Storyline: NASCAR is as popular in the United States as soccer is around the world. And, unlike pro football, the biggest event of the year–Daytona–comes first, not last.
For many race fans last Sunday was the most important day of the year. The 58th running of the Daytona 500 took place at the storied track in Florida. It’s NASCAR’s equivalent of the Super Bowl. But, unlike football, the biggest race of the year comes first. And, for most casual racing fans, it’s a must-see event in the ten month-long chase for the Cup.
Courtesy: daytonainternationalspeedway.com
Most folks can’t even name a handful of racers, much less the sponsors who shell out millions of dollars to have their names plastered on the sides of these cars. But, all in all, it’s an exciting start of a lengthy race season, a sure sign that spring is right around the corner.
NASCAR is as popular in the United States as soccer is around the world. Millions flock each and every week to set up camp, tailgate, and watch their favorite racers speed around the track at almost 200 mph–turning left at every corner. For some it’s monotonous but, for others, it’s a passion and a rite of passage.
Crowd favorite, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., last year’s Daytona champ, Joey Logano, and 38 other drivers prepared themselves for 200 laps of non-stop action. Pregame rituals, star-studded interviews, and the most famous words in sports — “Gentlemen, start your engines!” — get the hours’ long festivities under way. The long winter of discontent is replaced by a season of potentially great endings – all culminating in the last ten races of the year – for the championship of the racing world.
The NASCAR season is always well-timed. It begins just as the NBA and NHL are mired in mid-season posturing and when baseball is beginning to take shape with pitchers and catchers reporting to Grapefruit and Cactus League camps. The day belongs to those who love speed–those who don’t mind sitting for hours waiting for the big race to begin in the hope that their favorite rules the day and brings the coveted Daytona championship home to start the season.
Courtesy: popularmechanics.com
Some folks don’t think that NASCAR racing is a true sport, like football, hockey, or baseball – where physical talent and the concept of team creates a winner or loser. But these racers are in great shape, spend countless hours practicing, and have a legion of folks who work daily to ensure that each car is primed and ready to go on race day. One little blip–one small thing that feels wrong on the car–can make or break getting the checkered flag. Thousandths of a second mean the difference between victory lane and a ending up in back of the pack.
This is the start of week after week of constant action – with very few breaks – save for Easter and Mother’s Day. NASCAR has built it’s reputation on being a true family sport – one that allows everyone to enjoy the spectacle that’s racing in America. It has come a long way over the years. With fans from the heartland of the country to the largest cities and beyond, racing has become an annual ritual. And there’s nothing to say that it can’t continue to be an ongoing phenomenon, bringing more and more fans into the fold.
Unlike other major sport NASCAR doesn’t have the kind of major following of daily fans who talk about their teams incessantly. The race is all about the weekend, the time trials, the lesser races the day before, and with trucks and sprint cars. Then the big kahuna comes every Sunday. It’s what race fans live for. They set aside time to watch each and every week, and they analyze how their ‘guy’ or ‘gal’ is going to take the points lead–for that chance to be the best of the best.
There have been many trailblazers in the sport — Richard Petty, Carl Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt, Sr., to name a few — who have led the way in bringing NASCAR racing from its infancy (through sand and mud in Florida many years ago) to where it is today – one of the most watched spectator sports in the world.
Yes, it’s not Premier League Soccer, World Series baseball, and not even close to being the spectacle that’s the Super Bowl. It is, however, Americana. It’s where the majority of average folks, no matter their status or standing in society, comes together each week and enjoys a group of athletes turning left around a track, bringing much needed excitement to an otherwise crazy world.
