Gentlemen- START YOUR ENGINES!!!! That's right, kids. It's Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. The greatest spectacle in all of sports takes place this week- the Daytona 500. Not only that, but last Sunday was the Bud Shootout (a race designed simply for glory and cash-no championship points at stake), today will feature the Gatorade Duel for Daytona (two 150 mile races designed to decide the starting order for the 500), tomorrow will feature the Craftsman Truck Series race (where guys will reach 190 mph in pickups), Saturday will feature the Busch Series race (which will showcase the up and coming drivers in NASCAR and some of the superstars who will be in the 500 as well), and Sunday will of course be the Great American Race- the Daytona 500.
Wow! I'm exhausted just typing about all that is going on this week. "What's the big deal?" some of you non-race fans may be asking. The 500 is NASCAR's most revered race. Some people equate it to football's superbowl. That's not accurate, though. In the superbowl only two of the league's 32 teams compete. In NASCAR, 43 of the best teams in automobile racing compete head-to-head. So it could be more accurately compared to the Pro Bowl where only all-stars compete, except in racing, the event is not an exibition- it counts. Winning that trophy is the Holy Grail of racing.
Columbia's own Carl Edwards made a huge impact on the sport last year by winning races on both the Busch Series and the Nextel Cup series. He finished third in championship points in BOTH series at the end of the year. I watched "Crazy Carl" race on the dirt track outside of Jeff City a few years ago and knew then he was special. He did his trademark backflip off his car after winning races back then, and still does it these days after beating up on the big boys. So far, success hasn't ruined him. I saw him a month ago at Walmart in Columbia hanging out with his girlfriend Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard on a Saturday night. How many superstar millionaires do you know of who would still rub elbows with the commoners like that? I'll be pulling for Carl this weekend.
So grab ya a case o' beer, put some new batteries in the remote, and plant your butt in front of the TV this weekend while you enjoy the Greatest Spectacle in Professional Sports. I know I will.
5 comments:
I am THERE!!!!!!!!!!!Go Carl.
I'll be in Liberty with your wife and son hanging wallpaper. Actually I will enjoy that more than watching racing, although my butt on the couch and the beer sounds good. Enjoy!
I'll ignore your text but affirm your headline as I enjoy snowboard cross, freestyle skiing, and speedskating, not to mention fan-favorites curling, skeleton, and biathlon. How can you help but love hurling rocks on ice, head-first sledding, or skis-n-guns?
Enjoy watching your boys drive in circles for 3 hours. Yawn.
Brother, I must admit that snowboard cross kicks ass! Speedskating espacially team chase is exciting too. Skeleton is ok, but I would prefer seeing a wide track with at least two copeditors going head to head. What do these events have in common with my "Greatest Week in sports"? Racing! Speed! Excitement! Although I like watching curling because it reminds me of shuffleboard, darts, and horseshoes, NONE of the remaining winter olympic events do anything for me.
JP- I just assumed "debrie" was the English word for debris. I AM a dumb American!
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