NASCAR: Daytona 500 the Super Bowl of Racing

Chuck Stone — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:48:12 -0500

I know, I know, the Super Bowl was two weeks ago, and the G-men are the big winners.

But I'm talking to the NASCAR fans. This is it! What you've been waiting for since November, when Jimmy Johnson won the Nextel Cup.

That's right, Daytona 500 is this Sunday and it is to NASCAR what the Super Bowl is to the NFL.

Every NASCAR fan should head to the track at least once. Television doesn't give you the full effect of the speed these guys are traveling. And when you do go for the first time, make it an oval track. Watkins Glen and the one out in California are both road courses and won't allow you to view the whole track at the same time.

Another comparison to the NFL would have to be the party atmosphere of tailgating. I've been to Pocono twice. We tailgated for breakfast, lunch was in a sack we took the track, and then a tailgating dinner post race—had to because the traffic getting away from there was just as bad as it was going into the track area.

And those who say the drivers aren't athletes are wrong; they are the QB's while the pit crew is the O-line, and the crew chief is the head coach.

Yet unlike the NFL, owners can own more than one team, and there is no true home field advantage.

So without further ado, we again will here those four words, "Gentlemen, start your engines!!!"

May you have a great season, and welcome back NASCAR.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Chuck Stone

NASCAR: Daytona 500 the Super Bowl of Racing