[youtalkfunny]

I've had people (and not just southerners) telling me I'd enjoy it if I gave it a chance. For ten years now, they've been telling me that.

So I'd sit down, and the camera would focus on the battle for 21st place for several laps. All I could think was, "Who cares about 21st place?"

I've been watching for a little over a month now. When you're aware of the season standings, suddenly 21st place has some meaning.

If you still can't bring yourself to be interested, do what I did: bet a couple of matchups. Suddenly, those battles for 21st place take on a new meaning.

And the best part of watching: these rednecks are like hockey players. If they think somebody wrecked them deliberately, they mete out their own justice.

The New Hampshire race a few weeks ago was hysterical: Kasey Kahne rammed Kyle Busch; Kurt Busch hopped out of his car and ran into another driver's pit to confront the crew chief of the guy who wrecked him (since he couldn't get his hands on the driver himself); Robby Gordon stood in traffic to lob a helmet at somebody, and later called him a "piece of sh#t" during a live tv interview.

It was like Old Time Hockey out there. It was The Wild West. Anything goes.

That was the day I became a NASCAR fan.

(Though I couldn't get into it yesterday, with the pennant races and several NFL wagers up for grabs.)