NASCAR & why I love it
Inevitably, when the topic of NASCAR comes up, I get one of two (or both) reactions: (1) "YOU love NASCAR? What? WHY? What's wrong with you?" or (2) A rolling of the eyes, indicating the listeners dismay with the most "redneck" of all "sports."
It all started with me being bored one weekend, and nothing else being on TV (besides football, baseball, golf or whatever). I somehow got sucked into the ceremony of it all: the driver presentations, national anthem, fighter jet fly-over, opening prayer (yes, prayer), everything down to the command to start engines. I liked the emphasis on family and faith; the fact that crew members high-fived and the drivers kissed their wives.
But I also liked learning about the technical aspects of the sport: track-bar adjustments, tire pressure, being loose into turn 4, the spotters, the HANS device, the SAFER barrier. It's all fascinating to someone coming from a nation that invented fast cars :)
And then, of course, there's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. <3
I remember during my first race when the reporters took a time-out to "crank it up" and I shook my head and rolled my eyes saying, I am NOT going to turn up the volume to listen to a bunch of cars race by. Next week..I turned the volume up to 43 and sat staring at the TV with a grin from ear to ear.
And, yes, over the years, my left-hand turns have become very strong.
It all started with me being bored one weekend, and nothing else being on TV (besides football, baseball, golf or whatever). I somehow got sucked into the ceremony of it all: the driver presentations, national anthem, fighter jet fly-over, opening prayer (yes, prayer), everything down to the command to start engines. I liked the emphasis on family and faith; the fact that crew members high-fived and the drivers kissed their wives.
But I also liked learning about the technical aspects of the sport: track-bar adjustments, tire pressure, being loose into turn 4, the spotters, the HANS device, the SAFER barrier. It's all fascinating to someone coming from a nation that invented fast cars :)
And then, of course, there's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. <3
I remember during my first race when the reporters took a time-out to "crank it up" and I shook my head and rolled my eyes saying, I am NOT going to turn up the volume to listen to a bunch of cars race by. Next week..I turned the volume up to 43 and sat staring at the TV with a grin from ear to ear.
And, yes, over the years, my left-hand turns have become very strong.
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