If you weren’t scared away by the title, you’ve probably come to this post with a somewhat open mind. Or maybe you’re here just to laugh at me once I’ve tried to convince you NASCAR isn’t completely terrible. Either way, you’re here!
I’ll start by saying that I was a huge NASCAR hater up until a few years ago. If I went to my grandparents’ house, it was always on TV when I wanted to be watching football or baseball. I would watch as the cars drove around an oval track for 500 laps, evaluating my life at that point in time. Why do they only turn left? Why is that worth watching? Why is this excitable man from Kentucky in the commentary booth yelling at me?
All valid questions. Here are a few answers: They don’t always turn left (at least not on road courses), there is more to watch than just the turning, and that excitable man is yelling at you because he’s Darrell Waltrip and he wants you to love NASCAR as much as he does. So now that those questions are all answered, I’ll give you a few more reasons why spending your Sundays watching NASCAR isn’t the worst choice you can make.
Reason 1. It’s the exact same every week.
Sure, this may sound like more of a con than a pro, but you need to embrace the tradition of NASCAR in order to find it entertaining. Here’s how it usually goes: They bring out a pastor, minister, reverend, or any other churchy person to give an invocation.
Then, someone (usually with a military connection) sings the national anthem. A heavy, heavy emphasis is placed on the greatness of America. The drivers get into their cars, and not too shortly after, someone yells, “Drivers, start your engines!” Needless to say, the engines start. They follow a pace car around the track for a few laps, then the race goes underway as Darrell yells “Boogity boogity boogity, let’s go racing, drivers!”
The best part about this is that nobody directly involved with NASCAR understands how outdated all of this is. It never changes. And then they wonder why they can’t attract any a new generation of young fans. Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace this whole process while making fun of it, rather than just making fun of it.
Reason 2. Fantasy NASCAR. Yes, this is a thing, and it is amazing. I won’t bore you with the details of the scoring system, but I will say that having drivers to cheer for and against makes the race at least 50 times more entertaining. One lap, you’re cheering because one of your drivers took the lead. The next, you’re experiencing deep sadness because another one of your drivers’ cars had an electrical failure and they can’t finish the race. A few minutes later, you’re laughing because your friend’s driver sped on pit road and has to take a penalty lap. By the end of the race, it’s been a wild ride of highs and lows that rivals a Sunday of watching football.
Reason 3. Strategy. We all love strategy. There is so much more than goes into a race than just going around in ovals and filling your gas tank when you run out. Here’s a small list of things that NASCAR haters never consider:
Pit strategy – Choosing which laps to make a pit stop can make a huge difference in the outcome of the race. If you pit immediately before or after a caution flag comes out for a crash, it can be the difference in restarting the race from the lead or from the back of the field.
Teams – There are several racing teams in NASCAR, and teammates often work together in order to give their team the best chance of winning.
At Talladega in October of 2016, Joe Gibbs Racing had three of its four drivers draft off of each other in the back of the field, as they had already advanced to the next round of the playoffs. This gave the fourth Joe Gibbs driver, Denny Hamlin, a better chance to finish high and advance to the next round, and it worked.
Spotters – Each driver has a spotter that stands near the top of each stadium and relays information from above as the race happens. Spotters let the drivers know what kind of action is happening behind them and can make suggestions as to what part of the track the driver should be utilizing to gain ground or hold off others.
There’s more than just these, but these provide a small glimpse into a more complicated competition than what people perceive.
Reason 4. Darrell Waltrip and the rest of the FOX commentary booth.
Darrell is the aforementioned excitable man from Kentucky who yells. He spends much of the race giving compliments about how fast the drivers are going and how great they all are, and the rest trying to figure out what exactly is going on.In the past, he has suggested that rain delays could be sped up if each track had a tarp installed in the upper and lower barriers, which could be pulled out to cover the track when the rain begins. I don’t know if he fully understands how much tarp that would require, but that’s DW for you.
Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon finish out the trio, each of them extremely positive at all times. Mixed with the antics of DW, this is a perfect combination that makes the viewing experience phenomenal.
Reason 5. The drivers. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are mortal enemies. Matt Kenseth intentionally wrecked Joey Logano once. Kevin Harvick hates his pit crew. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is universally loved wherever he goes. Danica Patrick and AJ Allmendinger seemingly crash every race. The list goes on. You never know what you’re going to get. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll even get to see a confrontation!
The point is… if you decide to give NASCAR a chance, you should be able to find enjoyment no matter what you’re looking for. So when the Daytona 500 rolls around next February, put your American flag out on your porch, plant yourself in a comfortable seat, set your fantasy lineup, and prepare for the ride of your life!
I understand what makes Nascar entertaining. I just think it is way too easy of a sport (if you can call it one). We all know how to drive and they just do it really fast. It’s not even possible to get lost because you always turn the same direction. Maybe if there was some more danger involved and it was more like the movie Death Race I could get behind it!