Your First Year???

[f1ansel]

Dude, I live only 30 min. away and only started coming 10 yrs. ago with my dad. Having been around here all my life, I look back with disgust at all the races I missed. Now I come down in the middle of the week sometimes just to get the vibe of this place just hoping to see a car test or something.
     F1...

[harryglorydays]

My first year was 1965. I grew up in Tampa and had become an avid race fan in the early 60s when I was 12-13. But unfortunately Sebring was always in the height of tax season and my Dad was an accountant. Finally, in 65 he said we could go, but it would have to be in the afternoon and we would stay until dark. Good thing! That was the year of the "great downpour" (typical florida rain to us natives) and we got there right after the rain stopped.

I can't tell you what it felt to finally see the Chaparrals, the GT-40s, the Daytona Cobra Coupes. The pages of R&T came alive.

When I turned 18 (1968) I became a flagman and, since I was very poor at it, they didn't care if I went off and took photos. this led to being asked to take photos for the track press officer, which I did starting in 1969 through 1971. After that, the cars became less interesting for me and I was developing some other interests so I stopped going until 2001, when I re-established my connection with the track and shot some of the last few years.

It was a bit of a shock when I went back in 2001. Clean bathrooms! No waiting! Decent food! Air conditioned shuttle vans for the photographers! The downside is that the security has tightened enormously - and for good reason. Even with all the proper credentials, firesuit, etc., getting into the "hot" pits can be difficult.

I was also impressed with the turnout. They said it is in excess of 100,000 which is bigger than it ever was. That's great. I hope Sebing lives on forever.

[natefromohio]

I know I'm about a year late for this thread but I thought I'd put in my own little story. I first went to Sebring two years ago, which would be the '04 race i believe (Adam correct me if I am wrong).  I have been going to the ALMS races for many years prior. I was at the first ALMS race at Mid-Ohio. I had received a letter in the mail from Don Panoz, obviously not personalized, reagarding  the start of the series at Mid-Ohio and offered some tickets at a discounted rate. I got it from one of the magazines i subscribed to. I told Adam about it and we figured we'd go check it out and do some camping out there. Skip forward a few years and we have been attending almost every race of the season each year there. Being the random jackasses that we are, we both enjoy going on completely pointless road trips. The longer the better.  One year, he said we should make the trip to Sebring to watch the 12-hour race since it aligned perfectly with our spring break. We got the tickets, and come March, we loaded up his Ranger and began the trek down I-75. It was one of the greatest times of my life. We came into Sebring at about 630 am and grabbed some breakfast at the McDonald's. After that we headed out ot the track, not really knowing exactly where it was. Eventually we got directions from a friendly older gentleman in town along the side of the road. We pulled into the gates at about 730 on Friday morning. The track was already buzzing with life. I was driving Adams's truck for the final leg and we were both very tired. I must have stalled the truck at least 5 times  trying to navigate the maze that is Green Park after driving for almsot 24 hours straight. We picked a spot near turn 2 (luckily we learned that year the parties on the other side and have ben there since). We put up the tent and very qickly crashed for the morning and slept through most of the afternoon. After waking up and and beginning to take a look at our surroundings, we saw that the tent looked absolutely horrible, almost as if the people who put it together were half-asleep or something. So we had to take it down put it back up all over again.
    Race day was one of the most exciting for me ever. The cars were nothing new to me, but this was my first endurance race. I couldn't take it all in. We watched the race from every turn at the track and were completely marvelled at the sheer size of this event. I have to admit, I was not expecting sebring to be quite the party that it is. However i was relieved that the main demogrpahic of Sebring was not uptight people who were all in bed by 9 pm (and enforced the quiet hours after that strictly, like at mid-ohio). Fortunately, Mid-Ohio has gotten quite a bit more lively in the past years. As we packed up our stuff and left Sebring for that year, I left as an addicted fan. That year began what will hopefully be the first of many ywt to come and one day, i will be the one telling stories about having been to Sebring for 35 years running.

[Wes83]

1979, I remember going with my dad which seems to be a popular beginning and we rented an old U-haul truck.  We slept in the back of the old truck and watched the races from the roof.  As a bonus at age 7, I saw my first set of tits in Green Park.  2006 will be my 26th trip with dad.  Sebring Forever!

