Nascar is one of the most popular sports in the United States, however it seems that people either love the sport or hate it.  It is not often that you find a person that maybe casually watches it occasionally or everyonce in a while.  Typically when I talk to people about it, they either love the sport and can not get enough of it or they absolutely hate it and start attacking it saying how awful it is.  I think that if people just took the time to learn about NASCAR and sit down and watch the race, then they would really appreciate it a lot more.  Im not saying that if everyone sat down and watched a race that everyone would love it, because NASCAR is not for everyone.  All I am saying is that they may have a better understanding of it and not talk bad about it or hate it. 

There are many arguments and reasons why people feel that NASCAR is a boring sport or not even a sport at all.  Some say that it does not take any talent at all to sit in a car and turn left for hours.  They say that it is boring because it is just a bunch of cars going around in circles for hundreds of miles at a time.  Many racing fans look down on NASCAR because they feel that F1 racing or indy car racing requires more from the driver because they are contansty having to turn both right and left.  Another argument that I frequently hear is that it is just a bunch of "dumb rednecks" driving cars. 

Although some of those points may have some validity, I strongly disagree with what they say about NASCAR.  Take the speed limits on the free way for example, many people get very scared while driving 75 miles per hour on the freeway with people around them maybe within a few car lengths.  Now just think if you were driving just 100 miles per hour and had to make a hard left  soon, most of you would be rather scared of this and would not want to, now imagine those drivers in NASCAR that are going up to twice that fast at 200 miles per hour and they have to make 4 hard lefts in just 1 lap.  Multiply that by 200 laps and they are making 800 turns between the speeds of 130 to 200 miles per hours, I would have to say that takes some skill alone, add in the other 42 drivers out there within inches of either side of you and I guarantee over 99% of the population would be scared out of their minds to do something like that. 

There are many people that feel that open wheel racing is much more challenging because they turn both directions and at higher speeds.  If you simply look at the two different builds of a NASCAR and indy car or F1 then you will realize that the F1 cars are much lighter and lower to the ground, making turning in those cars much easier to do.  A NASCAR is a very heavy car with higher center of gravity and narrower wheel base, therefore making turning in a stock car a lot more difficult to do.  Turning in an indy car is much easier because you know when you turn your wheel the car will follow, in a NASCAR when they turn their wheel the car may push in the corner or be loose getting into the corner or coming off, making the driver have to correct his car will maintaining a high speed without coming into contact with the wall or other drivers. 

Contrary to what people may think, NASCAR is a very physically demanding sport that requires a lot of stamina and endurance.  The driver is constantly holding onto the wheel and making turns, correcting his car when it gets sideways and going back and forth on the wheel.  Doing this is a lot of strain on the shoulders and arms to keep the car going for hours at a time.  Inside the car the temperatures reach levels of extreme heat upwards of 120 degrees, while they are wearing a full body suit causing more heat for the driver.  In order to withstand this type of heat a driver must be in good shape or they will not make it for the entire length of the race. 

For those people who may find NASCAR to be boring, I strongly recomend that they watch a race carfully and really pay attention to what the announcers say and even the drivers when they use their communication with the broadcast.  Watch the cars coming off the corners and notice that most of the time their backends are coming around and almost wrecking each turn they make.  One of the most exciting parts of the race is watching the moves the drivers can make out on the track and see how truly skilled these proffesionals are.  They can do things in those cars than some people would not even think are possible, they do all thise because the drivers love to race and have a deep passion for winning, not the same can be said for some other proffesional athletes in different sports where money and fame is all they are after. 

The people that say that these drivers and those involved with the sport are "dumb rednecks" are very ignorant and do not really understand the type of work that is involved.  These drivers, crew chiefs, and crew members are very smart people who can make these cars go ridiculously fast and handle like a ferrari.  All the different types of adjustments and calculations that go into just one race of the season.  They change tire pressure, camber, springs, trackbar, wedge, and many other things.  Not only must they do this to set up the car for a race, but as the temperature rises at the track and where shade hits the track and the ammount of rubber on the track changes, so does the handling of the car which causes them to make even more adjustments just to keep up with the track.  It takes a lot of very smart people to be able to do this and be succesful at it.

Looking at both sides of the argument, it is clear to me that although there are some points made in those who do not like NASCAR, there are still many reasons why NASCAR is a great sport and fun to watch.  Those who think NASCAR is dumb and boring should really think about watching a race someday and thinking about all the points made above about how hard it really is to do what these drivers and crews to every week.  Maybe people will understand the sport better and start to watch racing or even just respect the sport and not bad mouth it.