Sports > September 13, 2007

By James Burnett | Contributing writer

Seriously, you should watch the Chase for the Nextel Cup. For those Deacons unaware that this “chase” is Nascar’s version of the World Series, Super Bowl and the Olympics, allow me to enlighten you.

The top 12 cars from the regular season (26 races) are entered into a 10-race Chase.

The winner of each race receives 185 points, while five bonus points are given for most laps leading as well as for leading at least one lap.

Translation: points for winners, all others need not apply.

Imagine if college football could do something similar to the Chase (cough playoffs cough), it would be the end of confusion and the beginning of heartbreaking reality (sorry Deacs, it may not be our year).

However, I recognize that it may be difficult to convert even the casual Nascar fan into a Sunday ticket holder.

The allure of cars going 180 miles per hour around a large oval isn’t exactly the same as watching your alma mater take to the gridiron. In fact, it is quite a small niche.

This niche, however, is filled with some of the angriest, die hard and downright insane fans in all of professional sports. Yes, racing is a sport.

Can you drive a sweltering hot car for four hours while performing complicated gear shifts and making split-second decisions that are the difference between you and a glorified fireball? I cannot, and if you can you may already be driving in the Busch Series.

These fans don’t see the situation as either you like or dislike Nascar, but instead as either you like Nascar or you hate America.

No sport but Nascar guarantees a national anthem, a pledge of allegiance and a flyover by fighter planes at every event, and no fans but Nascar’s appreciate it as much.

The same can be said for fan’s loyalty to their favorite drivers.

Choosing between Jeff Gordan and Dale Jr. is analogous to choosing a spouse, except that whereas some friends may accept your choice in fiancé, some may not be so lenient if one decides to support the Rainbow Warrior (Gordon).

If drivers could hear what people yell at their cars each time they pass (once every 30-45 seconds) they would probably quit driving, go home and lay in bed listening to “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”.

No other fan base cheers for its rivals to get into fiery crashes. Pure vitriol, plain and simple.

Some Deacons may still be reluctant to attend a race based on these revelations, but this does not prevent one from watching on TV, a quieter, calmer and generally less jarring experience.

Besides being in the safety of ones home, you can also enjoy the amenities inherent in watching one of the lowest commitment sports on television.

Want to go to the fridge and grab a cold beverage, or 10?

No worries, Nascar will be waiting for you upon your return.

This freedom doesn’t even account for the amount of channel surfing that can also occur. If you miss a quarter of an NFL game because you come across reruns of Legends of the Hidden Temple, then you may have missed the defining play of the game.

However, if you miss a couple (hundred?) laps of a Nextel Cup race, you can still catch the final laps, where a winner will be decided every time.

So if you can free up some time to watch a race during the chase, I highly recommend it.

If you can attend an actual race, as I did last year in Martinsville, I promise you will be converted for life.

My existence may have peaked as I cooked burgers with a beer can on a fork, freely carried a cooler full of beer into the track itself and actually considered cutting the sleeves off of my shirt so I could fit in more.

The Chase is calling, and I promise you that I will catch most of it, at least the final 20 laps.