NASCAR

So, lately I've been gaining more and more of an interest in NASCAR. In the past I've had absolutely no interest in "The Big Left Turn", but in the past couple of years I've been able to stand watching bits and pieces. I'm trying to gain more of an interest, especially since I'll be moving to Charlotte, which is pretty much the NASCAR capital. Most racing teams are based in and around Charlotte and the new NASCAR museum is going to be opening in Uptown Charlotte. There are also a couple of people involved in NASCAR on UNC Charlotte's Sports Advisory Board.

Anyhoo, Emily once told me that in order to really get into NASCAR you have to pick a driver to follow. So I've set out on a journey to find a driver to call my own. But where should I start. There are so many drivers to choose from. I thought about going through all of the drivers' bios to see who I liked the most, but I think that's more than I really want to do. So, I started going through them based on name recognition.

I started with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I like him and in the past he's the one I think I would choose to follow the most. But he no longer drives the Number 8 Bud car. I don't like the way his new car looks. I know that may seem like a girly reason not to pick him, but whatever.

For some reason there's something about Tony Stewart I like. I don't know what it is, especially since it seems like he has kind of a prickly personality. In post-race interviews he's often heard talking smack about this or that. Like his post race interview in Atlanta yesterday. He was talking about how the Goodyear tires all the drivers used were the worst tires ever created. Dale Jr also had the same sentiments in his interview, but his words weren't as vile as Tony Stewart's. I was talking to Dan about this and he said I might like Tony Stewart because he cuts the crap and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. I think that might be exactly it! As of right now I have no other reason to pick Tony Stewart other than a gut feeling, and you should go with your gut, right?

I decided to try to pick a driver that I know more about. So I went through the list of drivers to see who I'd learn more about. While I was doing that I realized that a lot of these drivers are older. If I were to pick someone like Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, or Kyle Petty I run the risk of having them retire soon, then I'm back to having to pick a new driver all over again. So then I started looking through the young drivers. This way I can have a driver for years and years. My first thought was to go to Kasey Kahne; he's Emily's driver. But all the girls like Kasey Kahne; he's NASCAR's "dreamy driver". I kinda don't want to get lumped into that, so I decided to try something else.

I came across Kyle Busch. He's a young driver and I already recognized his name, so I decided to do a little research. Turns out I'm actually older than Kyle Busch by about 5 months. So I know that he's my age and will be around for a long time. Definitely a positive. Then I realized that he's the one who drives the M&M's car that I like. Another plus. I'd seen this car in the past, but I never knew who drove it. He alternates between that and a Snickers car, but I like the M&M's. The only risk with this is that he gets a new sponsor and a new car. For example, he used to drive a Tony the Tiger car. Let's hope he sticks with this sponsor for a while. On his website he has pictures of his two little dogs. How cute is that? So I'm starting to like him more and more.

I think I've narrowed it down to Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. I kinda wondered aloud about whether or not you could have two drivers. Dan says you should really have one, but two from the same team should be okay. Cha ching! Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are both part of Joe Gibbs Racing. So I think I can live with this for now, and maybe in the near future I can pick just one driver.