Your First Year???

[DKWEST]

1969

My first year,... 9 years old,... My Uncle took my Cousin and myself for my cousins birthday. He drove a press bus and we got to ride all over the track.

That's the Day I became a Fan. Those Cars were, and still are totally awesome. I will Never forget the first time I saw the GT40 go by.  I remember exactly where I was and can relive it vividly in my mind. I had never seen any cars like that,... they were futuristic.  We followed that car the whole race and of course it ended up winning. Of course Ford hasnt won since but that another story.

Sebring became an anual thing on my Cousins birthday ever since. He will be there next week too.

What was your 1st Sebring Experiance???

[SACK-U]

I believe he year was 1987. I was a young punk 15 at the time. My parents decided to rent a motorhome and park at the spot we are in now to this day in turn 1. I don't remember the date but I vividdly remember the trip.

The motorhome we rented was a monster from the early 70's. The gas gauge didn't work and everything rattled, shimmied and shook down the highway. If we had to stop in 100 yards, we were all dead. We left st pete during the beginning of afternoon rush hour and headed over the skyway. With normal winds and steering so sloppy my dad could not keep it in one lane. We all felt releived as we got off the interstate to take 64 across the state.

My sister (2 years older) and I were playing cards and drinking beer at the table (yea real sheltered life) when we saw a herd of cows out the window. Of course I decided to yell Moooo like a moron and we laughed. So we looked for another cow farm to yell Mooo at. That happened 1 more time until we came across the third. We get ready to yell moo, so we have our faces right up to the screen windows as we approach the next farm. We both let out a Mo...oh. Next to the road was not a heard of cows, but a rather big bull having his way with one of the women. Everyone in the vehicle burst into laughter and this set the tone of our sebring experience.

Yes we all had a good time. We met up with ssome friends that were staying across the track from us on the inside of turn 1 behind the blue hangar, trackside. We would visit them after the sun went down by jumping the fences and crossing the track.

With these guys I experienced grain alchohol, the sickness of smoking a cigar and inhaling, and being so drunk in green park, I walked over someone's dome tent because I could not see it. I was often too drunk to get over the tire wall and through the photo hole to get home.

I could go on for hours.
Man, now I really can't wait for Sebring.

[KTJeffries]

I cant even remember...

[DKWEST]

I believe he year was 1987. I was a young punk 15 at the time. My parents decided to rent a motorhome and park at the spot we are in now to this day in turn 1. I don't remember the date but I vividdly remember the trip.

The motorhome we rented was a monster from the early 70's. The gas gauge didn't work and everything rattled, shimmied and shook down the highway. If we had to stop in 100 yards, we were all dead. We left st pete during the beginning of afternoon rush hour and headed over the skyway. With normal winds and steering so sloppy my dad could not keep it in one lane. We all felt releived as we got off the interstate to take 64 across the state.

My sister (2 years older) and I were playing cards and drinking beer at the table (yea real sheltered life) when we saw a herd of cows out the window. Of course I decided to yell Moooo like a moron and we laughed. So we looked for another cow farm to yell Mooo at. That happened 1 more time until we came across the third. We get ready to yell moo, so we have our faces right up to the screen windows as we approach the next farm. We both let out a Mo...oh. Next to the road was not a heard of cows, but a rather big bull having his way with one of the women. Everyone in the vehicle burst into laughter and this set the tone of our sebring experience.

Yes we all had a good time. We met up with ssome friends that were staying across the track from us on the inside of turn 1 behind the blue hangar, trackside. We would visit them after the sun went down by jumping the fences and crossing the track.

With these guys I experienced grain alchohol, the sickness of smoking a cigar and inhaling, and being so drunk in green park, I walked over someone's dome tent because I could not see it. I was often too drunk to get over the tire wall and through the photo hole to get home.

I could go on for hours.
Man, now I really can't wait for Sebring.

Well the motorhome has been upgraded,... now you hang out with men dressed as cows (mooooo),... but the rest sounds just like last year!!!

