Green flag racing and they fly by in a hurry at Daytona, two and three wide. Flashes of 4 across! Beatin' and bangin' mid pack they jockey for position in the closing laps, trying to be in the fastest line heading to the front. A car has a run and goes for a hole down low. Another tries to protect the position and drives to the bottom trying to prevent the one car from making the pass. And then it happens! The Big One that everyone talks about and all the drivers fear but know is more than likely going to happen. Sparks fly as cars slam into each other.

Another heads straight into the concrete wall. And still another slides to the bottom on fire. We saw cars bumping into each other and then sliding into others trying to miss all the wrecking. Smoke clouds the drivers' view of a clear path through the carnage. The survivors come around, grateful they made it through. Then the eerie quiet. The cars sit silently in their final resting spot as their drivers' survey the damage before the car is towed away. 25 laps to go.

Clean up complete the green flag waves once more. It's near the end of the race, got to go forward now, no time to wait. Battling to move forward to challenge at the end, they go 3 wide. Contact is made. We have 3 laps left of the 160 scheduled and a car goes spinning! Another is crushed in the melee. And the yellow flag waves for the 9th time. The wreckers are moving again. They pull the crippled vehicle off the track. 2 laps to go. The white flag is now being waved but the yellow lights are still on. The race will end under caution. There will be no green flag finish. Michael Waltrip will be the winner when they come around for the last lap.

But then it happens. The track is littered with blue and white. Was there confetti for the winner? Sadly, no there wasn't.

Seat cushions hurled by the so-called fans of Winston Cup racing. When there wasn't a seat cushion to throw, beer and soda cans did just fine. And if that wasn't enough, ice buckets filled with garbage soared on to the track. The cars taking their final lap around the track had to dodge the debris in their path. Some ran over the cushions and garbage, it couldn't be helped. Others went below the racing line to avoid cutting a tire on a squirting can.

I was a fan on the backstretch and I was appalled at the behavior of my fellow fans. I stood in disbelief as fans continually threw cushions and garbage on to the track. All this because the race didn't finish under green? This wasn't the first time! Are they spoiled? What did they expect with one to go? Throwing debris on the track was supposed to change NASCAR's mind and red flag the event? Did they care they littered the racing surface where our favorites had to drive for the final lap? It was embarrassing! They should have been ashamed of themselves.

Night racing is great for Florida. It's not too hot in the evening and the cars under the lights look spectacular. The downside, the fans have plenty of time to drink and drink and drink. By the time the race started there were plenty of "fans" that were disgustingly drunk.

Do we blame alcohol on their behavior? Was all the debris on the track thrown by drunken fans, or followers who thought it was the "cool" thing to do? What about rain-shortened races, trash the track then too?

Heading for the tram afterwards for the ride back to the front stretch to catch a bus to go back to the parking lot where the car was, also proved to be disappointing. It should have been the time for race fans to chat about the race while waiting for their turn for the free ride. It wasn't.

Who stood in line, drunk and ready to defend the right to have a green flag finish? Who argued their favorite was taken out by that person's favorite. One conversation from a drunken man to a woman, "I'll smoke as many cigarettes as I want no matter how many people I burn." Now there is someone I want to be associated with! Then the line comes to a stop. No trams are moving.

My fellow fans have knocked down fencing, which now blocks the path of the tram trains. How nice was that of them? You either wait an hour to repair the fence or you walk around. We weren't willing to wait. We took the trip around the track on foot. Anything to get away from our "fellow" fans before we got burned or shoved or in an intense argument with someone who couldn't walk a straight line.

Should Daytona stop giving out racing paraphernalia? Maybe nail everything down? Well that sort of punishes all those who did nothing wrong. I came home with a cushion. Do they stop racing at night? Again, the innocent would pay the price there too. Can we get all the drunken people into one section? Somehow I doubt it, but it's a serious suggestion.

I chatted with an officer in the Sheriff's department, a security guard and a crewman for Daytona. I asked them what they thought of the fan reaction. None were too pleased, even in shock at the immature behavior. What are we, stick and ball fans?

To anyone who was on the backstretch Saturday night at Daytona and threw something on the track, you are a disgrace to racing fans everywhere!

- gertie