For an inexpensive Friday evening of sport, try racin'

An overlooked outlet for sports in Wake County is racin' on Friday nights at the Wake County Speedway. I have lived in the area for more than 20 years and threatened to go dozens of times - and finally did so last Friday night. And, I'm going back again.

I probably still would not have gone had my son not been a fan of Lighting McQueen - the animated movie car. I knew he'd love it. He did enjoy the racing (and the snow cone) but he was getting tired because the finals in each division didn't even start until his bedtime. So, we missed the wild finale race. Luckily, some newspapers still cover local racing and I got a good review of the evening from The Herald newspaper - click here to read it.

The atmosphere was true blue traditional America, complete with a prayer and the singing of the national anthem prior to the racing (plus, a family friendly area where there is no alcohol or profanity allowed). We sat in regular seating and weren't bothered - except for a whiff of tobacco smoke every now and then.

In a time of globalization dominance and politically correct celebrations of diversity of other cultures which have recently come to the area, it is nice to see a throwback night of good ole Southern culture racing at Wake County Speedway, now in its 48th consecutive year.

It's an inexpensive night of entertainment - especially if you take advantage of the buy-one-get-one-free coupon on the Wake County Speedway Web site. Military personnel get discounts, kids five and under are always free, and children 12 and under are free with a five-dollar-off coupon on the Web site. You can even bring in a small cooler, filled with food and drink. Try it out.

The next sporting event I've threatened to attend, but never have, is flat-track women's Roller Derby. When I get around to it, I'll let you know what I think of that.