25 Comments on What Makes NASCAR So Special to You?

Rose on


my whole family enjoys Nascar and we attend alot of races, Dale Jr. is our favourite and always will be, his luck will change soon

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Rick on


This is not likely a meaningful comment.However it seems to me if a person has to ask,They likely would not understand anyway.But I will say the reason I got hooked,Richard Petty and later Dale Earnhardt.

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RacingWin Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 10:43 am

Rick, that actually is pretty meaningful. I get where you are coming from.

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Doug on


I got hooked by Darrel Waltrip and Rusty Wallace as drivers and continue to enjoy them as announcers. Junior keeps me hooked as a driver…no airs about him, just an all round nice guy. You can’t win all the time but he always makes it exciting.

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debbie rubino on


I have been going to nascar races since I was 6 weeks old and I am 50 !!! My Dad raced in the late 50′s when I was born Mom made him stop.. he may have stopped racing but it has nrver been out of his system !! He lived the rest of his career through other drivers’s Dale Sr. and now Jr. he truley wished for one of his 4 kids to follow his footsteps but with not the funds you needed never was a possibility ! He loves following Jr. and so do I we go to at least 6 races a year !! If possilbe I would just follow the hauler’s from one track to another for the whole year !!! I wait the whole week for friday and the Speed channel and then Sunday ( or Sat night ) !! We love Nascar !!! there’s nothing like it !!! We truley do have the need for Speed !!!! It ‘s in my blood !!

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Rick M on


I’ve been a race fan ever since my Daddy took me to my first race (dirt track) when I was just a small boy..I remember Ralph Earnhardt was his favorite. We lived in Cabarrus County in N.C. Home of the Earnhardt’s. As I grew older my love for the sport only intensified. I’ve been following it ever since, as well as the Earnhardts. I’ve seen highs and lows in Nascar over the last 50 years, but never would I have thought it would have sunk to the level it is now. It’s so damn commercial , not to mention with all the rules governing Nascar now it’s just changed everthing it was in the beginning. I know changes are inevitable, but not to the point where drivers have little or no say in so many things….Let’s get back to at least some of the grass roots or your going to keep losing fans……….

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lady Red on


My brother got me started watching NASCAR a year or so before Dale Sr. was killed. After a few races I was hooked.
When I saw the interaction between Dale Sr. and Jr. they became my favorites. I read the history of how NASCAR got started and was fascianted with the moonshine stories and how it was those men who began racing as it is today. Dale Jr. will be my favorite till the day I die or he quits racing. He is an historian who loves the history of racing and his families history in the sport. I live in the flat lands of Texas but the mountain area of Appalachia and where so many of the drivers come from fascinate me as I come from a mountainous background of simple people like the people of old that began racing. I applaud
Jr. for trying to keep that history alive as it seems to mean so much to him. He came from a poor background but all the money he has now has not changed him, he is still the quiet simple guy from the small town in NC. He has matured into a giving thoughtful person who gives so much that no one knows about like his dad did before him. He was taught well. I have been to the TX race and there is nothing more thrilling than to see the patriotism shown in NASCAR, more so than any other sport. The chills and tears start with the Star Spangled Banner and the fly-over. It is the greatest thrill I have ever experienced. Although I like some of the other drivers and cheer for them when Jr. isn’t winning, he will always be “the one”. He has class in the world of braggerts and drivers that shouldn’t be on the track. I plan to visit NC in October and my main destination will be Earnhardt
Country! Carry on Jr. just like your dad would want you to do. Be your own man but know Dad is watching over you.

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terry mansfield on


i have never been able to go to a race even though my grandkids live in Fontan california;
but i have 5 kids and twenty grandkids and the only peacful time i enjoy is
watching Nascar because it gives me the feeling of being free and the rush
of being there.

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Bob on


I hate to be negative but Nascar has destroyed real racing, I think the world of Dale Jr. but after this season is over I will not be watching Nascar, I have been to races in Daytona & never missed any races on TV but the races consist of 50% commercials & 50% racing action, that is not enjoyable. Also Nascar lets Kyle Busch & Carl edwards take drivers out of the race to win, I do not go for that, I raced small tracks for several years & they did not allow that to happen. If they would park Kyle & Carl when they take out drivers I would probably keep watching, but that is two of their pets so it is not going to happen. There is thousands of fans that feel the same way. Look at the empty seats in the stands,Nascar is killing their own buisness. Sorry.

