CUP: Infield Fans Spin To NASCAR's Rhythm

Sprint Cup

CUP: Infield Fans Spin To NASCAR’s Rhythm

Inside the Phoenix oval, village of campers live racing dream, watch from their roofs.

Bob Golfen | Posted November 13, 2009 Phoenix, AZ

Bridge watchers gaze while the Number 43 car driven by Reed Sorenson passes in the alley toward the track for practice. (Photo: Bob Golfen)

Oh, those lucky folks in the infield.

Not only do they get the best view of the NASCAR action at Phoenix International Raceway, they get to stay inside the one-mile oval the whole time, night and day.

Each morning, they awaken to the biggest alarm clock in the world as the NASCAR teams fire up. There’s even a camp grocery store where the infield folk and the legion of other campers parked outside the track can pick up anything they need.

Infield campers get the best panoramic views from the roofs of their trailers and motorhomes. (Photo: Bob Golfen)

While all the lesser race fans must park their butts in the packed grandstands or view the racing from a lofty perch on the fourth-turn hillside, the infield people get panoramic views from the tops of their trailers and motorhomes.

Standing on their roofs during the races, they slowly turn 360 degrees as they follow the action.

These are all dedicated NASCAR fans, parked side-to-side along the southern arc of the track, the campsites festooned with flags and regalia for their favorite drivers. Most of the infielders have had their spots for many years, and pass them down to friends and family if they ever give them up.

Roger Woodlaw and his buddy Craig Kochheim, both of Los Angeles, rolled in Wednesday, backing their fifth wheel into its customary spot about 50 yards north of the track’s southern loop. They most likely won’t leave PIR until they head for home Monday morning.

They’ve been coming to the annual Phoenix race for 15 years, Woodlaw said, and have had this primo location for the past six. Some of Kochheim’s family members, including his sister, Wendy Wright and her kids, occupy another trailer further down the line.

“It’s always exciting,” Woodlaw, 59, said of the PIR racing. “Sometimes we sit in the stands or go up on the hill, but now we’ll be up on the roof.”

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Bob Golfen

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