NASCAR's Drive Up to the Daytona 500
Two weeks from the 50th annual Daytona 500, here are 50 reasons to love NASCAR.
Feb. 5, 2008 — -- Over the next two weeks -- in case you're new to this whole NASCAR scene, we call them Speedweeks -- we are all going to become very intimate with the No. 50. Why? Because it's the 50th edition of the Daytona 500, that's why.
The nostalgic feel of this year's trip to the beach comes at a great time for a sport that is suddenly fighting to retain its "core audience," as league chief Brian France likes to call them, the folks that have been watching NASCAR their entire lives, not just since Kasey Kahne and Dale Junior showed up.
But lost in all the complaining about "it ain't as good as it used to be" is one simple fact -- we are currently witnessing the most competitive era in the history of stock car racing. More cars than ever have a chance to win races each weekend, and more drivers than ever are moving to North Carolina in search of rides.
So before we start looking back at 50 years of the Great American Race, let's take a look at all the reasons we need to watch and the stuff we need to know heading into NASCAR 2008. It's a combined list of reasons to help us appreciate the here and now all season long plus info to help you impress your friends and enemies from Daytona to Homestead.
How many did we come up with? Well, 50, of course.
1) The Car of Tomo… oops, Today
2) Dream Team or Nightmare?
3) Dale Junior will win six races
4) JGR = WWE?
5) Busch Brothers Bash
6) Ashley Judd
7) The countdown to Jacques Villeneuve's quitting
8) Qualifying will actually be entertaining again
9) Get to know your aero
10) Does this make my butt look big?
11) Jeff Gordon will reel in the immortals
12) The Sam Hornish Jr. Sheet Metal Supply Co.
13) IndyCar Series defection watch '08
14) Return of The King
15) Richard Childress Racing matters again
16) Need a new favorite driver?
17) The World according to Jeff Burton
18) Mangled sponsor plugs
19) Mark Martin's Farewell Tour IV
20) The Old-School Racing Champions Tour
21) Boris Said's hair
22) Tony Stewart's Mullet
23) Kevin Harvick's temper
24) James Hylton's cojones
25) Crew chief musical chairs
26) Jeff vs. Jimmie
27) Matt Kenseth is turning into David Pearson
28) Greg Biffle will return to relevance
29) The Carl
30) Green-white-checker finishes
31) Toyotas will win … then do it again … and again
32) Kasey Kahne's watershed year
33) Regan Smith versus The World
34) We don't have to hear about Junior versus Teresa anymore
35) DEI now belongs to Mad Max and the "Other Junior"
36) The Lady in Black is old but still a looker
37) Streaking
38) Didn't you used to be Young Guns?
39) The New Breed
40) I'm going to need to see some ID, dude
41) Lost in translation
42) Give a call to Barney Hall
43) Martinsville's April azaleas
44) The ugly paint contest
45) A plate full of fun
46) Passing fancy
47) More racing, fewer lawsuits
48) Racetrack roulette
49) No 'roids, no strikes, no lockouts
50) Every game is the Big Game
Ryan McGee, a motorsports writer for ESPN The Magazine, is the author of "ESPN Ultimate NASCAR: 100 Defining Moments in Stock Car Racing History."