Where can I go with my pit pass?
Your pit pass, sometimes also known as a cold pit pass, grants you access to roam around pit road, the area of the track where drivers come for their pit stop during the race. As the race nears, you will see the crews begin their final preparations for the race and the cars being rolled out….but it’s unlikely to see any drivers. If you like the logistics of NASCAR, you will enjoy the pit pass, but don’t get your hopes up to meet your favorite driver! And don’t get any ideas of being able to hop in any of the cars to take selfies. Pit Road is littered with security to make sure you don’t just happen to “wander off too far” – including to the garage, where you probably just saw your favorite driver walk out of.
Tell me more about the garage
The garage is the place you probably wish to be. This is where the haulers park, the crews work on the cars before the race and where NASCAR conducts their pre/post race inspections. Also, this is where you have a good chance to see the drivers, team owners, and pit crew chiefs hanging out.
Well, you need a garage pass… and there are 3 types: walk-through, cold, and hot.
Walk Through Garage Pass
The easiest of the three pit passes to get your hands on, is a walk-through garage pass. This experience usually consists of a short and sweet guided tour through the garage. So take a good look at the cars and haulers, but don’t plan on lingering around very long, nor can you re-enter once the tour is over. The walk through pass can vary from race to race, and we typically explain what the pass can get you in each of our packages.
A Cold Pit Pass
A cold garage/pit pass (some tracks only let you peak into the garage) will let you roam freely around the garage until the track and pits become “hot”, about an hour before the race. You can expect to see drivers coming and going throughout the day! Team owners, pit crew chiefs, and tv personalities hang around the garage, too. Some tracks let you stay for driver introductions, some don’t. We’ll let you know which track lets you stay for driver introductions and which don’t. Sometimes, the track will give you the option for a nominal fee on top of the cold pit pass.
A Hot Pit Pass
If you want to hang around in the pits throughout the entire race, you will need to score a hot garage/pit pass. This ultra VIP Pass gives you unlimited access to everywhere and everything, except maybe inside the car for a lap around the track with your favorite driver! Unfortunately, hot passes are usually reserved for team members, sponsors and media, making them pretty difficult to come by for the general public. We do sometimes have access to these and they can be found under the ticket section for race packages. A Hot Pass typically requires you to send a copy of your drivers license to the track so they have an idea of who is roaming around the pits. We’ll help you take care of all the logistics of getting your hands on a hot pass.
Which tracks offer Hot and Cold Garage Passes?
Cold Pit passes are widely available at almost every track. Some tracks have different rules of what you can do/see and what you can not do/see. All of our travel packages have the option to include a pit pass. You can customize your travel package by clicking here.
Unfortunately, hot garage passes are usually reserved for team members, sponsors and media. Each track can be slightly different, so make sure to always double check with the raceway for your full access. See the races below by clicking on your preferred track to check availability for hot garage passes.
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