For as long as I can remember I have been a NASCAR fan. I can’t explain exactly why, but there’s just been something about this motorsports league that has grabbed my attention better than any other sport out there.
One of the earliest memories of my life was my third birthday only because of the cake I had, which was a NASCAR themed Jeff Gordon cake. Jeff Gordon was my favorite driver up until he retired in 2015. Again I don’t know why I picked that driver, I can’t explain why I feel so much joy seeing these colorful loud cars going around the race track but it makes me so happy.
My dad watched just about every sport you could watch on TV and I tried them all with him, but none of them kept my eyes glued to the TV like NASCAR, we played as many sports as we could to have fun but nothing was more fun to me than when my dad bought me a go cart and I was instantly hooked getting drive as fast as I could.
I’ve always been known around school from people who know me as the NASCAR guy due to my NASCAR wardrobe always wearing a different drivers t-shirt every day to express the motorsport I love so much. To most people they look at me as if I’m an alien from another planet enjoying something that they thought wasn’t actually possible to enjoy. Apparently there was a time in the early 2000’s when NASCAR’s popularity was as big as the NFL but now it’s fallen down.
What I love about NASCAR is the noise, the smells, the sights. There is nothing like hearing the absolute eardrum blasting sound of the engines and sweet smell of the racing fuel along with the bright colors of the cars blasting by at dangerous speeds.
The competitiveness of NASCAR is unmatched by any other motorsport. Currently Formula 1 is gaining huge popularity all across the world and sorry but I just don’t understand why, it seems like the same two drivers win every week and races don’t have much passing whereas in NASCAR last season there were 19 different drivers who won a race out of 36 races. The level of competition is so great that you really can’t predict who will win every week.
I get geeked out when I see people wearing NASCAR merchandise in public but it seems like nine times out of ten the person is just wearing the clothing due to the aesthetic which I get because the jackets and t shirts look nice, but I wish the people wearing the Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt merchandise knew who these legends are and take the time to appreciate NASCAR for what it is.
I know NASCAR has a bad stereotype around it being a redneck only sport but I can assure you that it’s not. I just think that NASCAR is currently in a state of misunderstanding and people need to tune in on Sundays to give it a chance and truly pay attention to the fact that it’s not just about drivers going around in ovals but it’s rather a highly competitive and entertaining form of motorsport that brings people together.
