Meet Aaron Fisher, a 20 year old NASCAR superfan from Oneonta, New York. You may recognize him from last year's Six Hours of The Glen, where he was spotted in the crowd by Joe Sahlen and chosen to hand out trophies in Gatorade Victory Lane to some of his favorite drivers.
We sat down with Aaron to talk about his favorite racing memories and what keeps him coming back to The Glen.
Q: How did you get into racing?
Q: How did you get into racing?
A: I have had a love for cars since I was born. I used to stare at cars rolling up and down our street when I was as young as two years old. It's the only thing I've ever known. When I was 6 (in 2003) my uncle introduced me to NASCAR and I've loved it ever since. Since then I have grown to love any kind or racing. If it races, I'll watch it!
Q: How many NASCAR races have you been to?
A: At this point, I've been to 34 Cup races, 12 Xfinity series races, 6 Truck series races, 4 K&N Pro Series East, and 2 Modified Tour. That makes... 58 total!
Q: Who are some of your favorites?
Q: How many NASCAR races have you been to?
A: At this point, I've been to 34 Cup races, 12 Xfinity series races, 6 Truck series races, 4 K&N Pro Series East, and 2 Modified Tour. That makes... 58 total!
Q: Who are some of your favorites?
A: I'm a big fan of Jimmie Johnson, Michael McDowell, Ryan Reed, Ray Black Jr, and Noah Gragson. I got the chance to meet Jimmie Johnson last year at the NASCAR race.
Q: How did you get to hand out trophies last year at Sahlen's Six Hours?
A: Last year during Six Hours my friends and I went to Gatorade Victory Lane with about 15 minutes left in the race to make sure we had a good spot. I was wearing my Sahlen's crew shirt like I do every year, ever since I bought it at my first Six Hours in 2013. When we were standing in Victory Lane, Joe Sahlen yelled out to me to come over to him. He asked me if I wanted to help him and his son hand out the winning glass trophies to all the class winners and podium finishers (the coolest trophies ever, by the way). I, of course, said yes! It was one of the best times of my life but also a little stressful, because I didn't want to drop any of the trophies. It was really cool to get to shake the hands of drivers who I've watched race in IMSA for years. I hope I get to do it again someday! That's me, all the way on the right.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories of The Glen?
I've been coming to The Glen since 2011, and every year my friends Elijah, Josef, and I camp every year on Seneca Lake for the cup weekend. It's a tradition now.
NASCAR Weekend: One of my favorite memories happened last year during NASCAR weekend. My friends and I were walking through the K&N garage before that evening's K&N Pro Series East race. As we were walking through the garage we saw JA Junior, a K&N driver who is an acquaintance of ours. We went over to him and talked for a few minutes, while some of the cars began to move to the grid. JA had an accident in turn 11 during qualifying earlier, so he never got a time recorded, and they didn't have a backup. So here sits his banged up racecar, going to the back of the field. His guys start to push the car, and needed some extra help. They yelled over to us, "You guys wanna help us push the car to the grid?" We of course were thrilled and agreed to help JA and his crew.
After pushing this 3400 lb car uphill for quite a distance, we finally got it to pit road. We all just stood there, out of breath and laughing. It was really cool to be part of the crew, even if it was for just a moment. Unfortunately for JA Junior, he had to park the car as soon as the green waved because they didn't want to risk totaling the car. I know that afterwards JA was bummed, but I was glad we could've at least helped him a little bit. Racing is, after all, just one big family.
Opening Weekend: Another great memory I have of Watkins Glen is Opening Weekend in 2016. I found out about it on the WGI Facebook page, where it said you could take your own vehicle around the track. I really didn't believe it, I had never heard of a track letting you do this, so I made sure it was legit and cleared my spring vacation schedule for the event. I made sure I had absolutely nothing else going on so I could go. I asked my mom if she wanted to go with me and she agreed, so when the time came we ventured the 2.5 hour trip to the Finger Lakes Region. When we got there, I couldn't believe the amount of cars. There was a sea of them all lined up, most of them (to my surprise) were classic cars. We signed the waiver, paid our $25 to charity and waited in line.
When it finally got to our turn to drive around, it was one of the best moments of my life. I was driving my own 2005 Chevy Equinox on a REAL racetrack! This was right after the repave, so the track was incredibly smooth. No bumps, only banking where it was intended. One thing I didn't realize until I drove the track myself was the magnitude of the elevation changes throughout the whole track. We got three awesome laps around WGI and loved every minute of it. Now it's become another yearly tradition for us at The Glen.
Q: It seems like you have quite the NASCAR collection, how and when did that get started?
A: Just like any kid I played with hot wheels and race cars. I had my little track setups and street maps, you know, the good stuff. We moved when I was 8, in 2005, and my mom was already friends with our new next door neighbors. They were car guys, and when he saw how much I played with cars he brought over a bunch of boxed, collectible classic cars. That's when I started collecting. Ever since then, I kept buying more and more. When I reached a certain age I realized I needed to stop playing with them, so I started collecting them. Along with the cars came shirts, hats, autographed driver cards, posters, banners - anything else you can think of. My focus now is collecting diecast. Maybe one day I'll open my own museum!
Q: You're also into amateur racing photography, when did you start doing that?
A: Ever since my first NASCAR race in 2007 I've been taking photos. Before my first race, my mom bought a Kodak EasyShare digital camera. We brought it to take a few photos but as the race went on I found myself taking photos of all the cars on track and pit road. Ever since then I've been hooked - I'm obsessed with photographing racecars. I use each race as an opportunity to improve my photography. I currently use a Canon Rebel T3 with a 75-300mm lens. This is one of my favorites.
