If I were to poll the University of Alabama on the most boring televised sport, most would respond with women’s basketball, with NASCAR in second place. However, on the other hand, there is a strong contingent of students – especially in Alabama – who would consider NASCAR the most enthralling televised sport. What is the reason for so much disparity and little to no middle ground in this debate?

My personal belief is that students do not give NASCAR the time or chance to prove itself. With a new season around the bend, or left turn, let me show you some common myths surrounding the sport. Hopefully, you, the reader, will have a change of heart concerning this unappreciated sport.

Myth 1: There is no drama in NASCAR.

False. While other sports prove dramatic through off-the-court/field/rink aspects of the game, NASCAR settles all of its dirty laundry on the track. Like your favorite episode of Survivor or Desperate Housewives, alliances and enemies are formed throughout the year.

Flagrant fouling in basketball can lead to expulsion. Ndamukong Suh-like action in football can lead to expulsion.  Intentionally hitting batters in baseball can lead to expulsion. In NASCAR, let’s say you are not too fond of the driver ahead of you; why not give them a love tap at 200 miles per hour that sends them sailing into the reinforced concrete barrier of sorrow and despair?

Oh, so you say that other sports have their own protagonists and antagonists? Well, leave your fancy words because NASCAR only has good boys and bad boys. Good boys (Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards etc.) are there to maintain the stability of the NASCAR world, similar to the Avengers. Bad boys (Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart) are comparable to Harry and Marv in the Home Alone movies, always laughable but a little more successful. Everyone else can never be trusted, as they continually move from one side to the other.

Myth 2: NASCAR is for people of low intelligence.

False-ish. Sure, I cannot vouch for the regular attendance of Talladega Super Speedway on a crisp fall Sunday, but they are enjoying a sport of high intelligence and skill. Think of the skill (mental and physical) that it takes to play your everyday big-three sports. Now listen to the skill it takes to race in NASCAR.

First, drivers must be able to drive a car – something that women struggle with in a 35-mile per hour speed zone – at speeds nearing or over 200 miles per hour. That is similar to any idiot on the autobahn driving the world’s fastest production car. Moreover, the cars are 3,000+ pound deathtraps. That is similar to any idiot on an autobahn driving the world’s fastest production car during the movie Death Race.

Secondly, drivers must drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic – something that everyone struggles with on a day-to-day basis – at speeds nearing or over 200 miles per hour. At tracks where there are restrictor plate regulations, such as Talladega Super Speedway, drivers are literally inches from each other and four deep through some turns. In the middle of the chaos, 200 mph testosterone machines box in these unlucky drivers.

This, unfortunately, leads to the lowest intelligence aspect of fans: extreme wrecks.

(P.S. NASCAR drivers lose around eight pounds of water during a race. So, at 150 pounds, Jeff Gordon could walk a runway by the end of the race.)

Myth 3: NASCAR isn’t fun to watch. It’s just left turn after left turn.

True but false. I cannot disagree with this one. NASCAR has a few tracks, such as Watkins Glen, that are road courses requiring the right turn.

However, think of the big-three sports. Besides football, when was the last time you watched more than the last two innings in baseball or the last two minutes in basketball? Exactly. If you are not a major fan of the sport or team, these sports are boring until the end.

Next time that NASCAR is on, watch the final twenty laps. You will receive your adrenaline fix. Considering that the NASCAR championship came down to one lap last year, and most races come down to one lap each week, it is definitely more exciting than the usual baseball game decided by three runs or more.

So, readers, to watch NASCAR, there is no need to purchase a trucker’s hat, grease-up your favorite wifebeater and stock the fridge full of Miller High Life. All one needs is an open mind to appreciate one of the most enticing, skilled sports in the world.