Comments on: Try to Figure Out NASCAR http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002 Sniffing out the work of God in the world... Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:24:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Mary Jackson http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-41114 Mary Jackson Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:00:17 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-41114 Google is the best search engine Google is the best search engine

]]> By: Amy H http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3075 Amy H Mon, 28 Feb 2005 20:07:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3075 Timing is so funny because for years I've not understood the draw either. Last week I began to, though. For the first time I sat down with family NASCAR addicts and watched and asked questions - learned about it. [Nuttin's too interesting if you know nuttin' about it; if ya don't know an "inning" from an "out," even my beloved baseball can't be too interesting.] When I began to learn stuff like the aerodynamic effects of one car tucked away behind another one, that several drivers are sort of teammates (don't understand all that, tho) and help each other out on the track, and then you begin to get to know the personalities of the drivers, well...it CAN become more interesting. Kinda like people - I can make all sorts of assumptions but really don't know what lies beneath and what makes 'em tick 'til I probe a little bit and get to know 'em. So if you really want to understand the craze, get to know NASCAR; if you'd rather keep saying "I don't get it," then do that. Your choice. Timing is so funny because for years I’ve not understood the draw either. Last week I began to, though. For the first time I sat down with family NASCAR addicts and watched and asked questions - learned about it. [Nuttin's too interesting if you know nuttin' about it; if ya don't know an "inning" from an "out," even my beloved baseball can't be too interesting.] When I began to learn stuff like the aerodynamic effects of one car tucked away behind another one, that several drivers are sort of teammates (don’t understand all that, tho) and help each other out on the track, and then you begin to get to know the personalities of the drivers, well…it CAN become more interesting. Kinda like people - I can make all sorts of assumptions but really don’t know what lies beneath and what makes ‘em tick ’til I probe a little bit and get to know ‘em.
So if you really want to understand the craze, get to know NASCAR; if you’d rather keep saying “I don’t get it,” then do that. Your choice.

]]> By: Roonie http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3074 Roonie Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:03:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3074 Maybe because it gets your heart racing? If that is the criteria, though, then a lot of other things would be deemed "sports." Maybe because it gets your heart racing? If that is the criteria, though, then a lot of other things would be deemed “sports.”

]]> By: Mark Tucker http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3073 Mark Tucker Thu, 24 Feb 2005 00:53:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3073 To Mike again, Let me elaborate: auto racing, in the form of NASCAR, is about teamwork, hard work, mental toughness, physical endurance, precision engineering, strategic planning, fair play, close competition, and abiding loyalty. To succeed requires courage, skill, discipline, and concentration that virtually defy our ability to communicate. Actor Paul Newman has said that he gets as much satisfaction putting his wheel at the same spot on a track for two consecutive laps as he does making a successful scene in a movie. NASCAR has problems: issues involving diversity and the parochialism of southern roots (I have a right to say this. I spent my first 27 years in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee and never saw a race while growing up). NASCAR is a national phenomenon with attendance having doubled in the past 5 years and with races in New Hampshire, New York, California, and several Midwestern states. Football is bigger than auto racing in the U.S. But the U.S. has 1,200 tracks for oval and road racing (where cars turn both directions). Tracks at Bristol, Tennessee; Jackson, Michigan; Indianapolis; and Daytona have a seating capacity larger than that of any football stadium in this hemisphere. Since racing is a spectator sport, it is a family sport like few sports are. One trip to a NASCAR race convinced me that the typical race fan is as well-behaved while watching competition as the typical fan at any other sport. Since competitors work on Sundays, they worship at the track, assisted by Motor Racing Ministries. Their charities include Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Victory Junction (a camp for children with terminal diseases). Since moving to Abilene from the Midwest, I gave up my tickets to the Indianapolis Motor Seedway, but hope to visit Texas Motor Speedway soon. Would you care to join me? You would not be the first minister I have introduced to this most compelling sport. To Mike again,

Let me elaborate: auto racing, in the form of NASCAR, is about teamwork, hard work, mental toughness, physical endurance, precision engineering, strategic planning, fair play, close competition, and abiding loyalty. To succeed requires courage, skill, discipline, and concentration that virtually defy our ability to communicate. Actor Paul Newman has said that he gets as much satisfaction putting his wheel at the same spot on a track for two consecutive laps as he does making a successful scene in a movie.

NASCAR has problems: issues involving diversity and the parochialism of southern roots (I have a right to say this. I spent my first 27 years in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee and never saw a race while growing up).

NASCAR is a national phenomenon with attendance having doubled in the past 5 years and with races in New Hampshire, New York, California, and several Midwestern states.

Football is bigger than auto racing in the U.S. But the U.S. has 1,200 tracks for oval and road racing (where cars turn both directions). Tracks at Bristol, Tennessee; Jackson, Michigan; Indianapolis; and Daytona have a seating capacity larger than that of any football stadium in this hemisphere.

