NASCAR more than a sport!

NASCAR more than a sport!

The 2012 season opener the Daytona 500 was a marathon of patience for promoters, racers, and fans. I had heard that there was an economic down turn, maybe even a recession or depression. Yet on this weekend there were over a third of a million people who made the pilgrimage to Daytona Beach, Florida to see the world’s greatest spectacle in auto racing (now over shadowing the grandeur of the Indy 500). They travel from all over the nation and the world for the speed weeks that prepared them for the twin 125 qualifying races, truck races, Nationwide racing, and then the granddaddy of them all. Millions were spent by advertisers for commercials designed specially for the event. Millions of people adjusted their calendars and then readjusted them to watch the weekend of racing on TV. This year the entertainment was accompanied by food and drinks ranging from the lone bag of chips and a six pack to lavish appetizers, meals, and munchies at race day gatherings; not just once on Sunday but on Monday evening. Only in America millions of people all get to hear a prayer addressing the one living God live, on radio, and on national television (an estimated 36 million on Monday night), followed by the National Anthem and a tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces.

Did you know?

• NASCAR has its own Church, Medical, Fire, & Safety crews that travel with them to all 26 races in a season.
• The NASCAR model for crowd control and event security is used as a nationwide standard for event planning.
• Every part on a NASCAR race car is a proving ground for automotive building, durability, efficiency, and safety.
• There is as much physical science used in the design and building of a successful racing car as in the NASA space projects.
• What we learn from NASCAR goes into the design and building of safer and more efficient transportation.
• Innovations in fuel economy and diversified blending of natural and bio-friendly products lead to consumer savings.
• NASCAR, teams, drivers, and corporate sponsors contribute significantly to causes that help those in need across the spectrum of society and culture.

In spite of all this science and innovation, stock car racing still boils down to people, skill, endurance, decision making, and chance. It is a sport that takes the unpredictability of nature, personality, concentration, experience and melds it with machines. It is a choreograph as you go contest which brings thrills and excitement to everyone involved.

From the newborn to the oldest grandparent on a Sunday in a NASCAR household everyone is wearing the colors of their favorite teams. NASCAR rivals every other sport in its diehard following by fans.

I will point out one more time that NASCAR is a sport that prays before every race, is a true sport, gives value to mankind through innovation, and brings families together on 26 Sunday afternoons. It is what I enjoy after church most every Sunday, for half the year.

 For you die hard NASCAR fans, please visit The High Lane http://thehighlane.wordpress.com/ a blog by my dear friend Shay Shivecharan who will present an on going dialogue covering the entire 2012 Sprint Cup Racing series and more.