NASCAR is one of America’s most-watched sports. However, people who haven’t taken the time to tune in and watch the action themselves can often have a pretty low opinion. On the other hand, people who do enjoy NASCAR are often fiercely passionate. So you have to assume that there’s something about NASCAR that’s worthy of your time.
And that’s absolutely the case. There are plenty of appealing aspects to NASCAR. Take a read of the key points below, and we’re pretty sure that you’ll want to tune in to the next race!
1. It’s One of the Fastest Motorsports
If you’re looking for a reason to give NASCAR some respect, just think about this — those cars are going very, very fast around that circuit! The average top speed is a little over 200mph. Let us tell you, if you’ve ever been anywhere near that speed on the road, you’ll know that it’s extremely fast. NASCAR is one of the fastest motorsports we have, behind only Formula One and Indycar. If you’ve got a love of all things speed, then you’ll be a fan of NASCAR.
2. There’s always a Great View
It’s great to watch Formula One on television. In person? Not so much. The reason for that is that you only get to see the cars zip past you every now and again. For most of the race, you’re just waiting for them to come near.
NASCAR is different. This is a round circuit, and it’s also a lot smaller than F1 tracks. That means that when you’re there watching it live, you can virtually always see the action. This makes it a lot more engaging for in-person spectators. Essentially, it’s a great day out.
3. It’s Competitive
NASCAR holds another advantage over Formula One: it’s more competitive. Realistically, you know that one of two F1 drivers will win the championship. In NASCAR, that’s not the case. Take a look at oddschecker.com, and you’ll find that there are around eight drivers who could all realistically win the race. It’s exciting to watch a race not knowing who is going to win, and that’s what NASCAR offers time and time again.
4. You Need Talent
Formula One is deeply exciting and technical, but it’s also true that teams have a whole network of professionals who work together to create and maintain the highest spec vehicle possible. The winner of the race is nearly always the team that has the best car. Of course you need a great driver, but it’s the car that does the bulk of the work.
The NASCAR world works a little differently. The cars are good, but they’re not the result of a highly technical, year-long project. As such, there’s a greater emphasis on the skills of the driver. To win a NASCAR race, you need to do more than have a reasonably fast vehicle. The driver must have concentration, fast reaction times, and all-around control of the car. Not many people on the planet could drive the way those drivers do.
Such a system brings a lot of excitement to every race, and since there are only four drivers in the final and the final placing in that race decides the championship, the uncertainty lasts until the last corner of the last lap. While some will say that in this system the best driver from the entire season does not win, but only the last ten races, it should also be mentioned that in order to win the title, the driver does not have the right to make even the slightest mistake.
5. There’s Always Drama
Take a look at the world’s biggest sports, and you’ll find that the majority of them have something pretty key in common; they all come with their fair amount of drama. It’s the off-field storylines that keep people on the hook, almost as much as the sporting action.
Well, when it comes to NASCAR, there’s plenty of drama. There are always arguments taking place between teams about what happened on the track. If a driver cuts someone off, then there will certainly be a heated exchange of words once the race is over.
6. Each season offers plenty of races
Then we come to another fact, which is that the season lasts a very long time, giving you plenty of opportunities to catch the race. It usually kicks in mid-February and ends at the end of November. That’s almost all year long. This means that the race is on the program almost every weekend, and of the 40 weeks that the season lasts, the drivers have a break on only four weekends. Some of them don’t even have that much rest, so they use the rare breaks in the strongest series to drive races in lower-class series. Unlike other popular races, where spectators have to wait several weeks and even months for the next race.
Finally, when you think about its popularity and the reason so many people are hooked on it, perhaps the key reason is history itself. The organization was founded in the late 1940s, but its origins date back twenty years earlier, in the era of prohibition, when the government banned the production of alcohol. This opened the door to illegal production in the forests and transport to the venues where people liked to socialize. Delivering something illegal required a super fast ride, and a bold driver, who was able to escape from the police.
So, in order to become successful in deliveries, in their free time, drivers got together to race and practice. Which led to the emergence of professional competitions such as the one we’re writing about. Perhaps the most interesting part of this championship is that for a long time, fully stock cars were used, identical to those on the streets (with the exception of a few safety measures). This competition has played a key role in the creation of many “muscle cars”, so the question is whether legendary units we know of today would have existed at all had it not been for it.
Conclusion
You can see why people have doubts about the legitimacy of NASCAR. But as we’ve seen, those doubts are largely unfounded. All in all, it’s one of the most exciting sports on television. Tune in, and you’ll soon see what we mean!
