NASCAR events getting upstaged by animal encounters is a common thing. Remember how a groundhog had NASCAR officials go helter-skelter, chasing it at Michigan International Speedway back in 2016? Or how an owl refused to leave the Auto Club Speedway during the 2017 race.
While it can be dangerous, these encounters only made those NASCAR events more memorable. And there have been many animals visiting NASCAR tracks over time, cats, foxes, a deer, a swarm of bees, the list is long.
However, the most iconic moment has to be when a monkey showed up in the grandstand, having a cold one with a fan. This had the TNT Sports’ broadcasting booth amazed.
The Beer-Drinking Money Had NASCAR Veteran Kenny Wallace Distracted
So, this was during the 2008 New Hampshire Motor Speedway race. And, if you recall, it was rain-shortened. The race was called off with 17 laps to go during a caution period, and Kurt Busch, leading during that time, was declared the winner.
Well, naturally, the fans were upset with the race being shortened. It was overall a disappointing event. However, the race still went down in the history books, all thanks to a monkey.
Well, Kenny Wallace, John Roberts, and Jimmy Spencer were in the booth, doing a regular pre-race analysis show. Wallace was discussing something about Tony Stewart and Haas CNC.
But he could not complete his point, as one of the cameramen caught a monkey drinking beer out of a can on the racetrack. Obviously, the network couldn’t miss out on showing such a hilarious moment to the fans. Spencer, astonished, said, “The monkey is drinking a Coors Light beer!”
The monkey was perched on a fan’s shoulder and was drinking beer out of his can. The people surrounding him were all cheering. This had Wallace forget his analysis as the booth burst out in laughter. Well, it’s not every day you see something like this.
What’s even more funny is how Roberts brought the whole conversation back to Stewart. Relating it to the fact that Stewart used to own a monkey. Spencer said, “Tony did have a pet monkey.” Well, that’s how pros keep it all relevant.
Also, this incident was probably only the second time we saw a monkey at a NASCAR event. Well, that’s if we don’t count how NASCAR legend Tim Flock often had a monkey accompanying him to the racetrack.
Other than that, it was when Stewart brought his pet monkey, Mojo, to the track on some occasions. But over time, handling the monkey got trickier for Smoke. So eventually he decided to donate him to the monkey exhibit in the Louisville Zoo. That was probably the last time we saw a monkey in NASCAR.