Since racing is a spectator sport, it is a family sport like few sports are. One trip to a NASCAR race convinced me that the typical race fan is as well-behaved while watching competition as the typical fan at any other sport.

Since competitors work on Sundays, they worship at the track, assisted by Motor Racing Ministries. Their charities include Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Victory Junction (a camp for children with terminal diseases).

Since moving to Abilene from the Midwest, I gave up my tickets to the Indianapolis Motor Seedway, but hope to visit Texas Motor Speedway soon. Would you care to join me? You would not be the first minister I have introduced to this most compelling sport.

]]> By: Mark Tucker http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3072 Mark Tucker Wed, 23 Feb 2005 23:49:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3072 Mike, To the unititated, I quote Ernest Hemingway. "There are only two sports: bull fighting and motor sports. Everything else is just a game." Mike,

To the unititated, I quote Ernest Hemingway. “There are only two sports: bull fighting and motor sports. Everything else is just a game.”

]]> By: Chris Benjamin http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3071 Chris Benjamin Wed, 23 Feb 2005 22:07:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3071 Mike: After reading your NASCAR entry earlier, I was trying to find my way back to your blog. I got lazy and simply typed "Mike Cope" into the address bar of Explorer. What came up was the website of a racer named Mike Cope (I kid you not) http://www.mikecoperacing.com/ He even has this entry in his bio which really sounds bizarre to me since I know a different Mike Cope: "Racing is Mike Cope's life, always has been. He comes from a racing family. Mike's parents both raced and both of his brothers have been racers. Even his Grandmother worked at the family's home track back then, which was Florida's Sunshine Speedway. In fact, you could say Mike has been going to the racetrack since before he was born." Thanks for the Twilight Zone moment Mike. I feel as if I just crossed over into an alternate reality where everthing is exactly the same - except Mike Cope is a race car driver instead of a preacher! Mike:

After reading your NASCAR entry earlier, I was trying to find my way back to your blog. I got lazy and simply typed “Mike Cope” into the address bar of Explorer.

What came up was the website of a racer named Mike Cope (I kid you not) http://www.mikecoperacing.com/

He even has this entry in his bio which really sounds bizarre to me since I know a different Mike Cope:

“Racing is Mike Cope’s life, always has been. He comes from a racing family. Mike’s parents both raced and both of his brothers have been racers. Even his Grandmother worked at the family’s home track back then, which was Florida’s Sunshine Speedway. In fact, you could say Mike has been going to the racetrack since before he was born.”

Thanks for the Twilight Zone moment Mike. I feel as if I just crossed over into an alternate reality where everthing is exactly the same - except Mike Cope is a race car driver instead of a preacher!

]]> By: Jen http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3070 Jen Wed, 23 Feb 2005 04:27:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3070 My friend Katherine (see above-ish post) has tried to convince me of the greatness of NASCAR. In fact just this Sunday afternoon while staying at her house, a certain NASCAR event was being televised and in her case taped (due to lectureship driving duties). After said duties (and on my part a full stomach of Abuelos) we watched the conclusion (fear not avid fans, the first part was still in the vcr for further viewing). The repetitive buzzing sound of all those cars driving lap after lap after lap was the perfect thing to fall asleep to. Working with a campus ministry has taken away the option for a Sunday afternoon nap for me. However, not this special weekend – thanks NASCAR. My friend Katherine (see above-ish post) has tried to convince me of the greatness of NASCAR. In fact just this Sunday afternoon while staying at her house, a certain NASCAR event was being televised and in her case taped (due to lectureship driving duties). After said duties (and on my part a full stomach of Abuelos) we watched the conclusion (fear not avid fans, the first part was still in the vcr for further viewing). The repetitive buzzing sound of all those cars driving lap after lap after lap was the perfect thing to fall asleep to. Working with a campus ministry has taken away the option for a Sunday afternoon nap for me. However, not this special weekend – thanks NASCAR.

]]> By: Longhorn http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3069 Longhorn Wed, 23 Feb 2005 04:20:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3069 After I moved to Tennessee from Texas, I knew something was wrong when the sports guy ran down the Nascar standings before going to the Friday night football scores. After I moved to Tennessee from Texas, I knew something was wrong when the sports guy ran down the Nascar standings before going to the Friday night football scores.

]]> By: Steve Puckett http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3068 Steve Puckett Wed, 23 Feb 2005 02:49:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3068 Mike, I will say this. NASCAR is the only sport I know of that still has an invocation/prayer before every race. I don't follow the sport much, but my buddy does and he always talks about how Joe Gibbs used to share the word among groups of drivers and fans. I think he is a class act and great example to football and racing fans. Steve Mike,

I will say this. NASCAR is the only sport I know of that still has an invocation/prayer before every race. I don’t follow the sport much, but my buddy does and he always talks about how Joe Gibbs used to share the word among groups of drivers and fans. I think he is a class act and great example to football and racing fans.

