1. NASCAR racing is a waste of time and money. So far from the truth that sometimes is drives me insane when I hear this! People who are not familiar with NASCAR think that racing causes the price of gas to increase and that it is wasteful. The truth of the matter is that stock cars within the NASCAR series do not even use regular unleaded gasoline. In fact, they run off of a special fuel blend by Sunoco called Green E15. The waste of money thing is just ridiculous! It's a promotional frenzy for well-known businesses like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dupont, Budweiser, GoDaddy and all of the other multi-billion dollar corporations who sponsor racers in NASCAR. And for them, it means brand loyalty. Because when a race fan is loyal to their driver - they are pretty loyal to the brand too. In addition, NASCAR and it's partners make large charitable contributions every year and works very closely with the Make-a-Wish Foundation granting wishes for terminally ill children. NASCAR has the largest solar-powered sports facility in the world - Pocono Speedway.
2. Nothing but a bunch of dumb, inbred rednecks. This one really makes my blood boil. I am a college-educated NASCAR fan. I am not inbred...but some may consider me a redneck. My husband is college-educated and a lot of our friends are college-educated NASCAR fans. In fact, the number of college-educated NASCAR fans does not differ much from the number of college-educated non-NASCAR fans. Beyond that, there are a number of NASCAR racers who are college-educated. For example, Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 Winston Cup Champion studied Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin of Milwaukee. Ryan Newman graduated from Purdue University in Indiana with an Engineering degree. Dale Earnhardt Jr has an Associate Degree in Automotive Technology and Jennifer Jo Cobb studied pre-journalism and completed an Associates Degree. In fact, statistics show that NASCAR fans are 3% more likely to have a household income of $75k or higher than non-fans and 7% more likely to be married. They are also more likely to own their home and have a disposable income.
3. Nothing but a bunch of cars making left turns. NASCAR runs road courses and oval track. Anyone who has any idea what a road course is, knows that there is both left and right turns. There is a great deal of strategy and detail that goes into running a fast, well performing stock car. Tiny adjustments can mean a huge difference between great, good and disaster. Drivers have to rely on timing, agility, and physical fitness to get through a race safely. Some of these races last hours - and driver fatigue could be detrimental not only to the driver himself (or herself), but also to the other drivers around them.
4. Drivers aren't athletes! Okay okay - have you ever seen Carl Edwards after he has won a race? He looks like a US Olympic Gymnast with is hands-free back flips. NASCAR races are a test of endurance, just like the Tour de France or the Boston Marathon. These drivers run 400, 500 or 600 in a matter of a couple of hours in cars without air conditioning, no muffler to take away the sound and no music radio to sing along to. Being a race car driver requires you to be in tip-top shape - both mentally and physically. If you aren't you won't run well, and well, can spell disaster. Let me put this in perspective for you - an astronaut experiences 3 G's when being launched into space. When Jeff Gordon hit the wall at Pocono in 2006, his car's force registered at 64 G's.
5. It's a Redneck Sport. Yes, NASCAR was founded in the south. And yes, a lot of it's racers and fans are from the south, but does being from the south make you a redneck? I was born and raised in NE Ohio - and I am a NASCAR fan. I enjoy the excitement. I enjoy the adrenaline rush. According to Wikipedia "The term Redneck is chiefly used for a poor rural white person of the Southern United States. It can be a derogatory slang term similar in meaning to cracker, hillbilly, and white trash. By the 2000's, the term had expanded in meaning beyond the poor Southerner to refer to bigoted, loutish reactionary Americans who are opposed to modern ways. It is often used to attack white Southern conservatives. The term is also used broadly to degrade working class and rural whites that are perceived by urban progressives to be insufficiently liberal. At the same time, some Southerners have reclaimed the word, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier." So, if you think about this - I am from the north - born and raised. I am a registered Democrat and define myself as a progressive-liberal. I am a NASCAR fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment