The 10 Best NASCAR Tracks for Partying

NASCAR is one of America ’s great creations . certainly , auto racing might have its origins in Europe , but we take a mutant full of winding raceway and funny look cars and made it better with Chevy Impalas and C of unexpended turns . And then perfected it with beer .

However , fully realizing that even a diamond cutter on Adderall could n’t focus on cars doing circles for three minute , NASCAR has become as much about the weekend party as it has about the raceway itself . In fact , NASCAR has live through great try of late to move the party from the parking circumstances INTO the sports stadium , and while some might say it ’s vary the conniption for the better ( others say notsomuch ) , the fact rest that the company is a HUGE part of the experience .

And to bump out which raceway throw the best party , we asked a crew of NASCAR fan . These were their top 10 .

NASCAR fans

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10. Texas Motor Speedway

Ft . Worth , TXNASCAR fans bristled when this cooky - stonecutter track opened in 1996 and snatched races away from North Wilkesboro and Rockingham . But this lead in the far northeastern reaches of Ft . Worth has make headway fan over with its company . First , parking lots sometimes open TWO WEEKS before wash day , provide fora lotof extra tailgating clip . Second , the 1.5 - mile track has an expansive infield where car cruise among bead - tossing reveler and fans throw epical nighttime parties . And finally , the pre - race " No Limits Garage Party " carry in , you guessed it , the service department arena has even spawned its own guile beer : the No Limits Checkered Past .

9. Darlington Raceway

Darlington , SCPart of what makes NASCAR parties so special is when they ’re held , and no weekend invites the end - of - summertime - madness better than Labor Day in Darlington . After a brief hiatus , NASCAR is bringing this annual holiday weekend race back to the Lady in Black in 2016 . The secure part about this track is that it ’s not just the fans who get in on the action ; topical anesthetic who inhabit on the adjoining streets rent out camping space on their front lawn and it becomes a community event . More people + more time = one of the best parties in sports .

8. Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead , FLOK , so the party at the final race of the season is n’t the beer - soak celebration of all things Southern that masses typically colligate with NASCAR . What it is , however , is the last probability for corporate presenter to get marque acknowledgement for the year , and in South Beach no less . So , what does that mean ? It mean pretty much everyone who poultice their logotype on a pair of coverall is having some sorting of very important person blowout over race weekend . And even though the airstream still draws every fan from Ocala south , the championship race is just as much about its parties in Miami as it is the ones at the track .

7. Charlotte Motor Speedway

Concord , NCFew tracks have achieved NASCAR ’s aim of moving the party inside the speedway more effectively than Charlotte . The race here is held over Memorial Day weekend which , like it does in Darlington on Labor Day , lends itself to an extended celebration . Charlotte handle it cleanly , giving lover ten solid days of racing and , of course , ten solid days of tailgates . Then on race mean solar day , the track Host full - on concerts ( not the usual 30 - arcminute greatest hitting variety you get after a Friday night baseball game ) from some of the biggest names in euphony like Brantley Gilbert , ZZ Top , and Lee Brice .

6. Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma , CARoad tracks offer a unlike kind of NASCAR party , pose rooter much closer to the action than at traditional speedways . The brownish hills that surround the track in Sonoma make a raw amphitheatre , where people can pull their truck powerful up on the James Jerome Hill and catch the race without putting lawn chairs on the roof . Since the party ’s in wine state , the tailgate can skew more grapes than record hop , and the food commonly runs more inventive than classic barbeque . But none of that make the crowd any tamer . The weather condition in Sonoma is also much more hospitable than other locales , which make this one of the more pleasant , but still exciting , parties of the season .

5. Michigan International Speedway

Brooklyn , MINobody has done more to make airstream weekend three - day destination event than Michigan . Camping here is n’t just about tailgating for an extended weekend ( though it can be ) , it ’s also about the three - day music festival the rail server known as the Keloorah Festival . This twelvemonth , it will showcase the Neighbourhood , Andy Grammer , and Elle King , among others .

4. Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen , NYIf you look at quondam footage or races at Watkins Glen , you ’ll see people setting up makeshift swimming consortium outside the walls of NASCAR ’s old road raceway . This is a perfect example of why route - racetrack political party are so awful : there ’s no distinction between where the cartroad cease and the seats begin , so the feel is more like a region total out to follow a race than a major sporting event . Here you may surf from party to party , venturing from a classy , Churchill Downs - same scene at one turn to a beer - guzzling country crowd at the next . And it all meld together like the fall colour of theFinger Lakes .

3. Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol , TNBristol is , without contention , the most intense experience in NASCAR . The caterpillar tread is the second - small in the Sprint Cup at just over a half - naut mi , but it still seats 160,000 people – or 59,000 more than Daytona . It ’s also set in a canyon inclose by great deal in Eastern Tennessee , which means race noise can climb to a deafening 145 decibels . Not only that , but fans spend an integral hebdomad there , the party stretches for miles , and the place prepare an almost metropolis - like flavor , a sunburn Man without the art . For years this was the heavy tag in sports to get ; make one trip inside the vivid walls of the speedway and you ’ll make love exactly why .

2. Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach , FLWhile it ’s not the Preakness Stakes of motorcar racing that it might have been a few years ago , it is still … Daytona . So while , no , the infield debauchery is n’t worthy of its own edition ofWild Onanymore , the party is still better than almostanywherein sport . The grand infield hosts everything from mega RVs to tent campers to old - school busses , and every neighborhood on the raceway has its own hardening of nightly parties . And the new renovation to Daytona added elevated platforms to the infield , as well as a covered stand saloon with unobstructed sentiment of the action . Throw in a backstretch lake with its own legal profession and Daytona turn out it does n’t need to be out of control to still be a great company .

1. Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega , ALIt ’s not the cleanest . Or the nicest . Or the sleekest . But when it comes to NASCAR parties , nobody ’s beating the mud - soaked fun that is a weekend at Talladega . It ’s even on ourGreat American Bucket List . or else of contend long - standing party traditions like mud rassling , the parade of John Deere tractors , and the Miss Mud Queen Pageant , Talladega has include them in its own event named " The magnanimous One On The Blvd . " That formally sanctioned company start with number one wood thrash beads from floats like it ’s Mardi Gras before spectators take part in case like soundbox pong , BBQ - sauce rassling , and a Jell - O crawl . And while the infield clay still lends itself to plenty of non - sanctioned rowdiness , to its acknowledgment the track let it go and fully cover its use as NASCAR ’s party capital letter .

Matt Meltzer is a faculty writer with Thrillist who strongly advance anyone who ’s never been to a NASCAR race to go to one this class . See some of why you should on his Instagram@meltrez1 .