Tips for Attending the Speed Street Festival

Every year Uptown Charlotte is transformed for a few days into a haven for race fans. The 600 Festival Associations puts on an event which is known as either the Coca-Cola 600 Festival or Food Lion Speed Street, depending on where you're from. This event brings together bands, race car drivers and a whole lot of other things for fans. It takes place every year during the week of the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race at the nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway. If you've never been before, try some of the following tips to make the day better.

Always check to see what drivers are signing autographs and the rules and regulations in advance. Not all drivers have an open door policy and most require some extra incentive to even make it to the line. We had the chance to meet Kurt and Kyle Busch both, but only because they still had wristbands available. Other drivers required special games to get a ticket for their appearance. For example, Kevin Harvick was there but you had to sink three golf balls in the hole to get a ticket.

You should also check the policy on when they hand out wristbands. Clint Bowyer was on hand, but his tickets were gone by 10 am. The official website didn't announce when they were giving out tickets for his event, but apparently it was listed on his website. Ryan Newman on the other hand was there, but you could only meet him if you bought or brought a copy of his Pit Road Pets book and that was the only thing he signed.

As for coolers, they're allowed, but you might as well leave them at home. They don't allow alcohol of any kind of site, but you can buy it from one of their vendors at an inflated price. If you plan on drinking, make sure you bring along proof of ID as well since you'll need that to get a special wristband that shows you're at least 21.

Now comes the parking. The Speed Street Festival has a tram system and I highly recommend you do this. You can park your car off-site, take the tram to the festival and then return on it. We made the mistake of parking in one of the nearby parking garages and discovered that it cost $28 for less than 4 hours of parking. Take the public transportation to the Speed Street Festival and save you money.

Lastly, make sure you take advantage of all the free goodies they hand out. If someone offers you something, take it. We got the chance to try new products from Oscar Meyer before they hit the stores and get coupons for them too. The Speed Street Festival workers also passed out free packages of juice, food samples and coupons. I saved $2 off my last haircut, got several boxes of Goody's Headache Powder and a free Kurt Busch racing poster just for buying a Miller Light. Stock up because you never know what you'll get. Take along some sunscreen and just get ready to have fun!