It has been brought to my attention that my blog has the capabilty to not only alienate my friends who are on tropical pacific islands, but make them feel nostalgic as well. The person made to feel this way, Mandy Mantzel (http://alottamovin.blogspot.com/), has requested that I do an entry about NASCAR. I'll try.

Mandy, yes, the fact that I am from Hurst, TX and have a moustache in my profile pic certainly makes me a prime candidate for NASCAR fan of the year, but the truth is you won't ever catch me watching a race.

Actually, only one person in the world has spotted me viewing anything NASCAR related on purpose (not just clips on SportsCenter, etc.), and that would be Allison, my girlfriend. After admitting that I feel obligated to point out the only reason it even happened...

I was invited to join a NASCAR fantasy league, and since I was done with my NFL season and hadn't joined an NHL or NBA one earlier in the year, I had no reason to decline. So when the first race of the season began there was enough curiosity to make me watch for all of seven and a half minutes. Now that it is four or five weeks into the racing season, I currently sit a modest fourth place in my league. Fourth place is outstanding for a person with my knowledge of car racing, especially considering there are actually 5 members.

I'm not bragging about one-upping the fifth member, in fact, I can openly admit that everything I have learned about NASCAR comes from Days of Thunder and more recently Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Now, since I promised you I would do an entry on NASCAR, and do not think that I have so far pacified that yearning for your homeland, I will leave you with a few quotes from people who know much more than I do about this wonderful (?) sport (?).

"Race fans, I had inferred from my one trip to the Brickyard 400, fell into one of two categories: tattooed, shirtless, sewer-mouthed drunks, and their husbands."
- Steve Ruchin

(Okay, maybe not ALL of them will know more than I do.)

"I pity the fool who don't think NASCAR is a sport!"
- Mr.T

And finally...

"Finishing races is important, but racing is more important."
-Dale Earnhardt