Driving Around in my Automobile

I watched my first NASCAR race recently. Well actually, I tuned in, watched it for a couple minutes and changed the channel. I felt obliged to at least give it a try. After all, NASCAR has its roots in the South and certainly has quite a Southern fan base.

From the Yankee perspective though, I can honestly say that I don’t recall ever hearing a NASCAR recap on a Monday morning at the water cooler. Football, baseball, basketball – yes. But NASCAR? Nope, it never happened.

In the South, however, I’ve noticed that if a race is on, it’s ON! On the televisions in local bars and restaurants that is. I’ve even figured out that those number stickers on the back bumpers and back windows of cars are representative of NASCAR drivers. And here I was thinking it was a tally of the numbers of accidents that car had been in.

But, I still don’t get it. Watching cars ride round and round in circles for hours on end, is not entertaining to me.

Maybe I just don’t understand the “need for speed.” You see, my first car was a 1984 Chrysler E Class. She was one of kind. And by that I mean I have never seen another of her kind on the road. She was a clunky, four-door sedan, that I am convinced was my parent’s one last attempt at embarrassing me before adulthood.

Oh the talk in the High School hallways was priceless. “Oh, you got your license, congratulations! What kind of car did you get?” “A Chrysler E Class,” I would mumble. “A what? I’ve never heard of that.” “Of course you haven’t,” I would concede.

I “allowed” my parents to talk me into the car because it had a tape deck and I figured no matter how dorky the car, I’d be able to play music and that would make me cool. Of course, the tape deck is the only thing we didn’t “test” on the test drive. So when I brought her home and tried to play my 10,000 Maniacs tape it didn’t work and I was devastated.

A couple accidents later (within the first few months) and the E Class was far worse off than when I acquired her. She was not built for speed and in fact, had the pick up of an old lady crossing the street. And while I have since graduated to Volvos and SUVs I still don’t understand the allure of driving so fast that your face hurts. More importantly, I don’t understand the attraction to watching others drive so fast that their face hurts and your neck hurts from watching them go round and round.

So, I felt it was only fair that I ask a NASCAR fan for his input hoping that it would shed some light on the subject. So, I hit up my husband’s boss, Tony, for his take on the sport. Tony is a good ol’ Southern boy and successful business man who drives a Cadillac Escalade, a small plane, a Harley and an R.V. Go figure! Anyway, I asked Tony why I should be a NASAR fan, what is in it for me? His response – “If I have to explain it to you, you’ll never understand.” Well, I guess that answers that.

A 2004 ESPN Sports Poll reported that 42% of NASCAR fans are women. So I did a little more research and I can certainly understand why – these guys are cute! Two words ladies … Jimmie Johnson. My interest is piqued and I may just give this sport a second try.

I’ve heard that to really appreciate NASCAR, you have to go to a race. That probably isn’t going to happen for me this season - I prefer to feel the wind in my hair on Highway 278 (if and when traffic is moving) – but I’ll keep you posted.

Courtney Naughton is a Jersey Shore native who relocated to Bluffton. She drives a Nissan XTerra – if NASCAR comes knocking, she’ll add a #15 to her vehicle and will court Pottery Barn as her sponsor.