Many Nascar fans—specifically those on the east coast—have complained this season about late start times to Sunday afternoon races, with some starting close to 3pm Eastern Time. However, these later than prior race starts have found at least one enthusiastic fan in Ray Jonah, resident of the Aleutian island of Adak, Alaska.
 |
| Nascar hotbed! |
“Man, these start times are perfect for my schedule!”, said Jonah when reached for comment. “I usually wake up around 8am on Sundays, so that gives me plenty of time to make myself a coffee and have a snack for breakfast. By 9am my time its usually time to go racing—well, unless it rains.”
Jonah is an avid follower of the sport, which had proven difficult at times while living in one of the most westernmost locations in the United States.
“Before they pushed the start times back, I had races starting as early as 6am my time”, Jonah said. “But now, all us Adak race fans can catch the action live—me, that guy who works over in the environmental cleanup crew, and I think there’s a fisheries warden who’s a big Joey Logano fan.”
Jonah, an employee at the local airport, said he became a fan of the sport while serving in the Air Force.
“Yeah, went into the USAF right out of high school”, Jonah explained. “We were stationed down in Andrews Air Force Base, and a few guys had a connection at Richmond (International Raceway). I went to a few races and was hooked.”
Jonah said that while he was sympathetic to the complaints of east coast race fans dealing with finishes that conflict with Sunday evening plans and Monday morning planning, he feels that the later start times are too much of a boon to change back.
“You don’t know how irritating it is to leave a party at the old pilots’ club on Saturday night because you gotta set your alarm for the next day’s green flag start”, Jonah claimed. “Besides, I’m the biggest race fan I know on Adak Island—and from what I hear, Nascar needs all the fans it can get right now.”