a day at buttonwillow race track

Armen Doumanian5/25/14Anthropology 102Photo Observation Project

A race track is a place for race cars. It is intended for people who like adrenaline and competing against one another. More importantly it’s a place where lots of venders come out to introduce their new products and cars they have built.

The race track has two sections one, is the actual race track and second is where the cars are parked and prepped to be raced. In the middle of all this is the control tower where they recorded the track times and make announcements. The tower is also used for people to stand and watch what's going on the track.

At this track all the food/snacks are located on the ground floor of the control tower. There food ranges from burgers, chine's food, and Mexican food. The prices are a bit too high but it is expected because there is no other place in the area to by food unless you bring your own.

Some people come to the race track to observe, gather information about how some of the racecar builds are done so that they can use the same ideas on there own cars. Some people come to take recreational photos to post on their facebook, instagram, or twitter.

People who are there to race show up with all their equipment such as tires, tools, jacks, fuel. Racers are allowed to have their own work stations. A car needs to be checked before it goes on the track. Usually the tires get swapped out depending on the track conditions. People bring extra parts just in case anything goes wrong during the race. It is important to bring your own parts because there is no store for spare parts.

One of the most exciting parts of the track are the starting line. This is where everyone revs their motors and prepares for a launch. The start line has a checkered flag symbolizing where to line up the cars. Each car gets checked before they are allowed to race. They check if you are wearing the proper equipment and if your car passes all the requirements.

At this point people are racing each other. There are different types of race types but the one I have presented is called a time attack. In this type of race the driver has five laps to get the best track record. Who ever gets the best time from all five attempts wins. there are three possible placements.

Time to podium. Who ever got the best track time wins first place. In these races people win money and some times end up getting sponsored from other companies. Sponsors are a great thing to have because they provide parts for cheap and they sometimes give you free parts. Another benefit is free races.