[natefromohio]

I forgot to add some stuff to my first experience. So after we left Sebring, we hit up Daytona for a few days. This one night we were there, we went to a kind of podunk bar. After we were there for about 30 minutes, this huge guy that had to about 300 pounds of muscle walks in with a woman who looked a lot like Barbie. Turns out it was Shawn Michaels, the pro wrestler who was the one who finally dethroned Hulk Hogan (I believe. I've never actually followed any sort of wrestling). We bullshitted with him for several hours. And there was a woman at the bar who had to be about 50 years old at least. She was wearing very low rise pants that kept revealing a very sickening sight of a thong and a tight tube top shirt that keep slipping down as well. On top of that , the front left quarter of her head was completely chaved with a tattoo on it that went form the middle of her head down to the middle of her face. It looked kinda like mike tyson's tattoo except covered more of her head. She literally looked like a cyborg. a cyborg who couldn't dance but would bump and grind with every young guy who would get within 10 feet of her

[racerboyadam]

She was wearing very low rise pants that kept revealing a very sickening sight of a thong and a tight tube top shirt that keep slipping down as well.

By low rise, the pants only covered half of her ass when she was standing.  Her whole ass fell out when she sat down.  She was one of those things that you just could not look away from because she was so ugly.

[Team_Tampa]

She literally looked like a cyborg. a cyborg who couldn't dance

So you hit it right? :twisted:
Great story, it's fun reading about everyone's traditions, excitement, and whatnot's.

My first year was 1984 and I was 7. My Dad had been going with his buds but decided to bring me and my brother (who was 10) that year. Here are a few things I remember:

Fire! What little kid (or adult man) doesn't have a little pyro in him. I remember spending hours sawing 2x4's and waiting for the the sun to go down so we could start our fire. Then we would poke it & stir it with sticks and constantly find things (paper towels, paper plates, newspapers, GI Joe men) to throw in it. Great parenting...hand your 7 year old a rusty saw during the day and let him burn things at night.

Dirt. I was just covered in it. That was back in the day when they had that big trench dug around the fences where everyone threw their trash. Remember how there used to be a dust and smoke cloud that hovered all week? No showers!

Alcohol. Our "neighbor" took a pole and slid a bunch of rolls of paper towels on it and then did the next logical thing...lit it on fire. He then ran around in his underwear screaming and spinning as the flames lit up the sky. I asked my dad what was up with that guy and he said "that's what happens when some people drink too much." What I didn't realize was that me and my friends would eventualy become that guy...atleast for brief moments during the week .

Cars. Who needed cars with rusty saws, fire, dirt, and drunk people. I do remember thinking the Jaguar's and the Kreepy Krawly cars were cool. But I got to play with fire!

Women. Well, I don't remember any puppies that year but have made many fond memories since.

This year me, my brother, and my dad will make that Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning trek to the track for what will be my 23rd year in a row.

Fah King Sebring baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[natefromohio]

So you hit it right? :twisted:

No i definitely did not

[SACK-U]

She was wearing very low rise pants that kept revealing a very sickening sight of a thong

http://www.whaletail.com/

1967 ... at the ripe old age of 9 years old.

The high rear-wing Chapparal, Ford MK II's, Ferrari Dino's & Porsche 906's.

Lived in Daytona Beach at the time, had been to a couple 24 hours with Dad & some neighbors, when one of them (Bob Jenks, after all these years still remember his name!) suggested we go to Sebring.  Got there Friday afternoon, spent the night sleeping in the car (Dad & Bob never slept, at that age what did I know?) and then walking all over on Saturday.  As so many of you know, one trip to Sebring and you're hooked.  Moved around some, couldn't make it to many more but when we moved to St. Petersburg (from Tennessee) in 1971 made every race until 1980 after I'd joined the Navy and couldn't make it home.

This will be my first in nearly 10 years ... but will probably be a bi-annual event from now on, if not more frequent.

Cheers,
Scott

[GT69hairpinTrooper]

Had to bring this topic TTT

[AirFish1]

don't remember exact year.either 1981 or 1982. i was 7 or 8.i have been hooked on racing ever since.we slept on a mattress in the back of my dads van,backed up to the back straight. in the middle of the night we hopped the fence and went accros the track where they used to park the goodyear blimp.the captain let me sit in it.pretty cool at that age.withn the next couple of years igot my first taste of winners circle.dad and i snuck in with photographers.then i discovered the zoo.i could go on forever with memories from then on. what an atmosphere! GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT TIMES.2006 was no exception.Can't wait till 07. [/code]

[bro_ken_flush]

For meit was aday trip in 75'. Four of us high school buddy's went in a 68' Dodge with a 383. we spent the day and left after the race was over. After that scouting trip, we strated camping over the next several years. By the way, on the trip home, the car over heated somewhere outside of Bradenton. It had blown a freeze plug and we had to stop and put water in the radiator every few miles.

Bonsai,

Ken

[Misplaced Floridian]

Four of us ...

You, Me, Larry (The Three Musketeers), ... &?  Curt Reed?

[BillBones]

Amazing how a thread can be resurrected after eight months of dormancy...