Sometimes the neck can get red from a little yardwork or time on the lake, but in this case, NASCAR being what NASCAR is, the nickname fits here. Last fall, we took a long weekend to Talladega (Alabama) for the YellaWood 500. Think Ricky Bobby.

Talladega Superspeedway opened in 1969, is 2.66 miles around, and is the longest oval in NASCAR. It’s also the fastest (the 212-mph qualifying lap in 1987 is still a Cup Series record) and the reason restrictor plates exist in the first place. If you’re going to do NASCAR once, do it here (or maybe Daytona).

First stop, non-negotiable by some in the party, was Buc-ee’s. If you’ve never been, imagine a gas station that decided to become a small city. Beaver logos everywhere, brisket sandwiches, a long row of soda fountains, and a wall of jerky flavors. And, it turns out the food tastes better on a warm curb.

Our AirBnb deserves its own paragraph, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was a little bit art school gone wrong.

Race day is something. A combination of people watching, an immense facility, cars that you feel before you see, and some more people watching. Oh, the characters. And, at this race, even one fan telling the cars which direction to go on each lap.

We ended up at a Cajun place for dinner. It was, well, fine… but what I did learn is that Cajun is synonymous with deep-fried. Talladaga, wasn’t our first, won’t be our last.