Q: So, what's your favorite thing about Watkins Glen?
A: Where the track is located, right by Seneca Lake - in the mountains, it's beautiful. But I also love the esses through the bus stop. It's awesome. I can't wait to be back next week for The I LOVE NEW YORK 355 weekend!
If you want to see more of Aaron's photography or hear more of his racing stories, you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @racer48racer.
The I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen is August 3-6, 2017. Don't have tickets? Get them by visiting this link. Voted BEST NASCAR TRACK by readers of USA Today, NASCAR weekend at The Glen is sure to be one of the most exciting of the season. A special thanks to Aaron for sitting down with us - and handing out trophies on such short notice!
Q: How did you get to hand out trophies last year at Sahlen's Six Hours?
A: Last year during Six Hours my friends and I went to Gatorade Victory Lane with about 15 minutes left in the race to make sure we had a good spot. I was wearing my Sahlen's crew shirt like I do every year, ever since I bought it at my first Six Hours in 2013. When we were standing in Victory Lane, Joe Sahlen yelled out to me to come over to him. He asked me if I wanted to help him and his son hand out the winning glass trophies to all the class winners and podium finishers (the coolest trophies ever, by the way). I, of course, said yes! It was one of the best times of my life but also a little stressful, because I didn't want to drop any of the trophies. It was really cool to get to shake the hands of drivers who I've watched race in IMSA for years. I hope I get to do it again someday! That's me, all the way on the right.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories of The Glen?
I've been coming to The Glen since 2011, and every year my friends Elijah, Josef, and I camp every year on Seneca Lake for the cup weekend. It's a tradition now.
NASCAR Weekend: One of my favorite memories happened last year during NASCAR weekend. My friends and I were walking through the K&N garage before that evening's K&N Pro Series East race. As we were walking through the garage we saw JA Junior, a K&N driver who is an acquaintance of ours. We went over to him and talked for a few minutes, while some of the cars began to move to the grid. JA had an accident in turn 11 during qualifying earlier, so he never got a time recorded, and they didn't have a backup. So here sits his banged up racecar, going to the back of the field. His guys start to push the car, and needed some extra help. They yelled over to us, "You guys wanna help us push the car to the grid?" We of course were thrilled and agreed to help JA and his crew. After pushing this 3400 lb car uphill for quite a distance, we finally got it to pit road. We all just stood there, out of breath and laughing. It was really cool to be part of the crew, even if it was for just a moment. Unfortunately for JA Junior, he had to park the car as soon as the green waved because they didn't want to risk totaling the car. I know that afterwards JA was bummed, but I was glad we could've at least helped him a little bit. Racing is, after all, just one big family.
Opening Weekend: Another great memory I have of Watkins Glen is Opening Weekend in 2016. I found out about it on the WGI Facebook page, where it said you could take your own vehicle around the track. I really didn't believe it, I had never heard of a track letting you do this, so I made sure it was legit and cleared my spring vacation schedule for the event. I made sure I had absolutely nothing else going on so I could go. I asked my mom if she wanted to go with me and she agreed, so when the time came we ventured the 2.5 hour trip to the Finger Lakes Region. When we got there, I couldn't believe the amount of cars. There was a sea of them all lined up, most of them (to my surprise) were classic cars. We signed the waiver, paid our $25 to charity and waited in line. When it finally got to our turn to drive around, it was one of the best moments of my life. I was driving my own 2005 Chevy Equinox on a REAL racetrack! This was right after the repave, so the track was incredibly smooth. No bumps, only banking where it was intended. One thing I didn't realize until I drove the track myself was the magnitude of the elevation changes throughout the whole track. We got three awesome laps around WGI and loved every minute of it. Now it's become another yearly tradition for us at The Glen.
Q: It seems like you have quite the NASCAR collection, how and when did that get started?
A: Just like any kid I played with hot wheels and race cars. I had my little track setups and street maps, you know, the good stuff. We moved when I was 8, in 2005, and my mom was already friends with our new next door neighbors. They were car guys, and when he saw how much I played with cars he brought over a bunch of boxed, collectible classic cars. That's when I started collecting. Ever since then, I kept buying more and more. When I reached a certain age I realized I needed to stop playing with them, so I started collecting them. Along with the cars came shirts, hats, autographed driver cards, posters, banners - anything else you can think of. My focus now is collecting diecast. Maybe one day I'll open my own museum!
Q: You're also into amateur racing photography, when did you start doing that?
A: Ever since my first NASCAR race in 2007 I've been taking photos. Before my first race, my mom bought a Kodak EasyShare digital camera. We brought it to take a few photos but as the race went on I found myself taking photos of all the cars on track and pit road. Ever since then I've been hooked - I'm obsessed with photographing racecars. I use each race as an opportunity to improve my photography. I currently use a Canon Rebel T3 with a 75-300mm lens. This is one of my favorites.
Q: So, what's your favorite thing about Watkins Glen?
A: Where the track is located, right by Seneca Lake - in the mountains, it's beautiful. But I also love the esses through the bus stop. It's awesome. I can't wait to be back next week for The I LOVE NEW YORK 355 weekend!
If you want to see more of Aaron's photography or hear more of his racing stories, you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @racer48racer.
The I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen is August 3-6, 2017. Don't have tickets? Get them by visiting this link. Voted BEST NASCAR TRACK by readers of USA Today, NASCAR weekend at The Glen is sure to be one of the most exciting of the season. A special thanks to Aaron for sitting down with us - and handing out trophies on such short notice!
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