Bacon, Beer, and Burnouts: The Culinary Survival Guide to Charlotte Motor Speedway

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There was a version of me in 2012 who could walk into Charlotte Motor Speedway alone and feel like she owned the place. That photo says it all. Solo travel back then had a certain swagger to it. No group text. No waiting on anybody to find their sunglasses. No negotiating dinner plans. Just me, a race ticket, a decent room, and the absolute certainty that I was going to have a story by the end of the weekend.

Charlotte on race weekend was never quiet, but the real moment, the one that still lives in my bones, was engine start. Forty engines firing up at once sounded like 40 space shuttles taking off. That is not poetic exaggeration. That is the closest thing I’ve ever heard to the feeling I carried with me from being a student at the NASA Space Life Sciences Training Program at Kennedy Space Center in 1992. That sound had the same force, the same chest-rattling promise that something enormous was about to happen. You didn’t just hear it. You absorbed it.

And before the green flag, before the sun cooked the grandstands, before the first beer was poured, there was the midway. You could smell it before you saw any of it. Bacon on a Stick. Fried Bologna. Smoke, grease, sugar, heat, mustard, fryer oil, and a little bit of chaos hanging in the air like perfume for race fans. The Bacon on a Stick was exactly what it needed to be—ridiculous, portable, salty, and perfect. The Fried Bologna sandwich was the kind of food that made no apologies for itself. Thick, griddled, a little crisp at the edges, soft bun, yellow mustard, done. It was not subtle. Neither was I.

Somewhere in the middle of all that was the 18-wheeler beer tap, a glorious piece of race weekend nonsense that felt larger than life. I navigated that situation alone too, and honestly, that was part of the fun. Solo travel at the track meant I got to move on instinct. If I wanted a beer, I got in line. If I wanted to wander, I wandered. If I wanted to stand there and take in the circus of chrome, noise, and plastic cups in the North Carolina heat, I did exactly that. There was a freedom in those days that still makes me smile. No committee. No compromise. Just independence and a little bit of bad judgment.

By the end of the day, after enough track laps, enough sun, enough noise, and yes, enough beer, the return to the hotel felt like a military operation. Which brings me to the Embassy Suites and the Krispy Kreme sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich—a complete fabrication and the ultimate savior after a long, drunken day at the races. It should not have existed. It sounded like something invented by a sleep-deprived man in a souvenir trailer. And yet, in that moment, it was perfection. Sweet glaze, salty sausage, egg, cheese, all of it landing exactly where it needed to. I refuse to answer follow-up questions about nutrition, dignity, or whether I would eat it again. Of course I would.

What I didn’t know then was that those solo track days were training me for a different kind of role. These days, I’m a Fora Travel Advisor, which means I still love the thrill of the experience, but now I know how to do it smarter. I know the best suites. I know where recovery begins. I know that the difference between a rough morning and a redeemable one can come down to where you stay, what you eat, and whether there is strong coffee waiting when you open your eyes. I know the secret hangover cures, the strategic breakfast plays, and the kind of travel planning that lets you enjoy the mess without becoming the mess.

That is where FB Roasters comes in. After the bacon, the bologna, the beer, and the burnouts, recovery deserves its own ritual. Reach for the Cowboy Blend if you want something bold enough to stand up to your life choices, or go with the Latin American Blend if your head needs a little brightness and mercy. Either way, it is the kind of save-your-soul coffee that belongs in every post-race survival plan.

If you are ready to plan your next adventure send an email directly to felicia.baxter@fora.travel with Subject HELP I NEED A VACATION

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AI assisted Digital Realism & Aesthetic Direction. Rendered by our team. Orchestrated by Felicia. Section 31, TN Chapter