After two hours in a windowless, completely closed, 12-foot by 12-foot box on the NASCAR track, Clemy, a Miles Smith Farm Highlander cow who was sharing the box with me, was ready to leave. That morning at 7 a.m., Bruce had driven the stock trailer containing Clemy onto the N.H. Motor Speedway track. He pulled up to a box and Clemy stepped out, her feet never touching the track, into the box with me. We were both sealed in together.
In 2013, instead of a concert, the N.H. Motor Speedway decided to run a game show during a NASCAR weekend. Just like The Price is Right, contestants would choose a box that could contain a car, a cow or other gifts. Clemy was the cow who had to stay hidden in this box, with me, for hours until the contest started. We got in the box before the track opened to be sure no one knew which box we were in.
The track officials had been concerned that the cow would moo while she was in the box, giving away the surprise. Clemy didn’t moo, but once she did try to escape. The track had graciously cut a small “hatch” in the back of the box. About two hours into the wait, Olivia, who would later sit on Clemy, and Olivia’s mom crawled into the box to see how we were doing. When they crawled out, Clemy tried to follow them through the tiny door until I corrected her. Eventually, she laid down and we both waited.
Cars whizzed by in the pits and famous drivers walked by our sealed box while we waited for the big moment. When the contest started and our box was selected, they popped down the lid and Clemy, with Olivia in the saddle, walked onto the box lid where Clemy stood without moving a foot for about 20 minutes. She must have thought she was the star of the show, and in my mind, she was. The contestant who chose Clemy got $200 of meat from our store but never collected his prize. I guess he really wanted a car and not meat.
When the game show was over, Bruce drove the trailer up to the open box and Clemy stepped from the lid into the trailer. One of the track rules was that the cow could never step on the track. Clemy never stepped on the track but she did step into history as, perhaps, the first “NASCOW” ever.
With the loss of a NASCAR race, maybe the track could investigate “NASCOW” racing. After all, what is the difference between a NASCAR and a NASCOW? Only about 250 mph.
(Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, where she raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs and other local products. She can be reached at cas@milessmithfarm.com.)