Wow, you’re still reading? I like you! Let’s leave politics and, okay, the environment out of this discussion, and get straight to the reasons why you’ll be highly entertained if you tune into Sunday’s Daytona 500 (Fox, 2 p.m.), the start of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.
1. Kelly Clarkson will be there. Kelly (pictured) claims to be a serious race fan, and we hope she is since she’s signed up to be the sport’s unofficial spokeswoman this year. She’ll perform a pre-race concert at Daytona, appear in commercials promoting May 18’s charity-driven "NASCAR Day 2007," and try to liven up their year-end awards ceremony traditionally held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria every December. Clarkson, by the way, isn’t the first celeb to take an interest in the sport. Folks like Adam Sandler, Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher, and of course, Will Ferrell, have been Grand Marshals at races to promote projects. And she won’t be the last: Kevin Costner and his band are set to perform a pre-race concert Feb. 25 at California Speedway.
2. You won’t just be watching cars going in circles. You’ll actually be watching 43 men drive at about 200 mph — feet or inches apart from one another — for hours. If their concentration slips for a second, you’ll also see "The Big One," which is what they call the huge, multi-car pile-up that often occurs at this superspeedway. And no, NASCAR fans don’t just watch for the wrecks. We’re waiting to see whose pit crew — the guys trying to change four tires, refuel the car, and make handling adjustments all under 14 seconds — will screw up and cost them the race. Whose crew chief will make a call that ends his driver’s dream of winning the "Great American Race." And who’s going to work with whom on the track— think back to Days of Thunder, when Tom Cruise used packets of Sweet ‘n’ Low on Nicole Kidman’s leg to explain why two cars running bumper-to-nose go faster than one running by itself. A driver will have to make friends to get to the front of the pack, and then in the final laps, hang his buddy out to dry to take the checkered flag himself. How badly do they want to win this race? Just look at how many teams were caught cheating qualifying for it.
3. Finally, you never know what kind of promotional stunt this sport will pull. As I sit at my computer now, I’m staring at two pictures taped to the screen: one is of two drivers racing full-size Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles at a speedway in Concord, N.C.; the other is of Tony Danza crashing a go-kart while racing then-active NASCAR star Rusty Wallace on his talk show. I don’t even need images of the following, because they’re imprinted on my mind: in 2004, the Top 10 drivers suffered through a fashion show on Regis & Kelly; last year, driver Matt Kenseth set a new Guinness World Record by throwing a large number of pies in Kelly Ripa’s face in under 60 seconds. (Then a few days later, Kelly broke his record by throwing a larger number of pies at Wilmer Valderrama’s mug, but whatever.) I can’t promise you anything as genius as that, but I can tell you that sponsors will be plugged. Wacky commercials will be aired. And Ricky Bobby will be proud.
One tip: If you are considering watching a NASCAR race for the first time, pick a driverto cheer for now. That way, even if you don’t understand what he meanswhen he says his car is tight (it won’t turn) or loose (the rear-endwants to spin out on him), your own competitive streak will keep youinvested. The sport’s most popular driver is Dale Earnhardt Jr., andhe’s always a threat at Daytona, so he’s a safe bet. Also, in a recentinterview with Sports Illustrated, he speaks your language. Or, at least tries to:
SI: The movie character I most identify with is…
Earnhardt: Somebody from [the television series] The Office. The guy who went to work for the other firm… I forget his name. O.K., go with the third Wyatt Earp brother in Tombstone. The young one, the goofy one. That’s me. You know, the guy who gets shot on the pool table.
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It’s not so much about who to root for (although picking someone is important), it’s about rooting against someone. Pick Jeff Gordon. It’s always fun to root against Jeffy.
Can I root against Kelly’s plastic Mom-pants (with matching jacket!)? Because it’s quite an achievement for one outfit to make her look both puffy AND saggy.
no mandi, just no
Also, reasons why watching is fun:
NASCAR drivers not only drive, they plot good pranks.
Awkward moments like men grabbing other men’s butts on national TV.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7715245489626498889
Not even if The Cure were to play atop a car would I watch Daytona or any such NASCAR event.
I enjoy watching NASCAR. Haven’t done it on a regular basis in a few years, but I will be watching Daytona with my dad. It’s actually a pretty exciting thing to watch. And not everyone who watches it is a hillbilly, honestly!
And, Heather, you’re right. I have my favorite drivers, but one of my favorite things is to root against Jeffy!
I’m sure this only applies to me, but I’m orig. from California where they’ve hardly even heard of NASCAR. I’ve lived in NC for the past 7 years, and well, NASCAR here is second only to the Baptist church as far as what is most worshipped.
What I do get a kick out of however is how people refer to the race cars as “the 24 car” or “the 3 car” or “the 21 car”. It reminds of LA, where everyone refers to the freeways as “the 405″ or “the 10″ or “the 210″.
it’s about seeing who will act like the biggest baby when he loses!!!
I never really analyzed why I like to watch NASCAR. But thinking about it, I like watching any live sport because you never know what will happen. Some races are really uneventful but then some are packed full of crashes, lead changes, blown engines, etc.
And I like Tony Stewart. Not “the 20″ car.
I just enjoy watching any live sport because you never know what will happen.
Plus I like Tony Stewart (the 20 car)
I don’t get it, I just don’t get it. Watching a bunch of men driving around in circles. I live in Montreal, and NASCAR is coming here this summer for the first time, and people won’t shut up about it. We also have the F1 race here every summer, I like to go out that weekend cause there are tons of tourists downtown and it’s the IN thing to do. But I just don’t get the races.
Uhh…terrible article.
It should be called ” I can get a 13 year old girl to consider watching Kelly Clarkson sing at a Nascar event.”
Becuase thats the only one whos gonna buy these ridiculous arguements.
Oh boy! A generic american Idol Popsinger is playing!…(95% of men don’t give a damn…and a good chuck of women too)
Number 2 is just a lie. WE WILL BE WATCHING CARS GOING IN CIRCLES. The only way that statement isn’t true is if you meant that the track is actuall more eliptical than circular.
Driving in circles is boring no matter how fast you do it. Hell, at leasy formula one has road courses.
And 3…I actually do know what will happen.
Someone will Crash! Oh wow! What a rarity in a nascar event! I can’t wait to sit for hours watching cars go in a circle for one or two 10 second crashes. what joy!
Your arguements fail. Your premises fails. You fail.
Please stop with the “I can make you like…” articles. becuase no…no you can’t
America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed. -Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936
Mandi,
Why didn’t you mention that you did an article in last month’s ESPN the Magazine on Greg Biffle?
Pete – Can someone at least make you learn grammar and/or spelling?
Mandi, aren’t you the one who’s always claiming to be able to get people to like things? Cuz it hasn’t worked yet, so maybe you should give it up.
“You won’t just be watching cars going in circles. You’ll actually be watching 43 men drive at about 200 mph — feet or inches apart from one another — for hours”…IN A CIRCLE! (unless I missed something). Pass!
Jenn…When your resort to questioning things like spelling…you’ve already lost the arguement.
I missed Kelly, but saw the race. And what a race. For the fans who don’t get it, I understand. I’m an African-American man rasied in the inner city of Chicago where it was not popular to watch NASCAR. But when you see these guys racing at 180 MPH, it’s the strategy of racing that’s fun to watch. The same way track runners have a strategy to win their race. And then you have the drivers. My fav is Jimmy Johnson. But I was hurt that Mark Martin did not win. I’m not much of a Kevin Harick fan.
But thanks for letting us know about Kelly!