My six year old wants to go to a car race. Help!

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/columns/0403_top_fuel_dragsters/ about Top Fuel dragsters: One Top Fuel dragster's 500-cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first four rows at the Daytona 500. A stock Dodge Hemi V-8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the dragster's supercharger. With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle. Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, separated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing heat of the exhaust gases. Spark plug electrodes can be totally consumed during a single pass. After half-distance, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. The engine is shut down by cutting the fuel flow. (and more...)

Update/resolution: Well, we never actually made it to a race as fans last year, but we did manage to do some go-kart racing while on vacation, and then again when we got home, and that really gave my son what he wanted. In each case, he was able to ride with me while I drove, and he was really, really happy. The first place we raced at (at a miniature golf/kart racing place along the California Central Coast) had actual side-by-side racing, and we got to maneuver through a field of other karts and drivers, and really do some racing. This was easily the best experience, and the one he still remembers as the most fun. Subsequently, we did a little racing closer to home, but the local facility has you race against the clock, which isn't nearly as much fun to a six year old (or to a 44 year old, for that matter). Anyway, I'm going to try to get him to a dirt track race some time this year; he's much more mature at seven than he was at six, and the things that I was worried about last year, like the noise, don't seem likely to be issues now. Thanks again for the excellent suggestions within this thread.

if you can wait til the summer, there's the http://www.sanjosegrandprix.com/events.html

Er..."bringing". We'll save the brining for the Thanksgiving turkey...

Thank you all so much -- so many excellent answers! It's funny, I've worked on my own cars since high school, and am a fairly adept shade tree mechanic, but I never got into the racing scene myself -- too many other interests, I guess, So it's fun seeing my son come at this with so much enthusiasm, because it almost feels like a guilty pleasure for me. Anyway, I greatly appreciate the time and consideration that went into your suggestions, and I look forward to brining our son to a number of different racing events this summer -- we'll try to take in some dirt track races, some ovals at Altamont, and maybe a NASCAR-series or NHRA drag race. Looks like Aaron and I are going to have a fun summer. :-) (And thanks to those that suggest ear plugs -- also a great idea!)

There's another fun, wild event you can take him to that'll have a LOT of action, and you have an entire weekend to go see it: the http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/pix/! Wrecks, beating on cars with sledgehammers, collisions, amateurs, dummies on the track, steel chickens welded to the roof, and http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/24hoursoflemons/. This is at Altamont, a small course, and will be in July, iirc.

Seconding nakedcodemonkey. Take him down to Monterey to Laguna Seca Raceway(arguably the best racetrack in the U.S.) to see the http://www.laguna-seca.com/events/index.cfm?EventID=19 in May. It'll be loud, fast and incredibly fun, and children under 12 get in free!

Two things to consider: * given the size of a 6 year old vs. a car, even a small track will be huge compared to him * the smaller the track, the more often cars will pass or will be near to where you are sitting, ergo: more excitement! And, seconding dejah420's tip: use earplugs!

Nthing the recommendations to find a small track. Thirty years ago, my dad used to take me to dirt track sprint car races (screaming loud, mud flying into the stands, cars rolling 200 feet from where you're sitting) at Big H near Houston, and I still remember the experience -- even though I've never really been able to get "into" racing. Part of each Friday's schedule was a demolition derby, which I can pretty much guarantee your son would get a kick out of. Another fun option (not as an alternative to a stock car race, but just a suggestion of something else he might also enjoy) would be motocross.