NASCAR

I've never been to a stock car race, never listened to a race on radio, and only watch short segments of races on TV. I have no desire to attend a race. However, I did tour Daytona Speedway last summer while visiting a cousin in Deland. We road an open bus around the infield, saw the winner's circle, and road on sections of the track. There were short lines of people and a small fee to take this tour. The information and tour was very interesting.

In an effort to get a better appreciation of this sport, I read Sharyn McCrumb's 2005 book titled "St. Dale". This novel is about NASCAR, the tracks, the circuit, the drivers and the fans. The emphasis was on the big names like Petty, Gordon, Elliot, Martin, Bodine, Childress, Johnson and many others. The real big name is Dale Earnhardt and how his fan following raised him to a level of "secular sainthood".

I still cannot get turned on by motor sports. I remember when I was a teenager in the early 1960's. Boys and men would gather around a raised hood and admire the carburetor with the polished dome. They would call them three-twos or four-twos or something like that. I didn't understand carburetors then and I still don't.

Have a good day!