Can anyone explain to me why Nascar is so popular?

Great question! Cars going around in circles? I just don’t see it.

@SuperMouse it is one of the dumbest things ever.

I’d love to see a US map with colored states that show popularity of Nascar… I bet it would be very polarized on the edges.

you learn something new every day.. http://www.helium.com/items/1363184-nascar-popularity… apparently its a soap opera

This is easily answered. People find it exciting and entertaining. I have never been to a race but I know people that go to Talladega every year. Its pretty much a big party at the track before during and after the races. I guess the party aspect might be appealing. People also gamble on car races much like they do horseraces. Gamblers follow all kinds of sports more so than nongamblers. I like watching the wrecks on the local news sports highlights. Nascar hasn’t been the same to me since #3 died.

This reminds me of a question a while back. Why do people play and like World of Warcraft?

@tigran : Hahaha… I like that article. It basically says, “There’s just something about it…if you’re a redneck.”

It’s the same as horse races, in my opinion.

Hey…I personally can’t stand watching any form of car racing because my boredom factor can’t take it. To me it’s the same thing over & over & over… I do know people who are big fans, however, like my dad. He is kind of a slow-moving, quiet guy & I think it lulls him, like fishing. I can get excited with him about the last lap or so & that seems to fulfill his excitement need as well. Also, I have the feeling that the whole speed thing leads to a fantasy thrill for the fans. Another group of fans that I just thought of are the teens I know with Asperger’s (high functioning autism). They are obsessed with NASCAR & it fits many of their needs: lots of info. & stats to memorize, the ritualistic nature & the sensory input of the zooming, circling cars.

i love nascar! my whole family loves it, we all talk fiendly crap about each others favorite driver, its fun! if you think its dumb and boring, GO TO A RACE! its a huge party! everyone is wasted, everyone is FRIENDLY which is a breath of fresh air its high powered, high energy fun.

not to mention its the highest grossing spetator sport in America. repect it for employing so many people in this econmy.

dont hate on nascar, cause we dont hate on baseball

I think most people I know hate on baseball and nascar

I actually enjoy NHRA drag racing. Head to head match ups on the quarter mile. To me these are races worth watching because the is plenty of action. I have also always liked that fans can go in the pits and get autographs and meet the racers. But NASCAR, a bunch of cars just going round and round in circles, it is just boring to me. Then again I find baseball boring because it is mostly just a bunch of standing around. I think football is incredibly boring too, but that is because they start and stop every ten seconds, where’s the fun in that?

Give me ice hockey or basketball any day, with those games there is action to follow and something actually happening.

My sister and step-father are obsessed with Nascar. It’s not appealing to watch on TV, but it’s more entertaining in real life. They have headsets so that they can listen to the drivers talk to the pit crews and really follow what is going on with the drivers at each moment. I think that adds to the appeal for them.

the same reason Russian roulette is popular with other people.

It’s easy to dislike any form of racing, or any other sport for that matter, if you don’t understand it. Heck, people in the US only recently have taken to soccer, and that is because their precious little babies play it.

Stock car racing is exciting. Plain and simple. Swapping paint at over 100 mph is exhilarating for fans. Going to a live car race, it doesn’t even have to be NASCAR, you get the feel for the speed and you smell the rubber and the fuel. It gets into your head and you want to go back time and again. And, as A Beaver so eloquently stated, it’s a non-stop party. I suggest not deciding on sport just by watching it on the tube. Go experience it. 180,000+ people at a race can’t be wrong.

Attending or watching a football game is a non-stop party. I’d rather watch football.

@SuperMouse I just gave you lurve then I realized you mentioned you didn’t like football. Can I have my lurve back? ;)

TheLoneMonk hit it on the head. People tend to find sports that they don’t understand to be boring. Lots of people in the US say that Soccer is boring, but I bet you less than 10% of them could analyze any one particular play and explain what exactly is going on. The same is true for NASCAR. People say it’s boring because it’s “just people going around in circles.” This clearly demonstrates that they have absolutely no clue as to what is actually going on. If you turn on a NASCAR race and expect to be absolutely enthralled within the first 10 minutes, you’re going to be disappointed, but that’s true for every sport. You actually have to understand the sport to be entertained by it.

@Ivan I would disagree. I understand many sports that I don’t enjoy. It’s a matter of preference.

@jonsblond I never said it was a rule, just a trend. Anyone who says that NASCAR is just ‘people going around in circles’ obviously doesn’t understand the sport.

@Ivan Ok. It’s people trying to go around in a circle faster than everyone else. Intricacies of the competition aside, that is the point of the competition. Every sport can be boiled down to a somewhat dumb bottom line. Basketball is a bunch of guys trying to throw a ball through a hoop 10 feet off the ground. Golf is guys with sticks trying to hit a ball into a hole…etc. These statements are oversimplifications yet you can’t claim that anyone who says one of them “doesn’t understand the game.” The may not know every rule or aspect of it, and they don’t need to. Some people just find some things boring and stupid.

@The_unconservative_one

So if I disliked basketball, would you accept the argument of “It’s just a bunch of guys throwing a ball in a ring; it’s boring and stupid” as a valid reason?

We aren’t talking about intricacies. In basketball there are teams, one goal for each team. There are particular rules. You can’t run around with the ball, you can’t dribble once you’ve stopped, etc. You get two points for a close field goal, three points for a far away field goal, and one point for a penalty shot. These aren’t intricacies, these are major tenants of the game that need to be understood if you want to be entertained by the sport. So yes, anyone who says that “basketball is a bunch of guys trying to throw a ball through a hoop 10 feet off the ground” most certainly does not understand the game.

@Ivan Of course I would. Your reasons for disliking something doesn’t need my validation. Because a person doesn’t sit there and tell you everything they know about the game it still doesn’t mean they don’t understand the game. For example, in auto racing, I know about drafting, I understand the importance of tire changes, proper use of pit stops, fuel management, the flag system, and many other aspects of it. That doesn’t stop me from thinking it’s boring and just guys going in circles. As far as basketball goes, it is just guys trying to throw a ball through a hoop. Yes, there are rules to the game and there is a certain way you need to play, but in the end, the object of the game is to throw the ball through the hoop.

@Ivan

If you turn on a NASCAR race and expect to be absolutely enthralled within the first 10 minutes, you’re going to be disappointed, but that’s true for every sport.

I’d argue that isn’t true for every sport. Personally, I can watch tennis for 30 seconds and become enthralled.

@boots

That was assuming that you had no prior interest in the sport or were merely trying it out to see if you liked it.

The crashes that barely happen… :D