We moved to Indianapolis from New Jersey just before my senior year in HS. That's when I became aware of auto racing via the Indy 500. I came to be a big fan of the Indy 500. I've never been an "avid" fan of NASCAR because of my strong interest in other sports but I like it and follow it casually. East coast folks live in a different world. They think the Pacific Ocean is just beyond the western edge of the Allegheny Mountains. Auto racing - other than drag racing on deserted airport landing strips - is like soccer. It's a foreign sport that happens in another country, i.e., southern U.S. There's nothing wrong with that thinking. It suits them well. If it doesn't have roots in the Atlantic coast area between Maine and Maryland, it's not legitimate.
YES! Sid...occasionally if I Am flipping TV channels. Ill see cars running around a track. Ive never spent more the 10 seconds on it. Whatever :!:
While Sid's take is generally on target, it should be noted that no less than three Nascar/Sprint Cup race tracks are located in the geographic area of the east coast that he delineated: New Hampshire Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Dover(De) International Speedway. Right down the street about 1/2 mile from my business is Wall Stadium, a junior circuit Nascar-owned track that has been very successful for years and is the home track of both Ray Evernham and Martin Truex, Jr. In fact, every fall thaye have a race featuring many of the current Nascar drivers who come here on an off week to race. Traffic backs up for miles on that Saturday night... Nascar has explored sites in New Jersey for years and I think it's only a matter of time before it happens. I think the allure of Nascar is the that the drivers , alone amongst all professional athletes, have remained accessable.
NASCAR has expanded way beyond the South East of it's birth. There are NASCAR races in Texas, Arizona, California, it's more national now than ever.
A couple of years ago my wife and I made the mistake of driving from our Florida home back to NJ on the day of the Daytona 500. As luck would have it we went past the track on I-95 about 30 minutes after the race. We were in a 250,000 person car caravan from the race site until Richmond, Va.
Krebsie...several years ago I was driving home from St Pete and I also found myself in a "convoy" from Daytona up about 500 miles along I-95. In those days everyone had a CB. I was called a "yankee" about 100 times lol! Interesting drive time !
George, I should have qualified my comments to point out that Jersey folks are independent thinkers and tend to have a much broader view of things that their fellow easterners. :wink: Joel, I hope you realize that I'm good-naturedly pulling your leg. :lol:
My team sucked!!! Jimmie Johnson - Wreck that dropped him back to 27th Joe Nemechek - First car to go out (came back later to pick up a whopping two positions for 41st) Casey Mears - running 3rd with less than 10 to go - wreck boots him back to 35th Dale Earnhardt Jr - Top 10 finish at 9th place
Very clever......for a Purdue grad. :lol: :lol: :wink: (Forgive me, Dad. I'm just pulling my friend's leg.)
wow <t>I just nudged Stu this week. I had 3 of my 4 racers finish in the top 10. True funny story, I had Stewart, Kyle Bush, Junior and Michael Waltrip. The pick that I really labored over was Newman or Junior.. Junior still gave me 84 points for the 9th place finish and 12 lap leads, but Newman would have given me 100.<br/> <br/> Oh well, onto California...and I really wanted to pick Newman there but what are the odds of back to back top 10 finishes?? hmmmm</t>
I had Newman initially. In a moment of complete genius last Thursday I switched to Mark Martin. It's still a better start than last season; I had both Stewart and Kurt Busch (he was a "B" list driver last season) activated. They were running 1 & 2 when wrecked each other and finished 41 & 43. I got a grand total of 140 points that week. Something similar happened in week two. I had something like 285 points after two weeks and was 400 points behind the leaders. I never really recovered from that.
Jifferooski: Compare the race track to one of your vintage donuts..... it will all come together for you. 8)