I just don't get it.

[ChipWrecked]

I use golf for that.

[PokerGoblin]

[ QUOTE ]
NASCAR. WTF? I simply cannot understand this.

[/ QUOTE ]

People say the same thing about the poker boom. It used to be a low-key, backroom activity. Now it is mainstream. Once the stereotypes about it are broken down, it becomes more popular and accepted.

Autoracing is exceptionally intricate and competitive. As much as any other sport. I don't care to watch it until the end of the race, watching cars jockey for position with 200 miles to go is redundant. But I do see how it can be interesting to someone who likes to watch grass grow.

Seriously though NASCAR events are insane. They're a three-day party culminating in a high profile event, then more partying. Take a look at the infield of a race. It's filled with motor homes and travel trailers and such... people camp out there and have a blast.

Lots of sloppy drunken redneck titty flashing as well. Good times.

PG

[steviej1717]

What I dont get about racing is the chase for the cup "playoff." Why do the other drivers get to race too, but only the top 10 count? It doesnt make sense to have a playoff but include the people not in the playoff in the same race. If they want to race too they should have a seperate race for the 10 drivers in the playoff.

I dont watch racing all that much but it was just something I was wondering about, if any race fans know.

You are aware that there is tremendous pregaming and alcohol consumption during the races right? After you understand this you see why it is just like any major sporting event, especially football.

[BoogerFace]

[ QUOTE ]
I use golf for that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Golf is good too but is too quiet. NASCAR masks ambient noise.

[Blarg]

Edge made a great response. There's more to the racing than it seems if you just note that cars are doing nothing but turning left.

It's damn hard to turn left that well! I used to think racing was one of those things that people want to call a sport but is not, but I've come to accept it as a sport. It gets brutally hot in those cars, driving for hours handling those cars is supposedly very hard on your hands and forearms, but most of all, you can't hope to excel in it without exceptional timing, depth perception, perception speed, and reaction speed. And the stakes are high -- you might not come out alive if you space out or make the wrong move. The mind and instincts obviously have to be operating at peak level to keep you both safe and anywhere close to the winner's circle.

Those guys don't just drive well, their driving skill is on another plane entirely, even if they mostly only turn left.

Ever try that NASCAR PC game? It can get complex, and supposedly is extremely realistic. It simulates figuring out what tires to use, how to warm them up, how the car should be balanced, etc. And trying to get up a good speed and still maintain control of a damn heavy car isn't all that easy. Playing it showed me that going left is harder than it looks; if you drift off an ideal path, it can take a while to recover, because everything you do creates momentum, which interferes with everything else you might want to do. Finding that ideal path is tough, and maintaining it is hard, especially since you will usually have other cars in the vicinity you have to worry about, too, sometimes just inches away.

The raw power of the machines comes through very well in the game, too. It made me finally appreciate and respect NASCAR a bit, though I still find it dull sometimes after a while on t.v. But I know if I were sweating in a 120 degree car and trying to manage everything for hours in terms of fractions of a second, I would be plenty hyped up.

[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.)