Bruce, I learned a long time ago that having an important NASCAR race to watch is an even better way to save your back on the weekends than working on the house. Better than a hot tub any day. I have even learned to nap thru laps 50 to 100 and still wake up if anything important happens. This takes a lot a practice and you really have to watch a lot of racing to get good at it. For live racing you have Winston West, Reb-Co, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck racing in your area. I think Sonoma is the closest to you for Winston Cup races. I collect autographed trading cards and have them from 482 different people. There has never been any charge except for a check made out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which I gladly wrote. It is getting more commercialized but still nowhere close to the stick and ball sports. All in all, we love it. Henry