Fan columnist: Sometimes life interferes with NASCAR lifestyle
Calvin Rowland
2008 Fan Columnist
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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Have you ever had to miss a race? It is an unavoidable inconvenience. Some inconsiderate cousin or friend plans a graduation party or baby shower during the race. Take Memorial Day weekend, for example. That is prime wedding time. I think I’ve only seen the Coca-Cola 600 live on television once. Don’t they have the race dates written in their calendar like I do?
Unfortunately, that’s life. You have to miss a race every once in a while. I have Direct TV DVR; I’ll record the race and then watch it later that night or the next day. One thing I cannot find out though is – who won the race. Do not tell me, do not hint. Let me watch it. Knowing who won the race makes watching the race a lot less fun.
But avoiding knowing who won is difficult.
A person can’t watch sports highlights since they occasionally scroll the race winner at the bottom of the screen. I have accidentally read Saturday night’s winner Sunday morning without even thinking about it, with full intention of starting the recorded race right after my next cup of coffee. I can’t log on to the Internet; our personalized homepage is almost completely devoted to NASCAR news and updates.
While camping in Bristol, Tenn., during race weekend, my wife and I made good friends with Nate and Heather from Apopka, Fla. The wives hit it off by sharing a favorite driver, Tony Stewart. So we may be out of town, and my wife’s phone fires up with the ring tone of, “Gentlemen start your engines” and it’s a text from Heather right around race end time that says, “Yeah!” Hmm … wonder who won today?
Even when my wife tells a little white lie, “No, I didn’t see the winner,” I can tell when she has. She’s up more frequently from the couch, doesn’t have me pause the DVR or decides it’s just time to finish up this book she’s been reading.
Last weekend we were visiting my brother Warren and his wife, Ann, at their house in Indianapolis. I’m glad we DVR’d the Charlotte race to watch when we got back Sunday. Even though he has 21 career wins, including two this year, I’m still surprised every time Jeff Burton wins. It might be because they always show his wife at the end of the race with a very worried look about her.
Meanwhile, hearts go out to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. After a wreck at Talladega and a cut tire at Lowe’s, his 2008 championship hopes are gone. Goodyear might want to get after NASCAR to clean up the track better going forward; their reputation relies on it.
Jimmie Johnson should have a grandfather clock tattooed on his forearm. He finished fourth this spring after coming off three straight wins at Martinsville Speedway. Since the fall of 2002, Johnson has never finished worse than ninth at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin have run well at this track of late, too.
Race fans like short tracks. Expect the bumping and banging to increase, and expect the announcers to have bad antacid puns for the Tums Quick Pack 500. It doesn’t matter though. I won’t be recording the race this weekend – I’ll be watching.
Comments
10 responses to "Fan columnist: Sometimes life interferes with NASCAR lifestyle "
Dee brown said:
Oct 16, 2008 at 7:08 AMi so know what you mean... we went to Texas n Ok one year...JUST in time for Homestead... well having NOT seen my sister in 24 yrs... we almost missed the race...when my brother in law learned they were still racing in NASCAR!!! he changed the channel... so we could watch...but he talked about the financial troubles of all the manufacturers...and my sister...NOT being a race fan...So she picked mark marting to root for...so between my brother in law talking...and my sister yelling "C'mon VIAGRA" we missed most of the commentary for the race.... never again will we plan our vacation during racing season... LOL
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Oct 16, 2008 at 5:54 PMWe tape all the races because I work weekends. Avoiding hearing who wins a race has become an art to me. Worse than everybody at work knowing I am a NASCAR fan, I work in a casino. Worse still is the fact that I work next to the sportbook in slots. It's not easy answering change calls without looking up to scan the big screens. I've been lucky. I haven't had anybody spoil a race for me since Harvick won at Daytona. I was told Mark Marin leading with two laps to go. I pointed out it was Daytona and it wasn't over til it's over and that I tape all races. I was later told I needed to see the finish to see who had won.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMelissa Johnson said:
Oct 16, 2008 at 9:06 PMI too know what u mean. I also tape every race even if i'm watching it. I'm a waitress & I have customers who watch Nascar & I tell them DON'T TELL ME WHERE JEFF (gordon) Qaualifyed or who got the pole! I don't want to know! If i'm away over to friends or away I tell them & everyone else the same thing that I don't want to know who won the race! My parents had a party last Sat. night druing the time the race was at lowes & there were race fan's their too & they were cell phones talking to other's & getting updates on the race, it wasn't too far into the race luckly. I jsut told them just don't tell me who wins if your still here. How many times do u have to tell friends & family the same thing I do? LOL
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJerri Davidson said:
Oct 17, 2008 at 10:23 AMI missed TWO races because of Ike. No DVR or satellite service for that matter! I had to wonder who won while outside cleaning up debris......STILL cleaning up trees and debris from the storage and carport that were crushed. Besides the devastation and loss suffered so near me, it was the worst thing to happen! I am so Blessed no further damage was done to my home, however living with no electricity for two weeks was not fun! We are starting to get back to normal now, I was hoping to get to attend the race in Texas, but due to Ike, again, doesn't look like that's going to happen.......
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» Confirm Abuse Reportcarole collins said:
Oct 18, 2008 at 6:07 AMSorry to hear of your damage from the hurricane, Jerri. Calvin, have you not trained your people yet? Mine either check the race schedule before sending invites to that event or since we're all Nascar fans, schedule an event that can be held while we all watch the race.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSal Sigala Jr. said:
Oct 21, 2008 at 8:48 PMHmmmm so what happened with all the other chasers?????? Thats cool that you visited your brother. But I came in here to read about NASCAR?????
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGregory Howe said:
Oct 22, 2008 at 7:51 AMThis weekend at Martinsville we didn't miss the race, we were there but at the same time we did miss the race because our DVR failed to record the darned thing. Even at Martinsville with its great sight lines and intimate surroundings you miss the little nuances shown on the television broadcast. Oh well, we still have our great memories of our personal experiences at the NCTS and NSCS races.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDEBRA CHESSANI said:
Oct 24, 2008 at 5:15 PMI TRY TO NEVER MISS A RACE.. MY FRIENDS KNOW NOT TO CALL ME DURING A RACE. I'M SO DEVOTED.. LOL AS A MATTER OF FACT I THINK I HAVE ONLY MISSED ONE THIS YEAR. DANG!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDEBRA CHESSANI said:
Oct 24, 2008 at 5:16 PMI TRY TO NEVER MISS A RACE.. MY FRIENDS KNOW NOT TO CALL ME DURING A RACE. I'M SO DEVOTED.. LOL AS A MATTER OF FACT I THINK I HAVE ONLY MISSED ONE THIS YEAR. DANG!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGreen Flag said:
Oct 25, 2008 at 3:00 PMCount your blessings, Nascar fans! They haven't been televising Nascar races that long!
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