Why I Like NASCAR

Why I Like NASCAR
My first favorite NASCAR driver was Davey Allison. There was something about that black Texaco No. 28 Ford that I liked. But he was the only driver at the time that I rooted for.
I really wasn't into NASCAR, or the Winston Cup as it was called then, as I am now. Plus it was the only sport I could talk with my uncle about. He watched NASCAR religiously, taping the races when he wasn't going to be home to see it.
For me, I was always interested in who won and where Allison finished. Then Allison died and just stopped watching.
I'd watch the highlights of the races but I wasn't watching many if any of the races.
That changed with the Daytona 500 in 2001. Strange enough, it was the death of a sports legend that got me back into NASCAR.
I watched parts of the big race up until Tony Stewart took flight and ended up flipping over and over on the back stretch. The race was stopped for clean up and I had to leave.
When I got home I got a call from my uncle that Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed in a car wreck. All of the major sports networks were covering the event and reshowing the crash that didn't at first glance look as bad as Stewart's wreck.
My wife, Jill was glued into the coverage and started reading about Earnhardt's life and the race.
The very next weekend, we were at my brother's house and he was flipping the channels on a Sunday afternoon. He came across the race and from the other side of the room my wife asked if we could watch the rest of it.
We've been watching NASCAR ever since. We've been on tours at Daytona twice and once at Charlotte and Talladega. We're looking into finally going to a race one of these days but we really enjoy watching it on television.
For this blog, I'll give you my thoughts about a race leading into the event and after it's done.
Laurens County has a lot of NASCAR fans. I've seen many bumper stickers and people wearing their favorite driver on their shirts or hats.
I have several drivers I like and several I don't. I won't get into that here but if a driver messes up on the track, I'll mention it even if he's one of my favorite drivers.
As for this week, the only race being held is in the Nationwide Series (formerly the Busch Series) for the Pepsi 300 at Lebanon, Tenn. I heard where six drivers from the Sprint Cup Series, including Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, are going to be driving amongst the Nationwide regulars.
I would be surprised if a Nationwide regular driver wins the race. I wouldn't be surprised to see the six Sprint Car drivers racing for the lead and finishing in the top 10.
The Sprint Cup drivers who are not racing in the Nationwide race, will be taking this weekend off to celebrate Easter. They may need it before they head off to Martinsville for short track bumping and racing next week.
Starting on Friday, March 21, The Courier-Herald is going to rev up its NASCAR coverage. Hope you like it.