See, unlike most of my fellow Michigan men and women, the Daytona 500 holds a special place in my heart because I have experienced it first hand, seen exactly what it is that makes this sporting event the Super Bowl of the South. I grew up for ten years only minutes away from Daytona International Speedway in Florida, so I am well aware of the culture and mentality that the locals treat this event with. I've witnessed first hand the line of beer coolers being wheeled into the stands by drunken men, the skimpy cutoff shirts their wives wear representing favorite drivers, and the arguments their young children get into over what year Richard Petty won his first 500. Ah, Daytona, nothing like it.
Personally, I don't think there is an event that draws such a loyal following as NASCAR. For proof, I look no further than local roads in Florida, where it is a rarity to see a pickup truck drive by without a sticker of the owner's favorite driver proudly posted on the back window. Now I know there are some passionate football fans and college team fanatics, but nothing compares to NASCAR loyalists. A fan's favorite driver is essentially a member of the family--the driver is often given higher status than God in the house, only the driver's sponsors may be purchased from, a family photo with the favorite driver hangs over the mantle. On top of that, I've also found out that fans of one driver don't necessarily mingle well with fans of another driver, as driver rivalries even prevail in the stands. Multiple fights break out every year at NASCAR events, most of the time with that beer a center implicator. If you've never lived in this area then you have no idea about the culture I speak of, but I've seen it I tell you, and it's something that blows me away. And don't compare Daytona and Michigan International Speedway because their surrounding cultures are miles apart--for the folks in Brooklyn NASCAR is just a bunch cars going around an oval track, but for those in Daytona those cars represent years of support and allegiance, in fact they represent themselves.
There are several things that intrigue me about the annual Daytona 500. First and foremost is what I've experienced during my four years at UM, that is how nobody watches NASCAR! It seems most northeners regard the sport as strictly for haggard rednecks, only reserved for those who drink Milwaukee's Best and pull up in their rusted out F-150s, quite truthfully an accurate assumption. But this kind of response is almost a complete 180 from what I've seen back home, as the countdown to the 500 begins with the donning of the new year. The difference in anticipation and appreciation for the event is amazing in my view, as it really shows me how different two areas of the same country can be. In addition, this year I am particularly intrigued to see how 18-year-old rookie Joey Logano performs, racing in Tony Stewart's old number 20 Home Depot car for Joe Gibbs racing. This kid has been tabbed for years as the next racing prodigy, having raced stock cars since the age of 8. I'm looking forward to see someone younger than myself go bumper-to-bumper with the world's best on the sport's biggest stage, can he handle it? I guess we'll see, but honestly I just hope the kid doesn't have a nasty crash and ruin his future because of his inexperience.
Unfortunately, there are also some things I don't really care too much for in the Daytona 500. One of those is directly related to the racing itself and probably goes way over the heads of many, but I can't stand restrictor-plate racing. Each NASCAR season there are a handful of races that require a restrictor plate be placed in a driver's engine to limit speed on superspeedway tracks like Daytona. To me, doesn't that defeat the purpose of racing? I know safety is a big deal, especially with the death of the legend I've included a picture of above, but doesn't restricting speeds restrict the drivers and their cars which their teams have worked so many hours on? Plus, I think it would make for a lot more exciting racing, lots of that to do with the resulting reduction in crashes and cautions that occur frequently in restrictor-plate racing since every car can only go the same maximum speed. Another thing I can't stand about NASCAR is a driver that most NASCAR fans have a deep hatred for, that being Jeff Gordon. It seems to me from my listening to local heated conversations that most NASCAR fans hate Gordon than love him, and I can't blame them. I hardly follow the sport but Gordon is a name I know I don't like, a statement many can make. I don't really know what it is, but I don't like him. Don't like the way he races, don't like the way he speaks, don't like the way he looks. And then there's the fact he's only like five 5' 3" tall, not much of an athletic or even manly presence if you ask me. Jeff Gordon is not NASCAR the way Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is NASCAR. To me, he just doesn't sound like racing, he sounds like Hollywood, looks like it too. And the fans have also noticed ever since he entered the sport in 1993, as Gordon is one of the most hated drivers. He doesn't have that southern charisma that helped make the legends of Petty, Yarborough, and Earnhardt. Don't get me wrong, Gordon is definitely one of the best drivers of all-time statistically and championship wise--probably a good reason why most fans don't like him--but he is likely not to be found on most fans' all-time NASCAR hierarchy. There isn't any exact thing, but I'm with most NASCAR fans when voicing my displeasure for Jeff Gordon.
With all that said, I'm rooting for Junior, one reason because of his father, the only NASCAR driver I will ever say I am a fan of; the other reason being that I think this race could be a stepping stone to Junior's very first NASCAR championship come November.