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goldie on


I guess you might say I’ve had racing blood in my veins all my life, as my Dad raced motorcycles in his young years. My brother and I got interested in NASCAR in the late 50′s and early 60′s and forever after that and still to this day. My most prominent years of going to races and being affiliated with one team (husband worked for a team) was in the late 60′s and early 70′s when we followed the circuit. So much fun and never a dull moment. Don’t think for one minute even tho I am elderly now that I have given up racing. I watch each race on TV and have been to see a few ever so often. Of course, my favorite driver is Junior and naturally his father. I also pulled for the King and Pearson among lots of others.
I looke forward to each and every race. Love Bristol and Charlotte tracks.

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Patch on


My wife and I grew up in IN and she got fed up with Indy so we started watching NASCAR because most of the drivers were from the US. We found NASCAR a lot more interesting. One race the driver that I follow most closely was two laps down with 50 to go, got two Lucky Dogs and won the race. If you have a flat tire in Indy or get bumped you might as well go to the truck. We miss the days of our childhood when Indy was a racing instead of just driving. We each have our number one driver and then those that we “like” and hope they do well.
We will stick with NASCAR until the TV money heads ruin it.

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Barb F. on


I love Nascar racing I started watching way back when Dale Sr. raced and now I follow Junior.My boys both raced at a local track and I went to there race nights but I have 1 son that is a real Nascar fan he is now 42 and he started going to the races when he was in elementary school and kept me up to speed he would really be great on a Nascar game show he really knows a lot about the drivers and tracks.I love to see the drivers in person and the thrill of it all at our Loudon,NH track.I am a retired senior of 70 and I still love the excitement.

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mamadew88 on


I guess you could say I cut my teeth on electrical wiring as my Dad was an excellent electrian and working on the family car. As a child, I was Daddy’s girl and where ever my Dad was I was right behind him and being very inquisitive, he taught me all the parts he was working on and what their purpose was. At that time it was unheard of that a “girl” shouldn’t be intrested in cars.
As I got older, and working I always managed to purchase sport cars and l loved to go fast, it was then that I became a NASCAR fan. ( I now still drive a 2002 Monte Carlo SS as did Dale Sr.)
I became infatuated with Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Cal Yarbourgh, etc; all those old timers and my life has not been the same since. When I can afford going to the race track, I treat myself to a weekend inhaling the fumes of burning rubber, or else Sundays at home in front of the TV.
My favorite driver?? Of course it is Dale Jr………

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Sandra on


My mom and dad were regulars who went to Nashville Fairgrounds Racetrack to watch their favorite driver. My mom’s was Richard Petty and My dad’s was Darrell Waltrip. My mom carried me 9 months and every chance she got she went to the races, been told that her water broke while carrying me and my mom stayed to watch the finish of the race. I can today go to a live race and get so excited while watching it, but the sound of it is such a great lullaby to me. If I can’t sleep, I put on a tape of a race and the sounds of the cars can make me relax and make me fall asleep, I guess it was because my mom was around it the entire time she carried me. My favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Since Dale has passed away and Bill France, Jr has passed away NASCAR has not been the same. It has become a IROC series, my opinion Brian France has taken the sport out of NASCAR. Bill France, Jr told Brian that if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. I do like the safety walls and the safety inside the cars, but the spliter and everything about the cars on the outside needs to go back. Cars need to be shown what they are. Have Camaros for Chevy, Challenger for the Dodge, the mustangs for the Ford. It is a American Sport and that part needs to return back to NASCAR. It has gotten to the point if you watch before the race and reporters talk about a certain driver of winning before the race starts, no need to watch, that driver somehow will win that race. You can’t pass anyone. I watched Bristol race this past weekend, and yes I was thrilled Kyle Busch won all three races. But when Jimmie Johnson came in and been wreck, they had to try to rebuild the car back. In the days, all you needed was four tires, motor, and gasoline to win there. The cars now are so air sensitive. Now drivers are doing side air and taking the air from the side and they are not able to stay on the track. Like to see NASCAR racing, instead of every car looking alike except the emblem.
Dale Earnhardt Sr and Bill France Jr was alive, it would not be like that. Now a days when a person wins another driver can’t go up to them a give them a donut on the side, because it might tear a tire down. I remember when Dale Earnhardt would win, or Rusty Wallace and who ever won on the lap after the winner the drivers would go up to the winner and put a donut on the side of the car, that was NASCAR.

