Nascar Noob

I went to see the new Will Ferrell movie, Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby last night & laughed my ass off. I really don't get the appeal of Nascar, but the movie was funny & perfect for a summer night of popcorn munching in the dark. I took my nephews to see the Nascar movie at IMAX a few weeks ago. It was interesting, but still...I don't get it. They just drive around in circles, people! How can this sport captivate audiences larger than the population of Canada???

I guess it would be kind of fun to see first person how fast these cars actually go as they whizz past your seat in the stands, but surely that must lose its cache after a few laps. So what to do during the next 495 laps? Drink beer? Flash your boobs? Hope for a crash? I'll take hockey any day.

I should note (before I get a pile of "NASCAR RULZZZZZ!" emails) that I do have huge respect for the drivers. Regardless of the fact that you can't really tell on TV, they are going incredible speeds & also in very close proximity to each other. The pressure of knowing any little error will result in a major crash would be insane. Holding that focus for 500 laps is unfathomable to my ADD brain. Like in every sport, physical skill & natural talent only gets you so far - the mental determination is what's needed to reach the upper echelon of sport greatness. (See: Phil Mickelson)

Now the one question neither the IMAX documentary nor Ricky Bobby answered for me (and the first question I asked my 7 year old nephew upon leaving the theatre) is: how do they go to the bathroom?