Photos: NASCAR Nirvana
Brian Vickers (55) races around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 practice Saturday. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
From left, Lucy Steinwender, Shyanne Beecher and Lisa Beard sit in the bed of a truck after waking up early in the morning at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway before the start of the NASCAR Kobalt 400 in Las Vegas Sunday, March 9, 2014. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Fans try to get a autograph from Dale Earnhardt Jr., right, before NASCAR Spring Cup Series KOBALT 400 practice at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday, March 8, 2014. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paulina Meriwether plays beer pong, one of the many activities to be found in the infield of the speedway during the NASCAR Kobalt 400. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Fans have their picture taken during the NASCAR Kobalt 400 in Las Vegas Sunday. More than 100,000 fans came to Las Vegas for that race. (John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A NASCAR race is more than a mere sporting event where the action happens only between the flutter of a green flag and the flurry of confetti upon a victor.
NASCAR is a weekendlong festival where fans and organizers erect a temporary community of gearheads who can escape the real world for one of beer and motor sports. It is a Burning Man of burning rubber where fans can eat, sleep and drink together near the deafening roar of 850 horsepower V8 engines.
This past weekend the celebration of speed came to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where fans saw Brad Keselowski sweep both the Nationwide and Cup series races — a feat that last happened in Las Vegas in 2000.
▶ photos by john locher/las vegas review-journal
