Who believes that In the middle of the desert, an old Southern race track (NASCAR.com)?”
sits in perhaps the most picturesque setting on the Sprint Cup circuit, a valley surrounded by ochre hillsides and giant cacti. In the evenings, the sunset-tinged sky radiates with color. Clamber to the top of Monument Hill, the promontory overlooking the race track where fans can buy a general admission ticket for $35, and the natural splendor of the Sonoran Desert and the Estrella Mountains unfolds before you. Remove the speedway and its man-made surroundings, and it looks very much like the kind of place you’d be hard-pressed to survive. Yes, this is very much the American West, the desert just as you’d envision it—with rocky outcrops, valley floors covered in sage and mesquite, and small, half-hidden scaly things slithering around in the underbrush. There are rattlesnakes and scorpions and Gila monsters out there, for sure. Given the landscape, you’d seem just as likely to run across Pancho Villa or Wyatt Earp. The backdrop at Phoenix International Raceway sets a scene no other tra
Clamber to the top of Monument Hill, the promontory overlooking the race track where fans can buy a general admission ticket for $35, and the natural splendor of the Sonoran Desert and the Estrella Mountains unfolds before you. Remove the speedway and its man-made surroundings, and it looks very much like the kind of place you’d be hard-pressed to survive. Yes, this is very much the American West, the desert just as you’d envision it—with rocky outcrops, valley floors covered in sage and mesquite, and small, half-hidden scaly things slithering around in the underbrush. There are rattlesnakes and scorpions and Gila monsters out there, for sure. Given the landscape, you’d seem just as likely to run across Pancho Villa or Wyatt Earp. The backdrop at Phoenix International Raceway sets a scene no other track in NASCAR can match. The backdrop at Phoenix Intern… NASCAR.com – Nov 11, 2:41 pm EST * NASCAR Gallery The race track, though, is a differ
