Track lighting
LIFELOCK.COM 400
JOLIET -- Jim McJunkin describes his wife, Rose, as the "Night Race Queen."
And, she agrees.
(LIZ WILKINSON ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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"When I heard the boys would be racing under the lights, there was no way I was going to miss it," said Rose, of Prospect Heights.
And, that it was practically in her backyard -- Joliet -- was another reason why Rose and Jim camped out for four days in an RV with their children, Samantha, 9, and Jim, 11.
Rose has only one complaint about Chicagoland Speedway's first night race: It started too early. It was still too bright outside when the Dollar General 300 began at 7 p.m. Friday, she said.
"I couldn't wait until it got dark," she said. "I thought it was beautiful. It just makes the track real pretty having the cars out there."
Her son agreed. "It even makes it more exciting when they have the lights on and it's dark," he said.
For Samantha, Saturday's LifeLock.com 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet was a chance to stay up past her 9 p.m. bedtime.
And for hubby, who spent the afternoon floating on Spot, an inflatable sea dragon in their small pool, night races were a lot cooler.
"You get a nice breeze. It's beautiful," he said.
For Joliet police Det. Tizoc Landeros, the night races meant a longer work day, but also some nice overtime pay.
"Last night, I was here until 2 a.m., and I was back here at 10 a.m.," he said. "It's good money."
But it was also a chance for him to talk to more people as he patrolled the grounds in a golf cart, helping anyone in need of assistance.
Landeros stopped to help Jerry Pond, of La Grange, who was walking around lost with two bags of ice, looking for a friend who was having a tailgate party at one of the RV campgrounds.
Landeros gave him a lift and helped Pond find his destination.
"I would have been walking a long time," Pond said.
Landeros said people are friendly, offering him soda, water and food.
"It's fun for me to come over here and work," he said.
Doug Punke, of Morris, camped out at the Speedway Ridge. With lawn chairs on a flatbed truck parked along the fence, he had a bird's eye view and feel of the backstretch.
"You can feel the rubber come up and hit your face," Punke said.
He liked the idea of night races because of the slower weekend pace.
"You get Sunday to clean up and relax, and you are ready to go to work Monday," he said.
For the last seven years, the races have been held Saturday and Sunday afternoons. That meant if it rained on Sunday, the race was postponed until Monday. Now that the races were moved to Friday and Saturday night, there was some extra cushioning to enjoy the weekend, said Kevin Rusk, of Geneseo.
"I love nights. Bring down the night," he said. "If we do get rained out Saturday, we get to race on Sunday and not Monday."
And for Anthony Salton, 17, of Shorewood, night races meant more time to get autographs from drivers, such as Richard Petty.
Plus, he loves watching the cars race at night.
"The cars just glow," he said. "It's a lot more exciting -- better racing."