Steve

]]> By: O_Pombo http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3067 O_Pombo Wed, 23 Feb 2005 01:37:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3067 Guess what: sport preferences are mostly irrational, don`t push yourself too hard trying to explain them. Being borned and raised in Southwestern Europe (Portugal), I really find baseball the ultimate boredom (of course, I don`t understand the rules either, because I never wateched a game long enough to understand them... I usually would get bored within the first 5 minutes). On the other hand, football (what you people call soccer) really gets me and 300 million Europeans crazy - just take the English hooligans, for example. Guess what: sport preferences are mostly irrational, don`t push yourself too hard trying to explain them. Being borned and raised in Southwestern Europe (Portugal), I really find baseball the ultimate boredom (of course, I don`t understand the rules either, because I never wateched a game long enough to understand them… I usually would get bored within the first 5 minutes).
On the other hand, football (what you people call soccer) really gets me and 300 million Europeans crazy - just take the English hooligans, for example.

]]> By: Khris http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3066 Khris Wed, 23 Feb 2005 01:07:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3066 Just attend one race with good seats and you'll be absolutely caught up in it. Did you know? Research shows that the highest level of brand loyalty in any sport is in NASCAR. Go 24 (Gordon)! Go Cardinals! Just attend one race with good seats and you’ll be absolutely caught up in it.

Did you know? Research shows that the highest level of brand loyalty in any sport is in NASCAR.

Go 24 (Gordon)!
Go Cardinals!

]]> By: Dreamnfleet http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3065 Dreamnfleet Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:53:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3065 I have been a NASCAR fan for 8 years and I'm from the north and a big Jeff Gordon fan. Unless you've been to a race and been to the garage and seen the cars in motion not on T.V you really don't understand what the whole thing is about and how exciting it is and all that. Much much better in person. It's fun screaming for your driver at a race. You hear the engines (not whiny like open wheel) and you see the wrecks and the wins, nothing is like it really. You need ot experience it. I have been a NASCAR fan for 8 years and I’m from the north and a big Jeff Gordon fan. Unless you’ve been to a race and been to the garage and seen the cars in motion not on T.V you really don’t understand what the whole thing is about and how exciting it is and all that. Much much better in person. It’s fun screaming for your driver at a race. You hear the engines (not whiny like open wheel) and you see the wrecks and the wins, nothing is like it really. You need ot experience it.

]]> By: Keith Brenton http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3064 Keith Brenton Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:43:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3064 I'm from Indianapolis originally, so there are only two sports ... the one with the hoops and the one that happens on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Everything else is just ... well, what Aunt Eller said about Jud Frye and Curly in <I>Oklahoma</I>: "A couple o' fools tradin' noises." I’m from Indianapolis originally, so there are only two sports … the one with the hoops and the one that happens on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Everything else is just … well, what Aunt Eller said about Jud Frye and Curly in Oklahoma:

“A couple o’ fools tradin’ noises.”

]]> By: Chris http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3063 Chris Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:25:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3063 I am a huge Nascar fan just recently, and to me it is a sport and takes a lot of strategy to be good at it. This year's Daytona 500 in my opinion, was way more entertaining than the Super Bowl I am a huge Nascar fan just recently, and to me it is a sport and takes a lot of strategy to be good at it. This year’s Daytona 500 in my opinion, was way more entertaining than the Super Bowl

]]> By: TL http://preachermike.com/2005/02/22/110907930836724002#comment-3062 TL Tue, 22 Feb 2005 22:48:00 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/?p=443#comment-3062 Well, I had to post just so there wouldn't be "24" comments anymore! I'm a huge racing fan and not just NASCAR - I'd watch lawn mower races. I was raised by a daddy who loved cars... old cars, new cars, broken cars,and race cars. Of course, I'd do anything to get more of Daddy's attention so, I became a fan. A huge percentage of today's fans are highly educated, professional people. We're all different - isn't that a blessing - I couldn't stand it if we had to watch soccer or hockey all the time. I was a snobby sorority girl in college but still had a favorite driver...it's fun for me to sit (or stand) in the sunshine (or rain) and watch the bright shiney cars chase one another around and around... hey, I'm blonde - it doesn't take much to entertain me! Well, I had to post just so there wouldn’t be “24″ comments anymore! I’m a huge racing fan and not just NASCAR - I’d watch lawn mower races. I was raised by a daddy who loved cars… old cars, new cars, broken cars,and race cars. Of course, I’d do anything to get more of Daddy’s attention so, I became a fan.

A huge percentage of today’s fans are highly educated, professional people. We’re all different - isn’t that a blessing - I couldn’t stand it if we had to watch soccer or hockey all the time.

I was a snobby sorority girl in college but still had a favorite driver…it’s fun for me to sit (or stand) in the sunshine (or rain) and watch the bright shiney cars chase one another around and around… hey, I’m blonde - it doesn’t take much to entertain me!

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