[1BaD97TA]

I've been going since I was like 3 years old.....I was born and raised in Sebring and lived not even 10 minutes from the track!  BUT, my first experience staying their all 4 days and nights was about 5 years ago! Got my first taste of the Zoo and all that nonsense, got trashed for the first time and you know the rest......Now I bring all my friends and have a good 'ol time, I'm taking a week of school to go to the races because that's how much I love going!!!!!

[Chris24]

2002, for the 50th race was my first visit.  A Le Mans regular, I decided that I needed to see the Sebring 12 hours at least once, so we decided that we would make it special and attend the 50th running.

3 of us booked our flights from England and got a very good deal for the week on a nice new villa in the Orlando area. You know the deal, private pool and room each , ensuite walk in fridge etc. We basically got it for the same as it would have cost for a week in a small hotel room.

We drove down to Sebring on the Friday and spent the day there and got my first experience of Green Park and the zoo and all the hospitality.

 We then drove back to Orlando. Race day was foggy and we missed the exit from I4 to US 27 and turned round and went back. in the confussion I turned left as we had the day before, but i should have turned right as we were travelling the other direction. I thought something didn't look right after about 5 miles but the others hadn't said anything so I thought we must have been going in the right direction. Eventually after going 40 miles in the wrong direction we worked out what had gone wrong and turned round.

We must have made that journey down US27 at about 90 - 100 mph all the way and got to the track with about 5 mins to spare before the race started.

Shortly after the race started, I went to the airport and boarded the B-17 for my prebooked flight on the Collings Foundation B-17 "Nine O Nine" and went for a 25 minute , $350 dream flight of a lifetime over the circuit.

I remember it was damn hot and I nearly passed out about 3pm with the heat.
But the place left a lasting impression and i have been back every year since, but camped at the track instead. So this will be my 4th year in a row. It started out as being a once only visit !

[Chris24]

What the F#@*,

I typed "really hot" and it appeared as "Dyson hot" when it posted it. Weird !

[SACK-U]

Aw crap. I mistakenly had the forum pruning on the site mod area part that explains the word censoring


Da mn = Damn

You can try this feature out by typing a curse word and then hitting preview

[amazing]

My first year was 1982,camped between the walk over bridge and the hairpin.Most of that first year was mostly a blur.The one thing that comes to mind is as a group we convinced one of outr buddies that in the middle
of the night he must have woke up and went for a walk.We told him the cops brought him back wearing only one flip flop.Sad part is my close friend
Dennis Fisher passed on at a young age and he never found out it was all a gag.

[ezed]

1980! First year, only missed 2 since. We pulled up in a rented motorhome and parked on the east side of the driveover bridge, one row back from the front. Walked out of the house on wheels, immediately got goosebumps and about 30 seconds later a car went flipping just past the driveover bridge. HOLY S--T! Hooked forever. So many memories and laughs, I start strecthing my face about a week before cause I never laugh so much as these 4 days.
See ya guys at the Keg party

[gulf917]

1977.
     We were living in Tarpon Springs and my dad wanted to take the family to Sebring for the race. He has always been a race fan, starting at Le Mans and the European races during his stint in the army while in Germany. So naturally he would pass this enthusiasm to his son. I was five at the time and still remember it well. We had the RV and camped in Green Park. The RV’s CO2 sensor was broken and always going off. Green Park in the mid-70’s was a much wilder place than it is now. Motorcycles and three wheelers were allowed and bicycles were all over the place. I even remember dogs running around. My dad would take a tape recorder with him and we would walk around the pits and as the cars would fire up, he would whisper the name of the car to me while I barked out the name. I got very good at telling cars apart from just the sounds. I actually found one of tapes a few years ago and had a good smile.
     Dad has always been a Porsche fan so naturally I grew up loving the German automobiles and still do to this day. I have seen some spectacular sights through the years and have met so many drivers it would take forever to list them. I have met actors (Craig T Nelson, Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, and Lorenzo Lamas (actually saw his car burn up right in front of our motor home with him stuck in it).
     Sebring was such a great experience for him that he decided to move the family to Sebring and we moved there in 1978. I grew up in the small town and went to every race since. He used to pull me out of school during the race weekend to the envy of my schoolmates. Funny though, most of the locals never really got into the race and I quickly became the authority of the track to my schoolmates.
     So, anyway this is year 28 in a row. We have had an RV spot on turn 1 for about 18 years, and I swear will have it until I die. I learned to drink out at the track. I used to think i was sly by not letting my dad know i was getting blitzed, but he alway knew and was ok with it. I moved away from Sebring for college, but I still return every year. I bring my wife with me now and she loves every aspect of it. This will be her 4th year. Maybe when I die, I will have my ashes spread over turn 1.

