What's the coldest you've ever been at a race track?

[Jane]

For me it was at Citrus County Speedway and the first race of their Winter Spectacular races. It was the first time I met Carol and her husband, OSF was there and I think Rick Warren. About froze my butt off, it was miserable. But since then, I have had many a night during speedweeks at New Smyrna that were so cold it was not funny. Those kind of nights don't bring out fans because no one wants to freeze and Florida cold is a different cold than New York or Colorado. We have that damp cold which makes it alot worse.

I went to Ft. Drum, New York one year after christmas and it was cold, cold but I didn't feel it as bad as I do here in Florida. There is nothing like a cold night here in Florida, hard to warm-up and hard to stay warm. Been out shrimping on those nights and your hand sticks to the shrimp pole and you have on gloves, that is cold.

I think Citrus did the right thing for Saturday, just sorry that it had to be Larry's race that got cancelled. But it is hard to draw a crowd when you know it is going to be real cold. The race can be the best race you have ever seen but you are too cold to enjoy it.

Stay warm everyone because it is going to be cold for awhile. I know my babies don't like going out right now and they seem to have taken to my bed where I can never make it because someone is always in it.

[oldyeller]

I think the good news is that if we ever kill anyone, we can all use the above posts to prove to the judge that we're nuts.

[oneoff]

Cara, I was there too.

It was either the first or second "World Series" put on by Ed Otto. Everyone was taking boards out of the stands and burning them in barrels down by the wall. I can not tell you any details of the racing other than it was the best racing I had ever seen at that young time in my life. I still can't wait for "Speedweeks" all these years later. I see people, fans and racers, that I have seen for four decades how. Allways a great time.

[ModelCarMan]

November 1995 NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Temp was around 30 degree, but the wind-chill made it close to zero. I froze my butt off!!!

[flvideo]

You know something just occured to me My wife is always telling me I suffer from something called noassatall. Now I know what happened.! I froze it off. Bob...

[Frasson118]

I grew up in NY, have been skiing in Colorado, fishing in Canada, and camping in the Adirondak Mountains... and none were even close to a night during the King of the 360's at East Bay.

I had on thermal underwear, sweat pants and jeans, plus 3 pairs of socks on the bottom. On top, was thermals, a T-shirt, a flannel shirt, a sweat shirt, a sweater and a jacket. Plus, I was wrapped in a sleeping bag, with only my eyes and cheeks peeking through.

And, I froze my ass off...!

I've survived the "Blizzard of '77", night-time ski lifts rides on the top of the Continental Divide that took about 30 minutes to reach the top, and days waiting at the school bus stop, with my mid-back length hair that was so frozen you could almost break it, and yet my coldest was in Gibsonton, FL.

[Cara]

I attended the 1997 truck race at Walt Disney World Speedway and boy was it cold for a Sunday afternoon. A friend of mine from the Mopar car club gave me his ticket since he had to work and it was at the top of the grandstand in turn one. There was banners behind me but the wind was terrible. A lot of people left early and few of the ones left were spotters for the teams. One of the spotters had me get right in front of them to help keep the wind off of me so I could enjoy the race.

And oneoff I remember them taking boards out of the grandstands at NSS. It had to be in the very late 70's or early 80's when this happened. I know the next night we came we sat in the truck in the pits with the heater on.

[tccaz]

I must have been at NSS when Cara was there 28 degrees no one ever believes me when I tell them. We were at the gatornationals one year 80 on Saturday rain on Sunday, Monday when they ran the race it was in the 30s with the wind howling from the north, had to go to the spectator side to get in the sun so we could tolerate it but we stayed. But we aren't race fanatics not us.

[tccaz]

Almost forgot the Turkey Trots Nationals they used to run at Orlando was so cold people were burning the boards from the bleachers in the trash cans to stay warm.

[Jane]

Yes Bob, I remember that day at Citrus and it was COLD. Also Cara, I was at that truck race also and even thought it was daytime, it was COLD also. I dropped my brand new camera because I was so cold and broke it. But I was there.

I think the problem is that we are use to having cold days but not so many right in a row. We usually get 2 or 3 and then it is warm again but normally it does not last this long.

[Rick B.]

A cold night ay Volusia !

I worked the flag stand one night at Volusia, the temp was 20 degrees, I think in 94 or 95. I was in the flag stand for 8 hours, made one bathroom brake and had a few fans bring me hot coffee or hot chocolate. I took my glove off and accidentally placed in on the metal on the stand, it took my skin off.....ouch, and I have to tell you that was cold and I love cold, but that was a tough night.

[Winger]

I've been to plenty of races in the 20's and 30's in upstate NY. I've hunted in -20 degree weather and snowmobiled at -40 once. But the coldest I've ever been was last year's Winter Spectacular at Citrus in December. I think the temp was probably in the upper 30's but there was a wind. I just wasn't dressed right for it and was stuck in the infield taking photos. I kept looking at Jack Smith and Rick Anges in their enclosed tower wishing I was them. It's funny that a lot of Northerners will say the coldest they've ever felt is in Florida.

[BJ Cavin]

I've been told that Florida cold feels much colder because it is a "wet" cold. Up north when it gets really cold the humidity drops very low, but in Florida the humidity stays higher. Because the air is "wet" it actually robs more heat from any exposed areas of the body, thus making it feel much worse than it really is.

[roundtracker]

The coldest at a race I ever was at Ocala for an All-pro race. We carried in a lot of clothes. We froze the whole time in the stands. Then when we got ready to leave my brother said it feels like we are leaving something because we brought so much in. I said that's because we are wearing it all.

[Jimmy McKinley]

Gotta be New Smyrna - just about any year for the World Series...LOL...I remember as a kid ('78 Series), I had on two pairs of socks, sweat pants with jeans over them, a T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, AND a winter coat, with a winter hat and gloves. Oh yeah...and sneakers...LMAO. Dunno what the temperature was, but we "camped out" in the back of my dad's El Camino, with a trash can fire goin' outside...

I also remember one year in the '80s ('88 maybe?), that cold Atlantic rolled in, covered the track, you couldn't see pit road from the grandstands, let alone the frontstretch, and they ended up postponing the features. They ended up running double features the next night.