What Drives Them To Drive

Keith Gachett

Professor Carey

English 111

June 20, 2005

What Drives Them To Drive?

People wonder what would make a man drive around in a circle, small or large. Five hundred miles at speeds up to two hundred plus miles per hour would cause any normal person to get dizzy. Almost every weekend forty some odd men do it. Is it a contact high from the one hundred plus octane fuel? Is it to prove that you are the best? The majority of the population has questioned this for eons. A lot of them believe it is in their genes or their jeans. What would drive them to risk life and limb to be the first one to cross the start/finish line? The same line they have just crossed anywhere from two hundred to five hundred times in the past couple of hours. "Don't worry it is just a Sunday afternoon drive with a few friends along." they would joke.

A few friends, in comparison take the combined number of seated spectators of the Super Bowl, World Series, and the U.S. Open would still leave seats available at any NASCAR race. Over one hundred thousand people a Sunday will fill any tracks seating. Heat, cold, or rain won't stop them. The cars could be sitting on pit road covered for hours waiting on the weather. Will the fans leave, yea right, not in this lifetime. It is not the over two hundred dollars a ticket for the good seats that is keeping them there. Heated discussions have arisen about who is more insane the drivers going around in circles or the people paying to watch them do it. A number of them are there with morbid anticipation of the "big one". The rest are there to see their favorite driver take his victory lap.

A couple of hundred thousand people can't all be insane. There has to be a reason behind the madness. Could it be watching two brothers battling it out for the victory? Perhaps it is a battle between father and son. Family plays a very strong role in NASCAR even in the beginning. It wasn't a battle between fellow competitors. It was a struggle to survive. "Moonshining" was the only way to put food on the table. Running from the law at times was the only entertainment some folks got in those hard times. Instead of side by side in separate cars they were side by side on the front seat, both praying the string for the fan belt would hold and they could get away.

The overwhelming pride for their God and Country is shown from crews and fans alike. Prayer was banned in school but tell this multitude that they can't pray. Advice would be to stand back and hold on. Thousands and thousands of people all standing at attention with their hats over their hearts listen and look with reverence to the flag as the National Anthem is sung. Who