If you’ve always wanted to take the family out to the races but couldn’t afford it, I would suggest that you check out Rockingham on the first weekend in November.  On November 1st, the Hooters Pro Cup, American 200 will be run at the Rock.  This is the series season finale so the champion and the rookie of the year will all be determined after the race.  Festivities start Friday the 31st with practice, qualifying and a Pit Crew competition.  All this for $10.00 and children under 12 get in free with a paid adult.

Saturday the 1st starts out with tours of the pit areas for $10.00 per person.  Drivers will be signing autographs at 11:30am and all the pre-race festivities kick-off at 12:30pm with the race starting at 1:00pm.  Now, here’s the absolute best part, reserved tickets are only $25.00 and $28.00 depending on where you sit and kids under 12, again, get in free with a paid adult.

Need somewhere to stay while you’re at the race?  Check out this.  Camping in all the outside lots at the Speedway is, you guessed it, free.  Thunder Alley RV slots are $100.00 for a view overlooking the backstretch.

Let’s do the math real quick.  If you’re the average family of four, you would spend $20.00 on Friday.  On Saturday, you’d spend $40.00 for the pit tours if all four of you went plus $56.00 for event tickets for a total of $126.00 plus food, fuel and souvenirs for a race weekend for the entire family.  Wow, that’s not bad even in this economy.

I would urge everyone to schedule some time off in November and take advantage of this chance to check out one of the best tracks around.  If you’re a NASCAR fan, this is one of the original tracks that was all but lost until Andy Hillenburg snapped it from the jaws of death. 

Great racing, family outing and easy on the purse to boot.  All this makes the Hooters Pro Cup, American 200 at Rockingham my top pick for the 2008 season.  Check out the details at www.rockinghamracewaypark.com/.