NASCAR Fans Wanted

NASCAR Fans Wanted

By Uncle Clark

One. There has been one comment in the first two weeks of Bro Nameth’s NASCAR coverage. It came from none other than the site’s founder, Chris McDonald. That’s about as meaningful as a scratch-and-sniff sticker on a preschooler’s art project.

We’re not looking for accolades. We’re looking to start the conversation. Here is why Bro Nameth’s readers should follow the sport. Here are the reasons you should become a fan of NASCAR:

1.        This boat is real. Jay Cutler isn’t fit to sell the programs for this sport. You don’t make it into NASCAR without laying it all on the line. The stories of most of the guys past and present in the series bet everything they had on their ambition and their will to win. In this sport, there aren’t athletic scholarships and there sure as hell aren’t draft picks. There are 43 spots in the top series and there are thousands that want in. You want proof? Head to your local hometrack. I’m talking about places where race teams are families; places where drivers are competing for sponsorship dollars against teams from men’s softball leagues. Careers begin here. Dreams die here. Racing happens in between.

2.       The sport is rooted in moonshine, a beach and the will to win. The booze isn’t what’s impressive. It’s the fact that an act of civil disobedience in the time of prohibition developed into a national pastime on the coastal sands of Florida. Bootleggers boring out cylinders to outrun the feds have become physics professors looking to outpace the competition. It’s a unique story. It’s an American story. It should be yours.

3.       Bristol. Motor. Speedway. Some genius looked at a toilet bowl and thought it looked like a race track. And he was right. 43 cars line up on a ½ mile track with a banking angle that notches as high as 30 degrees. Drivers then turn 15-second laps at speeds exceeding 120 mph in front of 165,000 fans who brought their own beer under the lights of an August night. The only things brighter than the Budweiser cans are the brake calipers glowing red over the course of 500 laps. To quote a bro:

4.       Rachel Nichols doesn’t cover NASCAR. Stop moving your hands when you talk woman.

5.       The Radio. You have complete access to the communications of your race team. Everything from the crew chief’s race strategy to the driver’s choice of Gatorade is aired to the public. You know when your driver is pitting, what adjustments the car is taking and exactly how pissed he is when he gets loose in a corner. What happens over the radio is unscripted and uncensored. You have full access to the adrenaline-fueled emotion that comes from 200 MPH.

6.       The race weekend. You will meet the best people in the world at a NASCAR race. Camping in a field outside a racetrack for three days will restore your faith in America. Here’s a quick comparison: Last year I went to a hippy music festival and I had everything down to my Frisbee stolen…Peace, Love, my ass. The year before I went to the Cocacola 600 in Concord, NC and when I came back from a beer run somebody had picked up my empties. Wonder where I am going this year?

7.       It’s racing. If you follow IRL or Formula-1, you’re in the right zip code, but you’re watching a traction controlled version of vanilla pudding. In NASCAR, bumping into the guy next to you is just a part of the sport. In open wheel it’s a death wish. Drivers police themselves and when one gets out of line he is put in the wall on the next lap. Teams will do anything it takes to win. If it means taking the leader out than watch what happens. Most of these points may sound redneck and that’s because they are. But the result of this attitude is a competition and a sport that is unmatched.

Becoming a NASCAR fan takes time. I used to be like you: I made fun of this sport. Then my roommate in college forced me to watch a couple of races. When you see drivers run four-wide on a track only wide enough for three you begin to recognize the adrenaline that brought them there. It’s only a matter of time before you feel that adrenaline yourself.

We’re only a few weeks away from the Budweiser Shootout, a glorified all star-race on the world’s most storied racetrack – Daytona.  Bro Nameth will have you prepped, but we want you talking.