Happily crouched at the starting line
NASCAR fans explain and defend their love of the sport
Jillian Melchior
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Sports
Many NASCAR fans are lured in by their friends and stay by finding a driver to cheer for.
Such was the case with Phyllis Klingler, a financial aid counselor at Hillsdale College.
Although not as avid a fan as Vershay, she follows the races most weekends, even if she only watches the end.
She began watching a few summers ago because her friends watched. She picked a driver to support - Gregg Biffle only because of his last name.
Vershay walked into her office one day wearing a hat with Biffle's name on it. (Biffle is his favorite as well, along with Ryan Newman.) Instantly, the two struck up a friendship over NASCAR, and they talk often about the results of races, especially since Biffle did well in the Daytona 500 last year, which is the NASCAR equivalent of the Superbowl.
There are only 43 cars participating in each race. The drivers are interviewed on TV, so spectators "get to know" them much better than the stars of football or baseball. Fans become attached to their favorite, which increases the suspense of the race. They also razz each other, teasing each other about their picks.
And there's more to it than merely watching the cars go around in circles, the oft-repeated cliché of those who just don't get NASCAR.
NASCAR races aren't always in a circle. Some of the races are shaped like ovals or triangles. Some are "road courses," which have right turns.
Still, circles or ovals hold more strategy than a first-time NASCAR viewer would suspect, Vershay said.
"What's cool about them going around in circles is, they're driving around the same track for a couple hundred laps each way," Vershay said. "They get a feeling for the turns. They figure out the fastest way to get through the turns. It allows them to race each other more on the circular tracks. With NASCAR, everyone is turning left at the same time, so you can go below him, go above him, see if you can get a run for the turn. Circular turns makes it more driver-to-driver."
Klingler echoed Vershay's sentiments regarding the deceptive look of the circular tracks.
"I think a lot of it is the pit crew, how fast they are," she said.
The pit crew, like the cars, zips through its routine, performing maintenance on the car, gassing it up, all so quickly it's timed to the second.
Vershay said students can afford watching a race live, and it might ensnare them like it did him. Tickets are, on average, about $40. The next race at the Michigan track is June 14 at 12:30 p.m.
Such was the case with Phyllis Klingler, a financial aid counselor at Hillsdale College.
Although not as avid a fan as Vershay, she follows the races most weekends, even if she only watches the end.
She began watching a few summers ago because her friends watched. She picked a driver to support - Gregg Biffle only because of his last name.
Vershay walked into her office one day wearing a hat with Biffle's name on it. (Biffle is his favorite as well, along with Ryan Newman.) Instantly, the two struck up a friendship over NASCAR, and they talk often about the results of races, especially since Biffle did well in the Daytona 500 last year, which is the NASCAR equivalent of the Superbowl.
There are only 43 cars participating in each race. The drivers are interviewed on TV, so spectators "get to know" them much better than the stars of football or baseball. Fans become attached to their favorite, which increases the suspense of the race. They also razz each other, teasing each other about their picks.
And there's more to it than merely watching the cars go around in circles, the oft-repeated cliché of those who just don't get NASCAR.
NASCAR races aren't always in a circle. Some of the races are shaped like ovals or triangles. Some are "road courses," which have right turns.
Still, circles or ovals hold more strategy than a first-time NASCAR viewer would suspect, Vershay said.
"What's cool about them going around in circles is, they're driving around the same track for a couple hundred laps each way," Vershay said. "They get a feeling for the turns. They figure out the fastest way to get through the turns. It allows them to race each other more on the circular tracks. With NASCAR, everyone is turning left at the same time, so you can go below him, go above him, see if you can get a run for the turn. Circular turns makes it more driver-to-driver."
Klingler echoed Vershay's sentiments regarding the deceptive look of the circular tracks.
"I think a lot of it is the pit crew, how fast they are," she said.
The pit crew, like the cars, zips through its routine, performing maintenance on the car, gassing it up, all so quickly it's timed to the second.
Vershay said students can afford watching a race live, and it might ensnare them like it did him. Tickets are, on average, about $40. The next race at the Michigan track is June 14 at 12:30 p.m.
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