In a heated Southern rivalry that has already cost the contenders millions in purely speculative planning, Daytona is vying with the much larger cities of Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., for what all three promise will be a flashier version of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Nascar is the nation's fastest-growing sport, after all, with 75 million fans and an eager flock of Fortune 500 sponsors.
I suspect the NASCAR phenom is something I'll never understand. I've never heard a coherent explanation of why it's so popular or why it's much more than guys turning left.
I'm not an "anti-fan" of car racing, either. I wasn't a big fan while growing up, but I'd watch Indy and Daytona and know the big names. I thought it was kinda neat, even though I didn't follow it closely. But today, I'm simply puzzled by this rage that has captured 1/4th of America (assuming most of those 75 million fans are Americans).
Oh well, when you don't understand or appreciate something, it's hard to offer smart criticism, so until I come up with better stuff, I'll just do the next-best thing: mock it.
