I had always been baffled by how people could be entertained staring at cars drive in circles. Hundreds of times at that. But, getting to the point, one of my friends told me that most drivers come from humble beginnings and the race is mostly about your driver's struggle in gaining success and fame.
That its really a race between personalities. I could see that being a feasible way of getting interested in the sport, given that in other sports who have players from humble beginnings (lets say basketball) are team sports, where you can't really get to know each persons individual background in-depth.
Can any NASCAR FANS please confirm or deny this for me?
2007-09-20 04:57:19 · 19 answers · asked by crackcityrock3r 2 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
I personally used to be one of those people who asked WHY?
That is until 4 years ago when I was at moy brother's house and he was watching a race on tv. It just so happened that I got to see one horrific crash and I was like COOL!!
Been watching ever since. However three years ago, then the Race for the Chase started, my brother informed me that I could not watch NASCAR until I had a driver to root for, so I watched the 43 cars go around the track and picked one based on the color scheme. Being that I am a huge Cowboys fan I guess you can tell that I chose Jimmie Johnson because the primary colors on his car are blue and silver.
My brother, on the other hand, likes Jimmie Johnson because of his stats.
So it is safe to say that some people are born to like NASCAR while others grow into it.
2007-09-20 05:57:54 · answer #1 · answered by GASDIVA 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Where should I start?! NASCAR started in the backwoods of the south where they were running moonshine! Each driver would modify his car to try and outrun the police! Of course , the best drivers would get the "job" to deliver. Finally after years of this, a couple of the drivers got together to see whose car was faster. It evoled into drivers driving in circles to see who would win. Further down the road, it became NASCAR. The sport grew so big and the money to run the races became bigger, sponsors were brought. Junior Johnson was the first to bring one. He is the one who started it. From then on, sponsors became a common commodity for the teams. It became as the "RACE ON SUNDAY, SELL ON MONDAY" tradition! Folks had a common connection to racers. They started out by having nothing and with hard work and determination, they were an idol. The sport grew even bigger and more people were getting involved with the sport that they started to televise the races. People were also connected with racing because when it started, they had a love for cars and a fasination for going fast! Where else could you run your family car in a race and have the chance to win money! With the changing of cars in size and models, more people would want a car that was winning races and not losing all the time. Nowadays, racing has become more then a sport. It has become a WAY OF LIFE! I guess nobody really knows why we love racing so much and why we love watching cars go around in circles. The personalities of the drivers, the crew and even the fans make it what it is today. Knowing that each driver has his or her own way of driving, each crew has a different wasy of setting up the car and how much of a team effort it is to get the car just perfect so they all can win the race. The drviers and even the fans loyalty to each other is unbelieveable. Just knowing that you are driving the same make of car that your favorite driver wins in is great! If you have a love for racing and a love for cars or even if you think that the driver of the car is cute, we have something to look for each week and we wonder if our driver will win so we can brag about how much we love NASCAR! We have friendly arguements about how we dislike a driver and how we love another, how our driver missed that wreck by inches and for how close the finish was when they needed to replay it! Racing has been in our blood from the beginning. It doesn't matter if you are young or old, you always have the urge to push the gas petal down a little further to feel the excitement of going fast! So to answer your question, it's about the drivers, the team, the fans and the race. It is a sport where everybody can relate to because we all drive some sort of vehicle. Not everyone can play baseball, play football or even hockey. Those sports only have a few players that are liked. In racing, it's the whole team, not just the pitcher or quarterback and receiver. NASCAR, IT'S A WAY OF LIFE!!!
2007-09-20 14:40:45 · answer #2 · answered by Wolfchevy3 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say back in the day you could go as far as to say it was a struggle and just a luck of the draw type thing weather you make it or not. Today I have to say nothing close to humble luck now. You need $$$$$$ to go to the right places to start your racing. I would say Hamlin was the so called last hard luck story but even his parents had enough money to back him to the big time.
ASSCAR has made it even harder to make it today with all the cup drivers running Busch and the top 35 in points which is just beyond anything I could imagine why they have that.
I personally love racing. Have now for the best part of 50 years. I was a Sr. fan then a Chevy fan. but always a race fan first. Still am today I spent last weekend at a national championship race weekend for armature racers at Mid Ohio. Couldn't tell you any of the drivers names, and had a great time.
NASCAR right now is the top dog they run more races than any other series and all the races are televised.
If you look back at all the dumb rules that they have added in the last few years and the inconsistency for there petty rule breaking and enormous fines they better hope that there are some out there that are so into there certain driver.
2007-09-20 05:16:19 · answer #3 · answered by Ray Y 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think your friend is right. It was one of the reasons I started watching 30 years ago. The drivers were people who raced on Sunday, and sometimes went to a regular 40 hour a week job on Monday. Just like the rest of us. When you went to a race, you got to meet the drivers, and they didn't act like big superstars. They really appreciated meeting the fans, and would stop and have a real conversation. They didn't just sign a hat or shirt or program. Unfortunately, some of the younger drivers, like anything else in life, don't know what its like to struggle the way they did all those years ago. Driving is the only job they have. Nascar has taken the intimacy between drivers and fans away, now that it has become so popular. But from my own experience, I've been a fan so long now, that I couldn't stop watching. Although, I record the race and watch it later, the commercials are too many, too long, too often. Another downside to becoming so big.
