NASCAR fans bring the party to the parking lot

By: Melissa Ruggieri | Times-Dispatch
Published: May 03, 2009

SLIDESHOWS:

• Saturday at RIR - Pre-race

• Saturday at RIR - Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, pt. 1

• Saturday at RIR - Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, pt. 2

SPRINT CUP:

• Kyle Busch triumphs at RIR

• Once again, Hamlin falls short

• WOODY: Kurt Busch, Hornish can't boost Chrysler

• Speed trying to figure it out

• Results - Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400

• 2009 Schedule / 2008 Results

• NASCAR fans bring the party to the parking lot

• NASCAR Notes: Green-yellow start to Russ Friedman 400

EXTRAS:

• DRIVER DAIRY: A.J. Allmendinger

For most NASCAR tailgaters, a sturdy flatbed and an endless cooler of beverages are the only requirements.

But Kent Kannegieter and his group of buddies had another priority -- their own bathroom.

"It's just downright convenient," said Kannegieter, a Henrico County resident, of the portable john stationed on the back of friend Dave Resnick's truck.

The cluster of a dozen friends chipped in for the $94 rental fee and were willing to share with fellow partiers -- for $3 a visit.

"This is all for the fun of it," Resnick said. "The women really appreciate it and the men are much more respectful."

Hours before yesterday's Sprint Cup race was scheduled to start at Richmond International Raceway, the parking lot was a cramped sea of blue, red and green tents.

Flags -- most of them NASCAR, American and Confederate -- flew from the tops of trucks; tailgaters cordoned off their patch of space with barbecue grills, bean bag-toss games and tables laden with plastic cups to play beer pong.

Kathy Clites and her family arrived at 8:30 a.m., and by early afternoon, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan was making bubbles with her nieces, Haidyn, 8 and Kamryn, 4, to keep them amused.

Clites, who traveled from York, Pa., said she wasn't too concerned about the H1N1 swine-flu virus but had taken some precautions.

"We brought our own food to cook out and hand sanitizer," she said. "But we would do that, anyway."

The unpredictable weather was also an issue -- and kept fans bouncing around for shelter.

When the first ominous cloud burst just before 2 p.m. for about 15 minutes, it was obvious that many tailgaters had come prepared as they whipped out their plastic ponchos and hustled their cookout gear into trucks like well-trained Boy Scouts.

Those who hadn't checked the weather forecast could purchase a red plastic wrap for $5.

But rain didn't quash the enthusiasm of clusters of people playing ladder golf -- a game in which the player tosses a string with two rubber balls on the ends, trying to wrap it around the rungs of a plastic ladder-like contraption.

Richmonder Ryan Handley has been attending the Richmond race for seven years, and arrived with his group of 20 friends about 9 a.m.

They, too, had a ladder-golf game stationed by their truck, but had another plan for the rest of the afternoon.

"Drinking. And I'll probably go buy some [souvenirs]," Handley said.

His friend, Alex Bland, stood nearby, clasping a can of beer and a cigarette.

"It's just a good time," he said, surveying the damp, yet spirited scene around him. "Good racing, good friends. It's all good."

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or mruggieri@timesdispatch.com.