The Secret of NASCAR's Popularity Revealed posted by Greg Archuleta
It started out as an extended family reunion -- not mine. It turned into an invaluable tale of the habits of the Nextel Cup groupie.
In four days, I saw first-hand rural America's loyalty to NASCAR.
Imagine, if you will, a summer vacation based on a celebration of family event: the baptism of my nephew, Blaise. The 5-month-old is the son of my wife's sister, Amanda, and her husband, Joe.
Joe hails from rural Nebraska, son of a farmer. He's the sixth of seven children -- five boys and two girls. Joe and Amanda were hosts to a family gathering at their four-bedroom home (with a basement). Four of siblings and their families, as well as my family all communed there -- a head count of 20.
I knew I was about to partake in a weekend to which I'm not accustomed almost immediately. When all the guests arrived, the second task to be determined after sorting out sleeping arrangements was setting up stakes in Joe's backyard for horse shoes.
Even though Joe and Amanda enjoyed a backyard full of luscious grass.
The third task? Finding out the local time of Sunday's NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma, Calif.
During the course of the weekend, I found some Matt Kenseth paraphernalia around Joe's house -- a Kenseth hat, a Kenseth model car as well as a Hot Wheels size Kenseth car.
I asked Joe about them and he said Kenseth was his driver. Fair enough. I've always been more of a team sports guy, but I have had favorite tennis players -- I'd wake up at all hours to watch Jimmy Connors and later Andre Agassi when they played in majors at the Australian, French or Wimbledon tournaments.
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