I went to a NASCAR auto race!

The truth is, this one of the last sporting events I ever thought I would attend. But it turned out to be pretty memorable.

NASCAR isn’t just the Sprint Cup Series with all the big name drivers. It is the Nationwide Series on Saturdays and the Camping World Truck Series on Fridays. So it’s really just an entire three-day weekend of auto racing at one track from Arizona to Florida, Indianapolis to Talladega.

Millions watch races on TV. Thousands pack the tracks. I was there in Arizona on Nov. 11, it was real.

Check this video:

I expressed some concern over a perceived lack of diversity in the sport when I wrote about it for Fox Deportes. This a pretty “white” sport overall, but in fairness, Juan Pablo Montoya is the only Latino driver in Sprint Cup but there are at least six Latinos in the Nationwide and trucks.

The pit crews, the folks behind the scenes that are so vital to the cars and drivers, are also sprinkled with people of color. I even met a major player in the engineering of Chevy vehicles, who is from Puerto Rico.

Below is a collection of photos from the Advocare 500 race in Avondale, Ariz., on Nov. 11. The last race of the season is this coming weekend in Florida.

The Inception Motor Sports No. 30 car has three different drivers.

Victory Lane at the Phoenix International Speedway.

Danica Patrick’s car

Rounding a turn.

Driver Kasey Kahne introduced.

Danica Patrick.

The tower in middle of track.

The midway at PIR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car.