2007-09-22 09:31:50 · answer #4 · answered by Twain Harte Gal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a little about both. NASCAR is in itself kind of a legacy sport, many small town people had dirt track racing in their past, my dad used to race stock cars on local tracks. I know it is a long way from NASCAR, but, it is where you start. There are thrills, the noise, who is leading, etc. I think it has a lot to do with where you came from. I personally watch other professional sports, but it all comes down to where you are from and what you like. I will admit to dozing ocassionally during a race, but I also doze during football games. My husband is a Cheesehead and I am a Chief fan and yes AFC/NFC people can coincide peacefully until the Superbowl. You can find out a lot about your favorites even if they play on teams. It is just that NASCAR drivers for the most part represent middle America and all of the things that you do. Don't you like to drive a car fast? But, you will never drive an Impala at 200 m.p.h.
2007-09-21 16:04:50 · answer #5 · answered by loco-mama 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
90 percent of people who like nascar, likke it because they grew up with it and were around it all the time so they were basically just born into it. and yes the drivers usually do come from humble beginnings and thier career is all about them rising to fame from nothing. Nascar in a sense is a team sport but it really isnt because drivers for the same company will help each other out in a race to gain a position or two but dont think they wont take them out in the next turn if it means the lead. Nascar appeals to a persons sense of adrenaline watching cars go around at 200+ miles an hour and watching a car grinfd up against another for a position but its usually just how you look at it. Hope this helps
2007-09-20 05:10:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The original NASCAR drivers were mostly moonshine runners. They'd modify their cars to out run the police. On weekends they'd get together to race to see who had the best car. So the sport generally does have humble beginnings. Drivers are now as varied as the fans as to where they come from and why they are there. I love the speed and the competition. There is also a lot more to a race than cars going in circles. The is a great deal of strategy involved also. The more you watch and get to know the drivers and different tracks, the more you realize as to what is involved in winning a race.
2007-09-20 05:16:03 · answer #7 · answered by jaytee556 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it is both ,I only like the drivers that nice and that can control their temper. The drivers who drive the cars make the race interesting to watch, on how they are going to react. But the race is really exciting because you get to see crashes and the cars bumping each other. But for me it is mostly the drivers because I know David Reutimann , he is a friend, and he is really close to God ,so that why he is my favorite driver. I f you are rooting for a driver you get all nervous and you get mad if someone wrecks your driver. It is more exciting if you know the driver and he is your friend and your cheering him on. It is more exciting if you watch the race in person because you get to hear the sounds and see every thing up close. Some drivers are too much into fame and are stuck up , but for the most part some of them are just like ordinary people. I have learn that most drivers if you just say good luck tonight, they will just keep talking to you about the car or whatever. So it is both the drivers and the race.
2007-09-20 06:47:47 · answer #8 · answered by carrie 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I love NASCAR. That being said, it's not nearly as much fun to watch on television as it is in person. The smell of the race fuel, the excitement when the cars fire up, finding a friend in the person beside you who roots for the same driver (or giving them a hard time because they root for a different driver). It's the greatest people-watching spectacle that you'll ever see.
As far as your humble beginnings statement, that is why so many people love Dale Jr. Because he is a regular joe who speaks his mind and we can all identify with. He drives a pickup, loves spending time with his buddies and wears jeans and t-shirts. He just has a lot more money than us, but he still acts like a regular guy.
My suggestion - go to a race. That's the only way you're going to see for yourself what it's all about.
2007-09-20 05:12:08 · answer #9 · answered by Brooke 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I grew up around Nascar when it was not a $$$$$$ sport, heck I remember guys won less than $5000 for winning, some races only $750.00 for winning.. It was very humble beginnings, I remember when they hauled the cars to the track with a pick up truck and trailer with the car on it, not these million dollar haulers.. Its just been in my blood all my life with my dad and uncles working as mechanics and pit crews, my mom taking dinner to the guys out in the garage working on the cars getting the cars ready to take to the track, no fancy mega shop...I've seen it come from a ma and pa sport to mega million industry, no million dollar sponsors on the cars.. You should watch some of the show on Speed TV Back in the Day when they are on.. But then I know people who have said they'll never ever consider going to a Nascar race, but once they went to a race, now they are totally hooked, they love it..
2007-09-20 06:54:23 · answer #10 · answered by Go Team Penske 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, many of the drivers are from humble beginnings but not all. Usually, the attraction is that everyone has a favorite driver for a multitude of different reasons and everyone is fiercely loyal to their drivers, and want them to do well each race. I like to watch just to see where "my" driver is running, how good is his car this week, and how well does he finish. And most fans get real mad when some other driver does something to make their guy mess up. It's just fun to watch.
2007-09-20 05:07:54 · answer #11 · answered by makeloans2 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