# Somebody explain the NASCAR appeal please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221 "2004-04-09T21:01:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/21 "2004-04-10T01:36:35Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > or rich people batting around a fuzzy ball. You either get it or your don’t, there is no shame in deciding you don’t like it. Which goes to support my contention that it is a “class thing”. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/22 "2004-04-10T01:51:24Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > Okay, **GMRyujin** , > > So if I knuckle down to learn NASCAR THUNDER on my PS2, are my chances for getting to like Nascar racing enhanced - even a little bit? (I’m sorta serious.) Actually, yes. Just getting the feel for the different tracks will let you understand and identify a little more. If it still bores you, don’t sweat it. Just more room in the infield for the rest of us! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/23 "2004-04-10T01:58:04Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > The real appeal is to see a race live. I think that I agree. I have never been to a NASCAR race, but I love going to drag races in person. The smell of the burning rubber, the deafening roar of the engines, the drivers and their crews working in the pits; I can’t explain why, but I find it fascinating. But I am bored to death if I try to watch them on television. I think some things just have to be experenced in person to be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/24 "2004-04-10T13:18:41Z")
I agree with the guy who compared NASCAR to an LA freeway at rush hour. To me, it is a traffic jam at 200 MPH…I just don’t get it! And for you fans…do you REALLY enjoy sitting in the stands in 90 degree heat, watching cars go around a track? But hey, I enjoy watching old movies…different strokes for different folk! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/25 "2004-04-10T13:25:12Z")
I’m afraid I’m going to have to take exception to the belief that those drivers are driving essentially the same cars as what you can buy at your local dealer. MammaHomie’s Dodge Intrepid has as much in common with a Dodge Intrepid on the track at Daytona as a Cessna does with an F-16. Seriously - I think the only real similarity these cars have with their namesakes on the streets is that they’re vaguely shaped the same. As to it being a “class thing,” most of the men on my wife’s side of the family are huge NASCAR fans, and I can tell you confidently that much of the appeal lies in the _culture_ of stock car racing. In general, by embracing NASCAR you’re embracing a white, mostly southern, largely rural, beer-drinkin’, deer-huntin’, Hank-Williams-listenin’ crowd. Obviously this is a gross generalization, and it’s as much about _perception_ as it is reality, but there you have it. My brother-in-law would sooner die than be seen at a soccer game, but he proudly wears his NASCAR regalia from head to toe every S ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/26 "2004-04-10T13:28:39Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > My brother-in-law would sooner die than be seen at a soccer game, but he proudly wears his NASCAR regalia from head to toe every S every Sunday. Sheesh, what happened? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/27 "2004-04-10T13:57:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And NASCAR isn’t drag-racing. You aren’t going to find any “Nitro-burning funny cars” on a NASCAR track. If you want to check out the real hot rods of circle track racing, try to catch Supermodified racing. The cars are powered by all aluminum big block engines that hang off the left side of the car. Big wings on top to hold them to the ground and 16 inch wide slicks for tires. And they might weigh 2000 pounds. These cars run laps at the 1 mile Phoenix International raceway almost 2 seconds faster than any Indy car has. And watching 20 of them fly off into turn one of a quarter mile short is rather exhilerating. This [site](http://members.aol.com/bngsupers/main.html) has some info on them. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/28 "2004-04-10T15:06:04Z")
Remember, too, that NASCAR is not just the Winston Cup and Busch series but a governing and sanctioning body all the way down to where we’re talking people driving a much-closer-to-stock car on local tracks on the weekends as basically a hobby. And even though the big races in the NASCAR season are predominately on oval tracks, there are some road courses. I agree that learning the strategy of racing boosts the enjoyment level. Besides the effects of pit stops, cautions, drafting, getting high/low/in the groove, and so on, there are differences between the tracks. Learning the difference between, for example, Daytona, Martinsville, PPIR (Pikes Peak) and Pocono and what the strategy is for each track and how the individual track can shape a race is useful. Daytona is a 2.5 mile trioval superspeedway with high banked curves allowing for fast racing (or at least it would if it wasn’t for restrictor plates), while Martinsville is a little half-mile oval. PPIR is a one-mile D-oval, and Pocono is a 2.5 mile trioval that really, really looks like a triangle, especially compared with the much gentler Daytona and Talladega. And personally, I don’t understand the appeal of Formula One and, to a lesser degree, CART and IRL, though I always watch the Indy 500. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/29 "2004-04-10T15:10:12Z")
And I, apparently, am either not a “real fan” or a real “real fan” because I used the old Winston sponsor instead of the new Nextel sponsor in my post. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/30 "2004-04-10T16:42:54Z")
Lessee… so far the best arguments I’ve heard about NASCAR being interesting is that it is, in fact, physically challenging; some of the participants are real characters; there’s a fun atmosphere among the fans; the TV coverage is “interesting;” the equipment used to be available to the common man; and the element of speed. Sounds like the exact same arguments used for professional golf. Except for the speed part. But that can be addressed: turbo-charged golf carts. