How can someone who seems to know absolutely nothing about NASCAR get away with writing a column about it in The Crimson White? Sure, all the myths about why people don’t watch NASCAR seem true, but the explanations seem to be coming from a sports fan who casually watches NASCAR instead of a NASCAR fan who casually watches other sports.
The explanation that no one watches NASCAR because there is no drama seems like a good argument. The only problem is that drivers do get penalized for wrecking someone into the wall. It’s called probation. In baseball, pitchers get a warning before they are tossed for drilling a batter. They aren’t automatically tossed, just like the drivers aren’t in NASCAR.
And how do you go about naming the bad boys of NASCAR and fail to mention Kyle Busch, who is the least-liked driver in NASCAR. Any “true” NASCAR fan recognizes Kyle Busch as the most hated driver.
The column became a complete bust when there was a comparison to “Desperate Housewives.” Really? “Desperate Housewives?” I’m pretty sure there isn’t one NASCAR fan who compares the drama of the sport to that show. And the fact that women are stereotyped by their bad driving is a complete lack of respect. Running this column should be a disgrace to the paper itself. I’m not saying that the women on the circuit now are good drivers; as a matter of fact, I don’t think Danica Patrick will ever win a race on the circuit, but there should be no reason why they can’t win.
Next, the part saying viewers should watch the final 20 laps of a race to get the most excitement is a slap in the face to the entire sport. Has the writer even watched an entire race? The reason that NASCAR seems to be a boring sport is the number of one-and-a-half mile tracks that are run. These tracks always have the least amount of passing compared to the super speedways and the short tracks. If you’ve never watched the sport before, the only way you’re going to enjoy it is to watch the most exciting races such as Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, Charlotte and Darlington. If you’re trying to get someone hooked on football, you aren’t going to take him or her to the fourth quarter of the Alabama-North Texas game; you’re going to take them to the entire Iron Bowl. Watching the last 20 laps of a race where Jeff Burton has a four second lead over Denny Hamlin at Kansas Speedway isn’t going to make anyone’s adrenaline light up unless they’re a fan of Jeff Burton.
NASCAR is the only sport where television doesn’t do justice. The smell of the rubber against the concrete and the sights of the pre-race activities (and yes, NASCAR is the only major sport in the world where praying is a common practice before races) is something that has to be seen in person. Almost every NASCAR fan I know became enthralled with the sport after seeing it in person, not on the television. So please, next time you write a column on one of the greatest sports in America, contact someone who actually loves the sport and knows a little about it too.
John Burket is a senior majoring in marketing.
