the first in a string of four in-a-row wins that year, as well as the first of three in-a-row run at the Glen.

Our trips to NASCAR races were never the same after that first trip with the pop-up. Camping at the race track with your family is one of the most unique things in all of sports, and something I highly suggest trying. Being surrounded by Hardcore Race Fans 24 hours a day and waking up with the race track in view is definitely something that last in your memory for years to come. I hope you enjoyed this look back not only on a bit of racing history, but a bit of my history as well. Here's to another great weekend at the Glen.