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Mama Donia on


I guess it all started back in the late 60′s. My husband was a milk man, he delivered milk to T.C Hunt in Atlanta, so we got to know him and his family really well, he was driving at the short tracks in and around Atlanta, he invited us to go with him to some of the races, then my husband started helping build some of the cars. We would go every Friday and Sunday nights to the old Peach Bowl and on Saturday nights wherever T.C. was racing. Then further down the line, my husband became a part of the cleanup and rescue group at Atlanta International Raceway, the now Atlanta Motor Speedway. We got to meet several of the drivers like Fred Lorenzen, Buddy Baker, Charlie Glotzback, Donny and Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, D,W., Rusty Wallace, The Great Dale Earnhardt, and lots of others, and it’s just went on from there. After that we started going to Nashville, Charlotte, Darlington, Talladega, Daytona, and all over, every weekend. Some of our friends bought the old Jeffco Speedway, now Gresham Motorsports Park and another friend owned Lanier Raceway, we use to go up there a lot of times and some of the drivers like Dale,Sr., Davey Allison, D.W. and the like would make personal appearances there and we would always get to meet them. We’ve met Kenny Schrader, up there and met Jeff Greene in L.V. It just got to the point where we looked at it like they were just like us, racing was their way of making a living, most of the drivers were down to earth and really nice, but of course Dale,Sr. was my favorite, I always got really nervous around him and he would realize it, and joke around to make us feel at ease. With the millions of dollars Dale made, he never made us feel he was superior to anyone, he was always kind and down to earth. NO ONE will ever replace him. When Dale Jr. started racing, of course, we wanted him to win along with his Dad, and now that Dale Sr. is gone, Jr. is the King with me, regardless of what he does I’ll always be there for him and hope to meet him someday.!!!!!

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Tom on


One day I turned on the tv to find something to watch and saw these cars racing.
It was in the summer of 1993 and Jeff Gordon was driving and I saw this rainbow color car and got hooked on it. So, I started watching the races every week and rooting for Jeff Gordon. Later I became a Dale Earnhardt’s fan and was rooting for both Jeff and Dale. I attended my first Nascar race in 1996 at Dover and wow, it was great sitting there and seeing the race “live”. So much different than watching it on tv. The only thing bad about going to races was getting to the track and leaving. Too much traffic but was happy to see a race. I went to Dover the following year and then October 1998 I went to the Pepsi 400 (because of the fire down in Florida that summer). It was there I got to see Dale Earnhardt’s Daytona 500 car that was in the museum. Wow, I couldn’t believe I was looking at it. I then got the Dale Earnhardt’s Daytona winner diecast with the actual piece of the tire from the race. I saw a couple more races the following years and went to Pocono and Dover again. The last race I saw was at Dover (Sept. 2001) where Jr. won the race. I am still a Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and now Dale Jr. fan.
I even met Jr. in January 2000 and he was nice enough to sign a book for me. I am currently living in Sao Paulo Brazil with my wife and still keep up to date with Nascar from down here. My dream to one day see a Daytona 500 race.

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Kathie on


My daughter started watching NASCAR. My opinion had always been, “They go around and around, and sometimes they crash, what’s the big deal?” She said, “Mom, you need to pick a driver, and follow him.” I picked Jamie McMurray (in ’03,) because he was the rookie who stood out most to me that year. The rest is history.

In ’04, my daughter wanted to go to Lowe’s Motor Speedway to see Jimmie Johnson win a race. We went to the 500, Jimmie Johnson won the race, not an easy feat, given we live in Massachusetts!1

A monster has been created, I’ve been to at least 1 race every year since, including 3 more trips to Charlotte. No fewer than 5 others have attended their first race with me, and I have an unbroken record, every one of them had their drivers win their first race. Too bad I haven’t had the same, Jamie has not won any race I’ve been to.

