My "Thing" With NASCAR

As I look back upon my fascination of NASCAR, it was kind of like a "shot out of a cannon," a sudden obsession that took even myself by surprise. Was it something that was always there and I didn't realize it?

My own mother questions my fandom for NASCAR, saying "All you do is watch cars go 'round in circles." Well, yes! There is just so much that has to do with that car when it goes around in circles. The driver and the rest of the team has to keep in mind that other factors can make you successful or a fantastic failure in the sport. Teams have to pay attention to tires, the aero package, shocks, fuel milage, the handling (wedge and track bar), etc. It's unbelievable how difficult it is to drive a car up 20-some degree banks while still driving 150 mph. That's what really turns me onto the sport of NASCAR, the people dedicated to the team, to the number, doing everything possible to pull that car into Victory Lane at the end of the day.

First of all, NASCAR is super-competitive. It's entertaining but not fake, unlike the WWE, who myself had a short-lived interest in. There will occasions where drivers will argue and sometimes fist-fights will break out, like last month in Chicago where crew members from the #20 Home Depot team and the members from the #9 Dodge Dealers team got into a huge fight on pit road. My interest goes farther back than that, more deeper than I ever thought. I myself, am a competitive person, whether it's sports or plain discussion over certain issues, I want to win, I want to be that guy on top. I remember watching a few NASCAR races back in the late 1980's and the early 1990's, watching the boxy-looking cars run around and produce amazing wrecks. The car I really liked was Rusty Wallace's old #2, in which he ran an old black and gold paint scheme, promoting Miller Genuine Draft beer. I dabbled in and out throughout the mid-90's, I was still in high school and pick-up games at The Owl Garden was a priority.

Another great story was when a bunch of us people drove up to Alexandria, Minnesota during Waterama weekend in Glenwood. It was a boring year, nothing much to do, then somebody had the great idea to stopping at this small amusement park where they had bumper boats, mini-golf, and yes, a go-kart track. The go-karts were made in NASCAR fashion, where the driver was actually enclosed into the kart, sporting a popular driver from NASCAR. I took the #24 Dupont Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon, who was so dominant during the 90's (and I didn't know that I would grow to hate him later). Other guys, like Mike took the #18 Interstate Batteries Poniac, driven by Bobby Labonte, while others like Sean and Kevin took the #43 STP car and the classic #3 GM Goodwrech Chevy. Their main objective was to stay in tight packs and bang into one another. Yes, that's fun, but my competive nature told me to win the damn race! We've actually got it on video tape -- I've got such a huge lead that I'm damn-near lapping the field, while Mike, Sean and others are busy swiping each other out. Since I was missing out, I let up on the gas and joined in -- but we had workers there who was trigger-happy with their controls on the cars, who could shut them down at a flick of the switch if we were driving too carelessly.

It wasn't until 2001 in which I started watching NASCAR again. My roommate Josh and I almost missed the Daytona 500, the crown jewel event in NASCAR. We turned it on with 10 laps to go, not even knowing what was about to happen that would change the landscape of NASCAR forever. On the final lap, with Michael Waltrip in the lead and his teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. following closely behind, they looked like they would finish 1-2 for the race. In 3rd place, was Dale Earnhardt, the legend himself, a 7-time Winston Cup Champion who was pulling blocking duties to protect his drivers in front of him. Going into Turn 4 with Waltrip and Junior in the lead, Earnhardt Sr. got tapped from Sterling Marlin from behind, sent him down on the apron and that shot him back up the track and directly into the concrete barrier. Kenny Schrader hit Earnhardt's car from the passenger's side and the two cars slowly drifted to the bottom of the track while Waltrip took the checkered flag. The accident didn't look like much -- all I remember is Junior running from his car down to the accident scene and track workers working frantically to pry the roof off the #3. Josh and I shut the TV off, but later that night we learned that Dale Earnhardt, winner of 76 races and the all-time winner at Daytona, had perished.

I followed NASCAR for a few weeks afterwards, amazed at how all the fans of NASCAR had come together and showed their support for a legend. It was a unity that I have never seen in other professional sports, something that really touched my heart and my interest for NASCAR grew. But after a few races, my interest waned. It wasn't until the latter part of 2002 when my interest shot through the roof, thanks to EA Sports' NASCAR Thunder 2003 on the Nintendo GameCube -- simply by accident. Josh had ordered the game from Best Buy via online, and it took forever. He said "forget it," bought it at Wal-Mart or something like that, and I told him once he got it from Best Buy, I would buy it. I was hooked.

Usually fans have a favorite driver. Josh had Kevin Harvick, the driver who took over Dale Earnhardt's ride after he was killed and I had nobody until the 2003 Daytona 500. It was then I noticed Ryan Newman, a second-year driver who won the Rookie of the Year the year before, crashed big time during the Daytona 500. I said to myself, "if a guy can walk away from a crash like that, he's alright with me!" Through the first couple of races, Newman looked great, solidifying my loyalty with the #12 car, then he picked up his 2nd career win at Texas. Newman would go on to win 7 more races, thanks to some strategy and fuel milage, but he failed to win the championship due to some inconsistencies.

That's where I stand now, an undying loyalty to Ryan Newman, watching every race every weekend. I'm not sure that I can comment anymore about my obsession to NASCAR, only to others that are skeptical about the sport, you should give it a try.

More on this later!