DARLINGTON, S.C. _ Roger Collins just wants to hear that sound again, the car engines rumbling off in the distance. That sound is the lone connection to the way it was before, the way it was two long, long months ago.
The silence today is strange. It's nearly noon on Sunday _ race day _ and the streets around Darlington Raceway are lined with checkered flags yet utterly devoid of people. Collins, 57, sits outside of his mobile home, on a campground just off Indian Branch Road. This is where he'll take in the Real Heroes 400, the first NASCAR race since March 7 and one of the first sporting events to take place in the coronavirus era.
Collins loves living so close to the raceway, loves when every inch of the spacious green grass around him is filled with NASCAR fans and their RVs. It's an opportunity to make new friends. But today the campground is empty, and that emptiness is strange, too.
Darlington born and raised, Collins is hungry for normalcy. Almost a year ago, on July 27, 2019, he took his motorcycle out for a ride and lost his left arm and left leg in a hit-and-run accident. In the last few weeks, along with the rest of the planet, he's feared contracting COVID-19. He's smoked since he was 8 years old. He worked in an underground mine for five years. He's not sure his lungs can handle it.
But today is race day, and no matter how unconventional a NASCAR race with no fans is, Collins is going to make the most of it. It's noon, and he's already cracked open a Michelob Ultra. His friend of more than 30 years, John Ridings, is already shirtless. And both men, being the diehard NASCAR fans that they are, have their eyes locked onto the LCD television screen in front of them. Today is a celebration.
"Yesterday was (Ridings') birthday," Collins says, beer in hand. "So we kind of combined yesterday and today all in one."
Adds Ridings:
"Can't beat it, a day like today, good, cool breeze, good friends. Got the NASCAR back on, and we're going to be firing up the grill. What else can you ask for?"