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Mavis on


I started watching racing when I retired in 2004. Prior to that I just had basic cable and wasn’t able to get the races. My son was a Dale Earnhardt fan and then a Dale Jr fan. It was when he came to live with me that I really got in to watching. I became a Dale Jr fan, not because of my son, but because I saw what kind of a person he is. I wouldn’t be watching if it wasn’t for him. It hurts when he doesn’t have a good car and is trying so hard. I did walk out on a race a couple of weeks ago when he went a lap down and was far back in the field. He did get his lap back and made up a lot of positions but I didn’t see it. I will probably never get to see a race in person but usually enjoy watching it on tv. I’ve got so I like the truck and Nationwide races better except when Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards think the track is theirs and take out other drivers. I will probably continue to watch as long as Jr is driving or has cars in Nationwide.

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Helen Johnson on


I started watching , just to keep my mind off the fact that I had lost my left vision
because of a stroke, and that little blue and yellow car was easy to keep up with, it stood out, I have been watching Nascar ever since, love it

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Helen Johnson on


I have been watching Nascar for years,since I found out I had lost my left vision because of a stroke that little blue and yellow no. 3 was easy to keep up with, it stood out on the track, so now you know my favorite, but I love them all they are like my family.
Keep them safe.
Helen

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Frank on


I loved Nascar from my first race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway.

At first itr was the non-wetop action (of all kinds). Then the speed and skill of the driversd. You soon picked your favorite and never changed. Mine was a driver named Jeff Hawkins who drove a classy ’39 Ford coupe, #99 and pained bright red. He was usually the class of the field. His shop was in our neighborhood wo naturally uw kids flocked there to peep in the door at the work going on with the cars. Jeff tolorated us and none of us ever forgot him. It was sad that his career ended prematurely after a very bad wreck at the track. I built a model of his car, set up the way he drove it. He kept it on hiw mantle until he passed away last year.

Nascar made you love some drivers and hate others! The contridiction in emotions was the big attraction. But you always had a favorite driver and never changed. I attended my firdst Darlington race in 1968 and attended many more until I had to give up a leg and have numerous heart procedures.

Thanks for the good times NASCAR! GO JUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Beth F on


I started watching NASCAR my freshman year of college because there was nothing else to do in South Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Someone had the lobby TV on the race and of course the black 3 was leading, I was hooked on racing ever since. I have always been an Earnhardt fan and always will be and I can’t wait to meet him! NASCAR is not the same as it was even since I started watching, some changes for the good and the bad. The safety innovations since Dale’s death have saved many drivers but it took losing the best to get the changes made. The “chase” is a big mistake because I want the drivers to drive for the win not the points. It is not fair to any team or driver or owner to be forced out of the season long championship because they cannot manipulate the point system. Consistency and good racing throughout the entire season should be what every team strives for. Each team becomes their own family which wins and loses together. AND I love this so much about NASCAR. Now granted, there are a few drivers I would not tinkle on if they were on fire! But all the people ‘behind the scenes’ and back in the Carolina shops that make up the whole of NASCAR as well. I love going up there during the off-season, seeing the shops(even if only from the outside) and dreaming of the new cars, paint, etc. just waiting to roll out come the following February. AND another thing, just go ask a ‘tire guy” in the garage on Sunday morning or show car driver at the local store for his autograph, and watch the expression on his face. That is what I love about racing….from the local dirt track to the highest level NASCAR, the passion within the sport binding ALL kinds together, that is what makes it special for me.
ESPECIALLY my EARNHARDT family who will never forget his passion for family and the sport……

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Mary on


When my daughter and her husband went to their first NASCAR Race 3 years ago, my grandson stayed at my house. Since his parents were at the race, I put it on TV. I was so impressed, beginning with the Invocation and all that followed, that I’ve been a diehard fan of NASCAR ever since. The Patriotism that is displayed brings tears to my eyes every time. And of course the race itself. WOW!! I don’t know how else to describe it. If anyone can correct the problems this country is now in, it’s NASCAR. I don’t miss a race. I’m a big baseball fan, but since I got hooked on NASCAR, that’s what comes first. Baseball is now second for me. God Bless all of you at NASCAR.

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REGAN on


REAL AMERICANS! fast cars, pretty girls,JR – whats not to like?

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mamadew88 on


After reading all the interesting letters from the fans above, I believe that the majority of people who have responded to the question at hand are all true NASCAR fans especially followers of both Dale Sr. and Dale Jr.

We all lead separate lives but our love of racing remains the same….my only hope is that NASCAR doesn’t keep changing the rules and regulations as a corporation that will destroy the original sport of racing into another demanding business who will demean the lives of owners, drivers, and staff. I myself enjoy watching a good clean race every Sunday.

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