As cracked as it sounds , peanutsare not welcome at many racing events , unless they ’ve already been polish off from their dusty cross - hatched shells . If you ’re move to a race and just ca n’t skitter your favorite informant of blubber and protein , you’re able to bring a bag of salt , dry - roast or dear - roasted trounce peanuts , a jar of peanut butter or a Baby Ruth candy measure . All of that ’s okay . But if you bring a bag of peanuts that are still in their shell , you just might be cursing your favorite driver and perhaps even putting spectator pump at risk .
You probably wo n’t find peanut in shells for sales agreement anywhere within a stadium on race day , although they might still be available at county or state fair that hold racing event . If you bring your personal stash down to the pits , you ’re go to make some enemies . It ’s no joke . slew of prominentdrivers , include Dale Earnhardt Sr . , have reportedly stated that they believe this superstition .
Why ? Well , it ’s a legend , of course . Professional raceway auto drivers are among the most superstitious of all athletes , and there have been enough earthnut - related incident in the sport ’s sordid history to earn this otherwise innocuous collation a reputation as an unlucky charm . In fact , there are two calamitous wash - day crash that shoulder most of the rap , both of which occurred in 1937 .
The first involved two racers that went off the road at Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania . When both cars came to a layover in the spectator pump area , there were goober pea shells near the wreck ( and everywhere , really ) because peanuts were a pop snack at such events . The drivers in the Langhorne incident were both fine , but several watcher were bruise or pour down . That same summer , in Nashville , an on - rail pileup make the death of one driver , and again , the peanut shells that dot the landscape painting were interpreted as a sorry omen . However , there ’s a paper article from 1933 that mentions ( but does not explain ) the monkey nut superstition , so it ’s possible the role of peanut shell in the 1937 crashes were blown out of proportion .
Now , peanut shell are catch with suspicion at any racing upshot , even though peanuts in their scale were as common then as beer and hot dogs are today . In other Holy Writ , subspecies gondola driver are so superstitious that they wo n’t go anywhere near a peanut shell on a race day , even though the bare presence of a peanut shell at the scene of a wreck is about as meaningful as corn cad sticks or discarded beer cans .
