The college hosted the viewing event in the 618 S. Michigan Ave. building for the third year in the row. The party offered a front-row window seat for raffle winners and their guests to watch the Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series race. Chronversations host Stella Huang was at the party and has the story.
TRANSCRIPT
0:07: Welcome back to Chronicle Conversations.
0:10: I’m your host, Stella Huang.
0:15: What happens when a NASCAR race blazes past your college building?
0:19: Columbia students and staff who won a special campus lottery got to find out from up close.
0:24: This Sunday, Columbia is hosting a prime NASCAR viewing party right on campus.
0:29: I dropped by 618 South Michigan Ave. to meet a few of them, catch the reactions and discover what’s it like to watch professional racing from your school.
0:45: You don’t really expect race cars to tear past your classroom window, right?
0:48: But that’s exactly what happened.
0:50: It’s actually really cool because we can see from above, which a lot of the people over in the lawn chairs will not be able to see like as great of a view as we are, so that’s going to be really exciting to see.
1:00: It’s actually a little bit exhilarating.
1:01: We got really nice light.
1:03: We got a really prime view of the track.
1:05: We’re going to get to see them drift around the corner.
1:07: I’m excited.
1:08: That’s Thomas Albers and Juneé Conway.
1:12: Both sophomores in fashion design, for some, it’s totally new experience, but for others, race day hits closer to home.
1:21: I watched this particular Chicago NASCAR race every year live at home.
1:26: To get the win this year.
1:27: It was like, oh yeah, cool.
1:29: So yeah, I brought my my neighbor with me.
1:31: I get to finally get, you know, get some of the feel hit me for real instead of just on TV, you know.
1:37: I had to turn my television and my sound system like all the way up to feel anything, you know, but now I’m here.
1:42: I can get the butterflies right away.
1:44: Anytime I’m at my school, I’m like happy.
1:46: I love being at my school and being at the races, I mean, it’s really nice.
1:50: It’s chill, you know, it’s good to be here and I get to see the race.
1:53: Hey, nothing could be better.
1:55: Jevon Covington wasn’t the only one stepping off the screen and into the action.
1:59: Nanna Galli and Mia Paulus, both Formula One fans, were also lucky to win the lottery tickets.
2:05: It’s really nice, really thrilling.
2:07: I really like cars.
2:08: I’ve been watching Formula One with my dad since I was like really little, but I’ve never been to the actual race.
2:15: So it’s really nice to be able to come for the first time.
2:19: So I’m actually a fan of Formula One.
2:21: It’s a different motor sport.
2:23: It’s similar, but they run on a European circuit.
2:25: This is my first time watching.
2:27: I’m really excited.
2:29: And it wasn’t just students at the viewing party.
2:32: Staff members were just as excited to be part of the action.
2:36: Including Janice Johnson from the admissions office.
2:39: I can’t believe that this small space that they’re going so fast around.
2:45: It’s very exciting and it really is, being my first time because I missed the lottery last year and so I tried it again this year and I got it.
2:54: I was surprised, but this is very exciting.
2:56: An interesting question came to my mind.
2:59: If NASCAR handed you the mic, what would you shout from this window?
3:03: As a veteran, I would shout out go USA, but I would say we need to fight for our rights.
3:09: Colymbia, get together.
3:09: Let’s let’s just, let’s let’s get antied up here.
3:13: Go!
3:18: The sound is really interesting too.
3:28: Well, I don’t know.
3:32: Go racers, get there in the first place, Piston Cup ka-chow!
3:40: This isn’t just any Sunday at Columbia, but a once in a lifetime NASCAR experience.
3:46: From classroom views to trackside energy, this once in a lifetime crossover of arts and adrenaline is something they won’t forget.
3:55: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at columbiachronicle.com.
4:01: And sign up for our newsletter at columbiachronicle.com/newsletter.
4:07: I’m Stella Huang.
4:08: Thanks for listening.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