[GT69hairpinTrooper]

My girlfriend and I were on Spring Break in 1969 and we camped by the big tree which is now behind the Spring Break Zone.  I used that same spot for the next five years or so that I came to the race.  It was shared by the Roush racing family which made for interesting neighbors.  
I haven't been every year since then but I sure I've been near a dozen times.  Lately I've set up in the Mobil 1 VIP area and spent most of my days in the pit area or the outside of the hairpin.  Looks like I've got to move this year since this area is now the Corvette Corral and I'm bringing the SUV and not the 'vette.
See you all on Friday a.m.!!

[BuckeyeBreezer]

First year:  2005!

I started really following the ALMS in 2002 after a last minute decision to go to Mid Ohio, I've been hooked ever since.  I worked with and crewed for Intersport last year and decided at the end of the season that I was going to get to more races this year.  Then I saw the video that one of you guys made and posted on the series web page that linked over here.  As soon as I watched that start and saw the cars come screaming out from under the bridge to take the green, I was hooked.  I knew I had to get to this year's race.  

I just got home about an hour ago.  We drove straight through after leaving the track at about 8:30 last night.  With an 18 hour drive ahead of us, my dad and I wanted to beat the traffic out of the track.  As for the whole weekend, I'm already trying to figure out who I'm going to get to help me split the cost of an RV for next year.  That was one hell of a weekend.  We got to the track about 10 Thursday morning then sat around in the rain most of the day.  If any of you were out near turn 3 during the vintage race, the two dumbasses in the red and blue ponchos sitting there getting soaked were my dad and I.   I've never been so pissed at rain, but so happy to be in it at the same time.  My biggest regret of the entire trip was letting my dad make hotel reservations.  We were in freakin Kissimmee (or however the hell you spell it)!!!  I also learned not to take 17/92 all the way down from there to 27.  You guys have a hell of a lot of orange groves down there.  And what's the massive tower I saw off in the distance when I was near Lake Wales?  Anyway, Friday and Saturday were much better.  

I spent most of my time at the track in turn 3 on the mound.  I'm big into taking photos so I did end up getting to just about everywhere around the track.  Saturday we parked in the handicapped parking near the scoring tower at start/finish (my dad has heart problems... just in case the asshole who questioned my parking there reads this) and we had an interesting group next to us.  The most fun of which was the guy dressed as the pope walking around blessing women and vehicles with his cross and two foot long "sexual aid device."  I kept reading where you guys would make comments such as "what race" and kept trying to figure out how you could turn your back to the race to enjoy the party.  I now understand.  The race itself was great, aside from Intersport going out early, but the entire Sebring atmosphere is something someone has to experience, it can't be explained.  Even though it was only for a few days, it was well worth the 2700 mile drive to be able to get out of this nasty Ohio weather and spend a few afternoons and evenings enjoying the hot Florida sun with 150,000 like minded "friends" and seeing the best racing in the world.  That being said, where do I sign up for next year?

[rickslick]

I would guess about 1956 or 1957.
I am now 50 years old (born in 1954) and my father would take me. He once told me that I was just walking when he took me for the first time. Been to probably about 40+ races. I missed only 2 since about 1970. The fuel shortage race that never was and another time in about 1988 or 1989 because of work. I will never miss another race because of work, I have my priorities straight now.......Rick

[dalejr8afan]

Sorry to say that this was my first year.  I have always enjoyed this type of racing,  and I have live only about two hours away for the past 35 years.  Although this was my first time, it is now going to be a yearly event.