NASCAR is more than just Daytona?

The Nextel Cup season pushes on. Last week was the Daytona 500 and all sorts of sports fans tuned in because, well, it’s the one race that actually gets coverage. But today was a landmark. I actually watched the final 50 laps, including yet another red flag with few laps to go, of the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. Matt Kenseth won, but more importantly, he jammed up his transmission doing donuts after the race. His crew actually pushed him into the Winner’s Circle.

Football player Bill Gramatica suffered a similar fate, tearing his ACL celebrating an important kick. Gramatica is ridiculed in NFL circles, but I don’t think Kenseth will suffer the same fate.

Our new favorite driver Carl Edwards? He finished 29th, even worse than his disappointing 23rd at Daytona.

My new favorite NASCAR driver

I knew I would need to choose a favorite driver to follow NASCAR. I’d need someone to cheer on, someone who would make me as angry as the Phillies make me.

After much deliberation, I have decided on Carl Edwards. This has nothing to do with his appearance on an ESPN The Magazine cover. I have a few reasons for cheering for Carl:

- He was the in-race commentator in yesterday’s Busch race. That’s pretty cool.
- He’s #99 just like the Great One, Wayne Gretzky.
- He appeared on 24, which is probably my favorite TV show.
- He drives a Ford. My most recent car was also a Ford, and my brother-in-law works for Ford.
- His sponsor is Office Depot. I, at least once in my life, have purchased something at Office Depot. It’s better than, say Little Debbie (Ken Schrader) or State Water Heaters (Ward Burton).
- He does backflips off of his car when he wins.

So today, Edwards will be started 14th after his 3rd place finish yesterday. If he wins, here’s to “I told you so.” If he loses, here’s to a great season.

My first NASCAR viewing of the year

I actually watched most of the NASCAR Busch Series Race today at Daytona (day before the Daytona 300. I’m not the world’s biggest auto racing fan, but I have become quite curious to see how the recent deal between ESPN and NASCAR pans out. Or maybe I just like that song by AC/DC (For Those About To Rock is the song from the ESPN commerical. I posted about it previously.

There were some interesting things to note:

- Carl Edwards was the in-race commentator during the race. They kept going to Carl and asking him questions as he was participating in the race. That’s pretty awesome. His answers were generally pretty bland (he was driving a car really fast, in case you forgot), but it was interesting just to get inside his head during that particular time. Oh yeah, Edwards finished third in the race. THAT is a multi-talented man.

- The NASCAR race featured Sam Hornish, Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya, both noted IndyCar drivers. Neither did especially well, but judging by the difference between open-wheel cars and stock cars, it’s probably like going from the Canadian Football League to the NFL. Sure, there’s the occasionally Doug Flutie, but I can’t imagine it’s the easiest transition in the world.

- Dave Blaney finished second in a Toyota. Now, I know Toyotas are great in the Gran Turismo video game, but this was apparently the first Toyota ever to appear in a Busch race. Not a bad showing, I guess.

- Aerosmith opened the show with a performance of Back In The Saddle with words modified to suit the Auto Racing genre. I’m trying to picture Pearl Jam doing something like that. I can’t quite picture it.

- Kevin Harvick took the win. He’s also racing in the Daytona 500 tomorrow. You have to imagine this would give him a pretty good burst of confidence. He’ll actually be racing against some of the same people tomorrow, as there were a ton of Nextel Cup drivers in the field, including all of the top ten.

All told this makes me moderately excited to watch tomorrow’s Daytona 500. Ok, let’s be serious; this means there is now a decent chance that I will actually watch the Daytona 500. All told, this is a good start for NASCAR on ESPN.

AC/DC can make anything great

I really enjoy watching the ESPN NASCAR commercial that features AC/DC’s (For Those About To Rock) We Salute You. It really gives you a feeling that something big is looming just on the horizon, and when it starts, you’ll want to be watching. Of course, that next big thing is NASCAR, so it might not have the final result you might expect.

The point here is that an AC/DC song has influenced the way we think about something. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. At the end of San Diego Padres games, you can often hear Hells Bells playing as Trevor Hoffman comes in for the save. And I always knew if I became a professional wrestler, Back In Black would be my theme song. Even the Simpsons ended a Treehouse of Horror episode with Highway To Hell, as the Simpson family walks down a large chasm.

Most people know You Shook Me All Night Long – it’s one of the most popular songs of all time. But AC/DC has an extensive catalog, with so many inspiring tunes. Their music has permeated pop culture and become part of our lives. This morning, I listened to the album Who Made Who, featuring the title track, as well as one of my favorite lesser-known AC/DC songs, Ride On.

If a song in a commercial can get me excited for NASCAR, you know the band is quite good. There is an AC/DC tribute band (along with an Alice In Chains tribute band), playing at B.B. Kings in New York on March 2nd. Might be worth seeing.

Coming Soon: NASCAR Raceview

NASCAR is the new football. For $12.95 a month, you can get access to Raceview on NASCAR.com. Now, I am hardly an auto racing fan. In fact, I put a bunch of sports ahead of it, including cricket. But Raceview, judging from the screenshot, might be about the most advanced sports-following technology I have ever seen. Lost Remote says it well: “It’s almost enough to turn me into a NASCAR fan.”