On No L.C! Say it ain't so. Of all the sports fans I know, you of all folks ought to know how very hard it is to win a car race. Car racin' and pro golf are the hardest toonaments (a word I was taught in the deep south by the last of the true Southern Gentlemen) in all of sports to win. It don't matter if its NASCAR, Sports Cars, Grand Prix, Formula One, Indy cars, the Baja 1000, mud tracks, go carts or bumper cars. Winning a race is double dog hard. I saw my first NASCAR race at Bowman Gray Stadium (a flat paved 1/4 mile) in Winston Salem, NC on a Saturday night sometime in the late 50's. It was two 25 lap qualifiers and a 50 lap feature race. There were all of the great names: R Petty, N Jarrett, D Pearson, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, ad infifamous. There wasn't anything boring about watching the good ol' boys slam, bang and crunch and keep runnin' neck and neck. Winning did not come easy. Whoever won was damned happy about it. I was hooked. From then on I'd spend my Sunday afternoons in a lifeguard chair listening to races on the radio. (I don't think anyone drowned during a race.) As recently as last year (50 years after my first race) I was lucky enough to get invited to sit up high in the Rusty Wallace Tower @ the Bristol, TN 1/4 mi. speedway for a 500 miler. It has the highest banking of any track. It is the fastest 1/4 mile track in the world. It is the hardest ticket to get in all of sports. Just call me lucky A653.
Think of 200,000 folks in a stadium four times as large as WVU's or even VA TECH's; and nobody leaving early til the event is over. It's still the most exciting game in town. Bar none. Sorry to disagree so vehemently LC. You just gotta have racin' in yr blood to like it as much as I do. Later...
Mr. 653... I don't dislike NASCAR. It's much better than baseball! I've been to Pocono, Bristol 3 times and Charlotte. I've enjoyed each of them. However I still can't make it through an entire race when I'm at home sitting on the couch. My eyes grow heavy within minutes and I'm out like a light. I almost fell asleep on during one of the Bristol races I attended. The constant growl and spinning in circles of the cars sent me into a trance like state. If NASCAR was really like "Days of Thunder", I'd love it.
I respect NASCAR, though. Physically it has to be one of the hardest things you can put yourself through. Pit road is crazy dangerous and the strategy is something I can only pretend to understand (gas mileage, when to take 4 tires, splashes and goes and drafting). Just because it puts me to sleep doesn't mean I don't respect the beast.
And in closing... after the NBA Finals commence, it becomes baseball and NASCAR season. That marks the beginning of my yearly 2 month hiatus from sports. A vacation of sorts... no more daily Sportscenter, no more hours in front of the TV watching hockey, basketball or football, no more reading team websites for as much info as I can get. It's break time and it's just around the corner! Sleepy Sundays here I come. Oh wait, I'm on a diet... exercise Sundays, here I come!
PS... there's nothing like the feeling you get the first time the cars pass you by at full speed during the start of a race. That's intense.
I must agree - can't make it through a race on TV. I did think it was pretty cool that they stopped the race at 3:00 on Memorial Day for the National Moment of Silence though; I did watch that.
Hmm, I found a hundred cars sitting still more interesting than a hundred cars driving real fast in a big left turn...wonder what that says 'bout me?
On No L.C! Say it ain't so. Of all the sports fans I know, you of all folks ought to know how very hard it is to win a car race. Car racin' and pro golf are the hardest toonaments (a word I was taught in the deep south by the last of the true Southern Gentlemen) in all of sports to win. It don't matter if its NASCAR, Sports Cars, Grand Prix, Formula One, Indy cars, the Baja 1000, mud tracks, go carts or bumper cars. Winning a race is double dog hard. I saw my first NASCAR race at Bowman Gray Stadium (a flat paved 1/4 mile) in Winston Salem, NC on a Saturday night sometime in the late 50's. It was two 25 lap qualifiers and a 50 lap feature race. There were all of the great names: R Petty, N Jarrett, D Pearson, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, ad infifamous. There wasn't anything boring about watching the good ol' boys slam, bang and crunch and keep runnin' neck and neck. Winning did not come easy. Whoever won was damned happy about it. I was hooked. From then on I'd spend my Sunday afternoons in a lifeguard chair listening to races on the radio. (I don't think anyone drowned during a race.) As recently as last year (50 years after my first race) I was lucky enough to get invited to sit up high in the Rusty Wallace Tower @ the Bristol, TN 1/4 mi. speedway for a 500 miler. It has the highest banking of any track. It is the fastest 1/4 mile track in the world. It is the hardest ticket to get in all of sports. Just call me lucky A653.
ReplyDeleteThink of 200,000 folks in a stadium four times as large as WVU's or even VA TECH's; and nobody leaving early til the event is over. It's still the most exciting game in town. Bar none. Sorry to disagree so vehemently LC. You just gotta have racin' in yr blood to like it as much as I do. Later...
Oops L.C. I just proofed the text of my longwinded objection to yr one word W. I meant to say..."double cat hard to win a race." Sorry.
ReplyDeleteMr. 653... I don't dislike NASCAR. It's much better than baseball! I've been to Pocono, Bristol 3 times and Charlotte. I've enjoyed each of them. However I still can't make it through an entire race when I'm at home sitting on the couch. My eyes grow heavy within minutes and I'm out like a light. I almost fell asleep on during one of the Bristol races I attended. The constant growl and spinning in circles of the cars sent me into a trance like state. If NASCAR was really like "Days of Thunder", I'd love it.
ReplyDeleteI respect NASCAR, though. Physically it has to be one of the hardest things you can put yourself through. Pit road is crazy dangerous and the strategy is something I can only pretend to understand (gas mileage, when to take 4 tires, splashes and goes and drafting). Just because it puts me to sleep doesn't mean I don't respect the beast.
And in closing... after the NBA Finals commence, it becomes baseball and NASCAR season. That marks the beginning of my yearly 2 month hiatus from sports. A vacation of sorts... no more daily Sportscenter, no more hours in front of the TV watching hockey, basketball or football, no more reading team websites for as much info as I can get. It's break time and it's just around the corner! Sleepy Sundays here I come. Oh wait, I'm on a diet... exercise Sundays, here I come!
PS... there's nothing like the feeling you get the first time the cars pass you by at full speed during the start of a race. That's intense.
Drive fast, turn left, turn left. Drive fast, turn left, turn left.
ReplyDeleteM'eh.
I DO want to go to a race sometime for the tailgaiting food and the people-watching inside!
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Kitchen.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about le Tour in July, LC!! The Peleton is the prettiest thing in sports.
ReplyDeleteI must agree - can't make it through a race on TV. I did think it was pretty cool that they stopped the race at 3:00 on Memorial Day for the National Moment of Silence though; I did watch that.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I found a hundred cars sitting still more interesting than a hundred cars driving real fast in a big left turn...wonder what that says 'bout me?