Authored By Sean Phipps

One of my earliest memories of life involved crowding around the television to watch NASCAR races with my extended family. This continued as I grew out of the single-digits into Sunday afternoon race-watching sessions with my father at the local bar in Asheville, N.C. It probably wasn’t legal for me to be sitting there with all of those people, but they made me feel right at home. I even drank virgin strawberry daiquiris while my father drank whiskey and bet money on the races. So today, when people ask me why I still enjoy watching NASCAR, it doesn’t have much to do with the actual sport and everything to do with those nostalgic feelings the experience conjures. NASCAR reminds me of home, as much as baseball or college football does for many of you. And I realize not many of my friends understand this, and I’m OK with it. Here are some suggestions on how to enjoy the sport for those of you who have never been to a race or even if you’re just watching it on TV.

Pick a “good” track

There are really only a few races that will provide guaranteed excitement to a casual NASCAR attendee. The nuances of the sport are all interesting, but they can be hard to follow at first. If you’re going to watch a race, I would suggest starting with a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway or Richmond International Raceway. Both of those tracks are shorter than a mile and often necessitate actual car-to-car contact to make passes. This transfers into more wrecking and side-by-side racing. NASCAR fans are going to jump on me here and say, “What about ___ track?” because there are exceptions to the rule. Talladega Superspeedway, for example, is a GREAT place to see a race. But it’s also huge, and the people are slightly intimidating, especially if you regularly listen to NPR.

Start with drinking

A NASCAR race, first and foremost, is a show. It’s supposed to an exciting spectacle of speed, passion, danger and victory. The drivers are out there going between 150 and 200 mph because it’s their job. Your only job at a NASCAR race is to enjoy it. I went with several “non-NASCAR” friends to a race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway a few years back. There were many drinks and much excitement. One of my friends commented before the race that it might be fun to drop acid before the event. She was kidding, thankfully, and after seeing shiny, brightly colored objects hit 200 mph just feet in front of her, she recanted her suggestion. This terrible crash occurred at the race we were at. Overall, I think they enjoyed their experience for what it was. Even after patient explanation, I don’t know if they really got it. Which leads to my next point …

Don’t try to understand

If you try to understand why everything is happening, you’re going to have a bad time, so to speak. A NASCAR race is just something you have to soak in and appreciate. You will have so many questions that not even the best expert on NASCAR could answer. “Why do they go left?” They just do. “How much money does it cost to have a car?” A single million dollars. “Why are there so many Jeffs?” They all have the same father. The only thing you need to know going into a race is that, if you’re there, it’s going to be loud and last a few hours. I would also recommend wearing a radio headset to hear either a live broadcast of the race or to listen to Kurt Busch’s radio channel. The latter is NSFW.

Pick a driver

On any given race day, you’ll have approximately 40 drivers to pick as your favorite during the race. Many diehard fans choose a specific driver and that’s it. I have a tendency to pull for the underdogs in NASCAR and in life. You can, of course, choose your driver based on their sponsor. Kids enjoy M&M’s and therefore gravitate toward Kyle Busch’s No. 18 car. Female fans go after the “hunks” of the sport, such as Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson. The beautiful part of NASCAR is that it’s so inherently irrational that any decision you make regarding whom to cheer for is beside the point. Don’t cheer for Matt Kenseth, though. I don’t like him. Or Carl Edwards. Just don’t.

Judge people around you

I recently wrote a rather lengthy piece on the best people watching places in Chattanooga, but the absolute best place I’ve ever watched people was at a NASCAR race in Bristol, Tenn. You are literally surrounded by 160,000 people from different backgrounds and cultures. You will see things like this or this. Think about where you are in life, and then think about the people in those photographs. You’ll be fine. And you’ll most likely survive your first experience. One of the things that you might find out is that the loud, monotonous hum of the engines will put you to sleep. But don’t stay down too long, or you might miss an exciting finish.

You can contact Sean Phipps via email and Twitter with comments and questions. The opinions expressed in this column belong solely to the author, not Nooga.com or its employees.