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Why I'm a Winston Cup fan It's all about appreciation for the sport and its people
By Johnny Phelps, CNN/Sports Illustrated So the calendar has turned to 2001, and NASCAR racing's brief offseason is done. The countdown to Daytona Speedweeks is heating up. Yes, I know they don't run races from late November until mid February, but work in the shops hardly takes a break, and race fans are getting revved up for the new season. And you can count me in that group, too, because I am an unabashed racing fan and make no excuses for it. I'm from North Carolina, so I come by my racing interest quite naturally. Having grown up and worked less than a half an hour from Petty Enterprises, my interest developed quite easily. But I am a fan of NASCAR Winston Cup racing not just because I like fast cars, and not because I know all about automobiles. Actually, aside from pumping gas, adding oil, and changing a tire, I'm pretty much in the dark about cars. But my lack of knowledge doesn't diminish my appreciation for race teams and what they accomplish. Shop workers, mechanics, R & D personnel, pit crews, crew chiefs, team managers, and drivers -- they all contribute to a team's success. If they don't, there is no success. By now, you're probably aware that NASCAR Winston Cup racing rivals only the NFL for fan interest in the United States. From the so-called "good ol' boy" days from Southern tracks, the sport is big-time, moving into big markets, with high-dollar sponsors, high-dollar contracts, and high-profile people. Winston Cup racing is big league. I like many big league sports. Racing is one of them. Time was, drivers worked on the cars, and drove the cars. Times have changed. Today's Winston Cup driver wears many hats, literally ... and not just in victory lane. In addition to risking his life in a 3,500-pound car at speeds approaching 200 MPH in extremely close quarters, a driver must be an ambassador for the sport and his team, be a spokesman for his sponsor (a commercial endorser in many cases), and must understand the marketing of himself and the racing game. So why is all that appealing? It's the sophistication of the sport-technical sophistication. No sport involves greater change in equipment. Granted, no sport involves as much equipment, and it's a quite a different situation from deciding whether to use graphite or titanium clubs and rackets, or a two-piece ball. Then once the equipment is decided, the playing field changes. Football players know the field is 100 yards long, basketball players know the basket is 10 feet high, baseball players know it's 90 feet between the bases, and the baselines and service lines are universal in tennis. Yes, golfers do face a different course each week, but the game plan is basically the same-drive it in the fairway, get it on the green, make the putt. The racer's playing field is different from week to week. Drivers go from the bumping and banging and "rubbing" of Martinsville -- the slowest track on the circuit -- to the 200 mph drafting packs at Talladega, the fastest track -- in one week's time. They must determine if its better to run the bottom lane or the higher groove, and not only will it change during the race, it might be different the next time they return to the speedway. Weather conditions affect all sports, but they affect racing in a different fashion. Sun and clouds affect the air temperature, which affects the track temperature, which affects the tires, which affect the car's handling, which affects its performance. Simply stated, if your car is set up for sunlight and it's a cloudy day, too bad ... you lose. I hear people who aren't race fans say the sport is boring, just a bunch of guys in fast cars riding around in circles. They don't have to like it, but they shouldn't dismiss it without understanding the races within a race. I know I'm guilty of disliking things that I don't understand. Some of the best competition on a Sunday afternoon happens back in the pack and not up front all the time. And no sport's fans are more loyal than race fans. I'm not talking about team loyalty as in Green Bay Packers loyalty, but rather loyalty to the sport. Consider driving for hours, then sitting in long traffic lines in order to fill every seat in the grandstands and every space in the infield, endure sweltering heat or wait out a four-hour rain delay, and then sitting in dreadfully slow traffic lines to get back home. So why do I like NASCAR Winston Cup racing? Call it an appreciation for the sport and its people. It's only the most competitive motor sport in the world. Johnny Phelps is an anchor for the CNN/Sports Illustrated television network.
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