Yep, groundbreaking stuff here today on SportsbyFletch. I'm about to spend a few words talking about NASCAR. I know. I cannot believe it either.
So Danica Patrick was in Daytona last weekend, participating in some of the races leading up to The Great American Race. Don't know if you caught that or not. I think ESPN gave it slightly less attention than Tebow's concussion but more than Urban's retirement. Anyways Patrick finished in the top ten of the ARCA race before deciding to enter into the Nationwide race.
Sports Radio 790 The Zone’s Pollack and Bell were in Daytona for the Super Bowl of NASCAR weekend and both predicted doom and gloom for Patrick; both proved to be right. Patrick avoided the first major crash in the Nationwide event but could not avoid the second big crash and was knocked out of the event on lap 69 of the 120 lap race. Was I surprised? Nope. Trust me. I drive on I-85 at least 6 days a week. Whenever I see an accident, who is usually the party involved? Which gender? Exactly. Or when I'm driving and I have to pass the mini-van in the far left lane, who is typically the culprit behind the wheel either gabbing on her cell or TEXTING? Well, I'll let you try and figure out which gender it is....
Despite the fact that she didn’t finish the race, everyone on ESPN and the other racing outlets were giving her props. I’m not certain why this is happening because she was near the back of the pack the entire time before she crashed. How was that a good finish? She competed against the “big boys,” yet didn’t show well before crashing out. I’m not a gearhead but I’m pretty sure I can surmise that this was NOT a good start for her.
Finally, the Daytona 500 had a great finish but I’m not certain many people not in the crowd actually watched it. The race was stopped for over two hours after a pothole erupted on the track, forcing the drivers into the pits. I’m pretty sure this is not how NASCAR officials wanted their “Super Bowl” to play out. Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished second, capping what likely was a huge ratings weekend with all of the Danica-mania.
I still say that the whole “largest spectator sport in the world,” shtick is a load of bull. Just because 145,000+ people crammed in to watch the race and maybe 2M more tuned in at home, that doesn’t make it the largest in the world. I guarantee that on ANY Saturday in the fall, more fans watch College Football than watch the cars making left turns. The Big 10 alone likely draws more fans than NASCAR. Throw in the football-crazy SEC...NASCAR is lying.
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