Dear Nascar fans...

[CallMeIshmael]

Can you explain it to me?

[tbach24]

Does this mean you don't like sitting by the side of the highway on a hot, humid day?

[CallMeIshmael]

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Does this mean you don't like sitting by the side of the highway on a hot, humid day?

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No /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

But, I will be open minded in this thread, and try to see it through someone else's eyes.

[Drac]

Go to a race. Indy Car, F1, NASCAR, or some other top of the line racing series. It's much different when you actually go to the track and experience the event. It's hard to grow to enjoy/appreciate NASCAR without seeing it live first or growing up in an environment where you are exposed to it on TV and it's a "family" type viewing thing. I'm a huge auto racing fan but it's pretty easy for me to be pulled away from an "average" televised NASCAR race. I have a buddy that doesn't follow auto racing at all but I dragged him to the Indy 500 a few years ago and now he wouldn't miss it. He'll watch some of the other Indy Car races during the season now. It's similar to hockey in that it's much better live than on TV.

[MightyMouse]

people who watch nascar have low IQs.

[Los Feliz Slim]

I have always been under the impression that getting stinking drunk is a huge part of auto racing event attendance.

[Drac]

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I have always been under the impression that getting stinking drunk is a huge part of auto racing event attendance.

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Every major sporting event I've been to has it's share of drunken idiots. It's just easier in racing because they let you bring your own stuff with you. Most people can't afford to get totally nuked at an NBA/NFL/MLB event. That's not the case with racing!

[JTrout]

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Can you explain it to me?

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A couple of buddies invited me to the Daytona 500.
Cooking out, drinking beer, watching women flash,.....o.k.
I went and had a great time. Earnhardt led all day, then blew a tire on the final lap to lose.

Then, in 1995 I was flipping through the channels looking for something to watch.
I passed up the NASCAR race at first, but after I couldn't find anything else, I flipped back.
1995 Goody's 500 in Bristol, TN.
This is a tiny 1/2 mile track where they race at night.
Tons of banging, passing, and such.

Earnhardt is hitting everyone. At one point, he gets black-flagged for knocking Rusty Wallace off the track.
He comes back from this penalty, whacking, bumping, passing, until the last lap, where he catches up to the leader.
Terry Labonte blocks him as best he can, but Earnhardt noses the front of his car alongside the backleft of Labonte's, and gives him a nudge.
Labonte spins out at the finish line, the back of his car crossing the line just ahead of Earnhardt.
Labonte crashes into the wall.
Wallace throws stuff at Earnhardt.
I was officially a fan.

[Chairman Wood]

Ish,
I'm very interested in what actual fans have to say. However I do have a little to contribute on the subject. I have a close friend of mine that is not really a fan of auto racing but has been to at least one race, event, show whatever of almost every type of auto racing in North America (except F1). His dad was a big wig at General Motors and always had free tickets and an interest to these types of things. He told me that the most enjoyable of all these events was Nascar (not just because of the people). Indy Car seemed to be the most impressive but really wasn't all that fun to watch. The cars went by so fast that you barely got to see them and everytime one did go by it was like a jet engine went off right next to your ear. You could actually see the cars in Nascar and although they are loud, they are not nearly as much. The cars tend to get a lot closer in Nascar and the end of races are often closer and more exciting.

[thatpfunk]

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The cars tend to get a lot closer in Nascar and the end of races are often closer and more exciting.

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So 2 minutes of excitement for hours of watching guys drive in a circle at a capped speed?

If I wanted to spend my day drinking I'd go to the beach or a good concert where it is fun the entire time.

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

The time when the opening band is taking away their equipment and the next band is setting their own up makes me want to die.

Just saying.