That's Racin'

Friday night Jen and I joined some of my coworkers in my company's suite at a NASCAR race. Having lived in or near Charlotte most of my life, I figured it was finally time to experience this phenomenon.

The verdict: It's not for me. The beginning was exciting. It was totally loud, and we walked down to the track where we were probably fifty yards from these incredible machines building speed as they tore around the track. It was an auspicious beginning, and at that point, I could definitely see the appeal.

Then, we headed back to the suite and sat there for a few hours (and this was a short race). At least we were in the suite instead of in the stands. The majority of the race was basically boring. There were a few spinouts, which was promising, but no one got killed or even hurt. It got a bit exciting in the last couple of laps as the energy level in the stands ratcheted up, but in the final analysis, no.

We were pulling for the Nestle car until it got sent to the back of the pack, at which time we mercilously switched allegiances to the Reese's car.

Also, the race was called something like the SpongeBob SquarePants 300, which makes it pretty difficult to take seriously. Although the guy who does SpongeBob's voice was there, and I think I remember seeing him on "Mr. Show" a few years ago?

So I guess NASCAR is like the NBA. You wish you could see the beginning and the end of the event, and cut out all the boring part in the middle.