How to Pick Your Favorite NASCAR Driver

When I was fourteen my parents took me to my very first NASCAR race. The night before we left, I stayed at a friend's house and asked if I could skip out on the race and just stay with her. They said no because my ticket had already been purchased. Honestly, I thought I would hate it. I could tolerate two, maybe three laps at best, on the t.v. at home. We stopped by Target on the way to the track, and I actually bought a book in case I got bored. "For during cautions," I told my mom. I didn't even crack the thing, but it did eventually become one of my favorite books. But that's another story. I turned so in tune to the race, you couldn't have peeled my eyes away with a long nosed pair of pliers. So, for the start of the NASCAR season, I thought I would help those out who are just getting into the sport, or someone who's already been following it for a while, pick their favorite driver (if one has yet to be selected by the follower).

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• NASCAR.com webpage
• Paper
• Pencil
• Names of regular drivers
• Driver webpages (e.g. drivername.com = kaseykahne.com or tonystewart.com)

1. 
    

   If you're unfamiliar with the sport and just getting into it, you should go to www.nascar.com and take a gander at all the drivers. Their profiles are listed by what series they race in. There's the Camping World Truck Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series. Some race in all three and some will just split time between Nationwide and Sprint. After you've seen all of their profiles, make a list of the ones most appealing to you (whether by points standings, appearance, statistics, etc). The list is really just to get you familiar with the drivers. When you actually research them and view some races, you may find that the ones you wrote down are completely not your type.

2. 
    

   Now it's time for a little research. Take the drivers you picked out and go to their web pages (if the page is not listed on their profile you can usually just Google their names and find the URL). A lot of the drivers mandate charities and foundations to help kids, animals, etc. The Greg Biffle Foundation, for example, helps nurture neglected animals. If you're a pet lover, Greg Biffle may be your guy. Also, the drivers fashion big-name sponsors on the hoods of their cars, such as Budweiser, Home Depot, Subway, Aflac, etc. If you're a Bud person, you may be interested in Kasey Kahne. If you hang out at Lowes all the time searching for the perfect fan or paint for your bedroom, maybe you'll like Jimmie Johnson. By reading plenty of articles on different drivers, you can get a taste of their personality; their likes and dislikes. It's always better if you have things in common with the person you pull for. If you live on the wild side and get a kick out of adventure, you may like Tony Stewart, who climbs fences after victories and used to own a pet monkey. I have a lot in common with my favorite driver, Kasey Kahne. I pray a lot, I love Dierks Bentley and Jewel, and I too wish I lived above a restaurant because I am a horrible cook. See? Lots in common.

3. 
    

   However, there is no experience like race experience. You must watch a race. You have to witness the driving styles of the drivers. If you've got an attitude problem and aren't scared to let someone know when you've been wronged, maybe you'll like Carl Edwards. Who is famous for ripping into Victory Lane to rough a guy up for slighting him on the track or fake punching his teammate after an ordeal during the race. Or maybe you like someone who plays things fair, nice and easy. Like Mark Martin who refused to rough things up with Kevin Harvick during the very last seconds of the Daytona 500 in order to win, and treats everyone out on the racetrack with the utmost respect, even the rookies.

Tips & Warnings

• Furthermore, it's always good to actually go to a race and witness the madness for yourself. If you can, get pit/garage passes. You can dangle a hat from a fishing pole off the top of the garage at Daytona and pray that a driver walks by with a Sharpie marker. Even if it's not at a race, go to any appearances you can. Actually meeting them, even if it's just for a second, can tell you a whole lot. Example: I met Kasey Kahne in 2006 and he was a doll to his fans. Very courteous and nice. He even talked to my mom some, and pretended like he was going to sign another one of his teammate's autograph's for her so she would have the whole team's signatures. It was pretty funny. But, I guess you had to be there. Then there was Michael. Michael Waltrip. Mikey. I met him at the South Carolina State Fair last October and he was less than charming. He did not look happy in the least, and I'm not saying all drivers are expected to be happy all the time, but when it's for your fans, you kind of need to spruce it up as much as you can for their benefit. They come to see you because they like you, and if you fart around like you wish you were somewhere else, well, that's kind of insulting.
• Finally, it is imperative to remember that nobody's perfect. Kasey Kahne cusses (which I hate), has called another driver "fat," and remorselessly retaliated against another driver, all of which he later genuinely apologized for. Yet, I still pull for him. You have to take the good with the bad, and decide what good qualities of a driver outshine the bad qualities. When you've done all of this, and your eye lands on that special hot wheel you can't quit "woot-wooting" over, you've found your man...or girl, depending on the series. ;)

Resources

• NASCAR.com
• Kasey Kahne
• Tony Stewart
• The Greg Biffle Foundation

[writerchiq]

on 2/21/2009 HAHA! I tried this out because I learned you can eventually make money off of it. And look -> I know NASCAR well enough to write about it. :p Check it out!