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/31 "2004-04-10T17:35:24Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Sounds like the exact same arguments used for professional golf. Except for the speed part. For a casual fan, this is not a bad analogy. The most “exciting” parts of a race are the pre-race ceremonies, the start of the race, wrecks and the finish. Between these events are often long green flag runs where there isn’t a lot of excitement, just lay back on the couch and halfway watch and enjoy that beer! Now I, on the other hand, have a second TV in the living room just for NA$CAR InCar, a service provided by my cable company that lets me watch the in-car camera of my favorite driver and listen to all team communication (driver/crew/spotter) for the whole race. Every lap I watch to see what line he runs, is he catching up to the next driver or slowing down? I listen to hear him describe how the car is handling. I want to see if the crew can take a race car that is not handling well and fix it. The thing that seperates NA$CAR from other racing IMO is side-by-side racing and the ability to “bang”. Yes, I know about the last 12 laps of the IRL race at Texas last year, I’m talking about the rule, not the exception. NA$CAR is making some stupid decisions that I believe will lead to the demise of the sport, or at least split it within the next few years. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/32 "2004-04-10T17:41:26Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But that can be addressed: turbo-charged golf carts. Screw that. They should joust for control of the pin before they tee off. But what sport wouldn’t be improved with more jousting? It’s like adding cowbell. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/33 "2004-04-12T06:31:03Z")
By golly, there sure were a lot of people at church this Sunday. I’m guessing that’s because there was no Nextel Cup race on TV. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/34 "2004-04-12T07:26:04Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But that can be addressed: turbo-charged golf carts. And snakes in the rough! Not poisonous ones, just little garden snakes to give people the willies as they try to save par. ---
**Author:** ![Bernard\_Marx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bernard\_Marx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bernard_Marx)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/35 "2004-04-12T09:46:13Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Chastain86_ > I’m honestly not a fan of any “sport” in which machines do the bulk of the competing. Sure, there’s some skill involved in the actual driving and maneuvering, but isn’t 90% of it how good your racing team (and hence, your car) happens to be? Not a NASCAR fan, but I follow Formula 1. For me, the team aspect is part of the appeal. I like the idea that it’s not only driver against driver, it’s also aerodynamicist against aerodynamicist, tyre manufacturer against tyre manufacturer and that the engineering is so precise that 1/1000ths of a second count. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/36 "2004-04-12T13:07:05Z")
I’m a gearhead, and I’ve done, and still do, some amateur (motorcycle) racing myself. Still, I don’t get the appeal of NASCAR racing either. Lots of advertising billboards going around and around? Can’t work up much interest. However, I _love_ other forms of motorsports. Motorcycle racing, especially Superbike (AMA and World). Flat track (dirt oval) racing is amazing (whether it’s motorcycles or sprint cars). Rally racing is where you’ll see the best driving there is to see, over every kind of road, in every kind of weather. The Dakar motorcycle rally has to be seen to be believed. Thousands of miles in the African desert. No roads, no signs. Riders get lost, for days sometimes. Guerillas capture riders and camps. Bikes break. Just to finish this rally is an amazing feat. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/37 "2004-04-12T13:35:46Z")
I’m a big fan of NASCAR. Here’s a few things. AFAIK, the cars were pretty much ‘stock’ until the early 70’s when the government put restrictions on gas guzzling and then race cars and production cars diverged. These motors churn out 900 horses at 8000 rpm. There’s nothing stock about them. I don’t consider it a sport at all, but that doesn’t mean shit. That’s just a word. What it is, is a **competition** between drivers, equipment and teams and I like to watch how that competition plays out. The drivers do need to be mentally tough and physically adept at a few things, but I don’t consider it a **sport**. I don’t consider chess a sport, but I still enjoy watching a match. Going to a live race is one thing. Watching it on TV is another. There’s a lot to follow during a race that has an effect on the outcome (gas mileage, tire wear, track position, crew chief decisions) that you can’t get live, but I find fascinating to follow on the TV. Live is a chance to swill some brews, get outdoors, hang out with a crazy crowd, etc. Following NASCAR is a lot like following other sports. You have guys you like, guys you don’t like. You get to rip on your buddy’s guy. There’s always crap going on between NASCAR and a driver or crap going on within a team, and following the “soap opera” all year is just like doing it for other sports. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/38 "2004-04-12T13:47:26Z")
I’m not into racing, I’m one of those guys who might watch a lap or two while flipping through the channels on Sunday. What I think are the strong points: - The drivers are fairly friendly and accessible. Ask an NBA player for an autograph, he’ll tell you to get stuffed. The NASCAR drivers are by and large patient with and polite to the fans that pay their salary. - Not all of us can hit a baseball or catch a football. We all drive, so to watch these guys drive 180 mph while inches from the cars around them is pretty impressive and something we can relate to. - There is some strategy- how often do you pit- can you get by without a tire change and save those few seconds? - The wrecks are spectacular but fortunately, not very often fatal. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can see why some people like it. To paraphrase Lincoln, for those that like that sort of thing, that’s the sort of thing they like. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/39 "2004-04-12T15:39:07Z")
I hate car racing in general and NASCAR in particular. It galls me when NASCAR claims to be the second most popular sport. Throughout the summer NASCAR has one event in the entire country every weekend which maybe 300,000 people attend. Major League Baseball (to say nothing of minor league baseball) has 15 events every day at which 300,000 people attend (average of 20,000 per game). NASCAR has one national broadcast once a week, baseball has 30 regional broadcasts every day and two national game broadcasts (FOX and ESPN). NASCAR has managed to spin this into saying that NASCAR is more popular than baseball, which is patently absurd. I’ve no grudge against the people who like car racing. There’s no accounting for taste, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221/40 "2004-04-12T19:16:30Z")
Twice a year, Long Pond, PA becomes the third or fourth largest city in Pennsylvania. When _attendance_ at a sporting event more than doubles the _population_ of the city hosting that event, it’s a pretty good indication that the sport is popular. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-explain-the-nascar-appeal-please/239221.md?page=3)