Can anyone please explain the appeal of NASCAR to me?

As I said in your other thread.

Beer, lots of it.

Tony Stewart putting people into the wall. And beer, lots of it.

And those AMC Coke commercials are hilarious.

.00000013% of the time

Re: Can anyone please explain the appeal of NASCAR to me?

Well... when it comes down to it, you answered your own question.

I've wondered about those commercials. Do they play them outside of the south? I've only lived here 2 years, and I couldn't name a single one of the drivers (well, before they mention each other's names at least once). I can't imagine folks that live elsewhere would be compelled to drink coke by watching a bunch of rednecks in jumpsuits race remote controlled cars.

Yes, Nascar is very popular in the "north." Actually, it is loved throughout the U.S. and the world.

Ohh I forgot. Besides the beer, the crashes are king. As long as no one gets hurt.

There is nothing better than sitting on the couch outside of football season w/ some bber and watching a short track NASCAR race. Crashes galore!

The scary thing is, NASCAR is growing...in intellectual areas.

NASCAR is the fastest rising sport (in TV ratings and I guess merchandise sold) in such hotbeds of intellectualism and coffee shops as Seattle, Boston and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

To me this is very scary.

Where can you escape NASCAR? Where you can you not capitalize nascar and not be ostracized?

Where can I go to never have to go on a date with a woman who for some reason likes NASCAR and feels the need to tell me about it (and thinks for some reason this should be an endearing trait to me. I'd rather date someone who grew up with a crush on Wil Wheaton.)

Well, Nascar provides around four hours of competitive and exciting racing. Compared to the likes of Formula 1 (no passing) and touring cars (too short), this is pretty darn good. There's also the personalities that shine through, something most other race series have somehow managed to supress.

I think you misunderstand my objections. I don't think formula-1 or cart racing or drag racing is any better. I just don't understand the appeal of car racing at all.

And to me, its disturbing the number of women who do, which seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.

I have nothing against going fast though, The Right Stuff is one of my favorite movies.

What's the appeal of Football? Or Basketball? Or baseball? Or golf? Or hockey?

Football, basketball and hockey share the same objective: get the oddly shaped object from one side to the other. That's it.

Golf? Hit a small white ball two or three times and get it into a small hole. Yippie!!

And baseball? Oh God, I could go on for hours about the crappiness of baseball. You think auto racing is boring? How is baseball not boring? That escapes me.

But I'm not knocking the above mentioned sports, except baseball, but it's just every sports has it's ups and downs.

I tend to find that people who don't like NASCAR just don't understand auto racing. The drivers and teams spend months preparing for every race and even build seperate cars just for one race.

On race weekend it takes all the teams free time to get the car right for the driver. They spend the whole day, from dawn to dusk (and even later) setting the car up.

The sport isn't just racing the cars, it's about who can set the car up right for race day, the race to get out first in the pits and then the race to see who can win.

Certain tracks do provide boring racing (California, Chicago and a few others). But alot of them provide exciting racing.

If you don't like NASCAR that's cool. I never liked it until I decided to watch it back in '97. It took awhile to get into it, but after a few races I was hooked.

It's a great competitve sport, with side by side, fender to fender, beating and banging racing. You don't see that in Bore-me-la 1.

The problem with NASCAR is that it's hard for the occasional viewer to enjoy it. I like NASCAR, but I like it for reason that many people don't understand, I love the strategy behind auto racing. To many it looks like "cars going around in a circle". Do you honestly think that the drivers of the cars are thinking the same thing.

It's the same way with baseball. Most people don't understand the strategy behind baseball, and to them it's boring. Many people think that a no hitter would be a boring game to watch, but that's because they are ignorant to the skill it takes to pitch that game.

90% of the time the reason that people don't like Baseball or NASCAR is out of ignorance, they just don't understand the skill needed or the strategy involved.

Don't knock something until you've taken the time to learn about what's involved.

Good post. But I still hate baseball. I understand the skill involved for the pitchers and how tired their arm becomes, but it's still boring to watch them stand there for a couple of hours while doing it.

I really think to truly appreciate NASCAR, you need to go to a race at least once. Even if it's just a truck or Busch race, you will have a whole new appreciation for the sport.

The Truck series provides some of the best racing I've ever seen. There was a race this at Atlanta that ranks among some of the best I have ever seen. Door to door racing, everyone in contention and wrecking past the start/finish, it can't get any better.

I like Nascar highlights on ESPN Sportcenter. They show the good parts.

Living in North Carolina I know a little about Nascar but am not a real fan..


ESPN is currently filming a movie based on #3 Dale Earnhardt in NC.

Yeah and Dale Earnhardt Inc. wants nothing to do with project and doesn't approve of it. When Dale Jr. was on Larry King Live a few weeks ago he was asked about it, and even though he never gave a straight answer, you could tell he didn't want it being made.

then again, in formula 1 the drivers actually have to do some actual driving around fast curves instead of just driving around a circle.

but i find it strange that you write this: ...as some sort of explanation of why you like nascar, but then you diss F1 even though the very same aspects about preparation are true for it as well.

Nascar, or as I call it the PLTA-the professional left turn association.

Hahahahahahah.......NO! Those guys are running almost 200 mph with someone rubbing their car and bumping them...you couldn't even ride around on a bike with someone bumping you.

Traction control has really limited how much the driver has "to do" in F1.
Due to traction control you just mash the gas pedal when you hit the apex of the turn and the computer only provides provides enough speed to prevent the wheels form breaking loose of the track.
They are discussing several things to change about F1 for the 06 (i belive) season that should (hopefully) make it better.