Please Explain to Me

MOST sports sound stupid when one explains them:

 'Well, you hit the ball from here to that hole over there, and the person who hits it the fewest times wins'

WTF is that?

I take it you've never been to an automobile race live and in person? There really is no way to explain it unless you've seen it up close. It's like 'explaining' ****. I can 'Describe' it, but one can't really 'Explain' the appeal.

First of all, let's understand that ALL automobile races consist of 3 things: The beginning, the middle, and the end, which sounds simple enough, but it's a starting point.

The Beginning:

In most American racing, the grid starts in a pack, and all 20 to 43 of the cars are attempting to be the first ones to get to a space that will only hold 2 or 3 of them at a time. This actually goes on for a few laps, because there are almost always faster cars in the back that SHOULD be in the front, so they have to sort that out.

The Middle:

This is the part people refer to as 'Driving Around In Circles' which is true enough, but what's really going on is that drivers (and teams in NASCAR, IRL, F1 and even most short tracks) are looking for places on the track where they can pick up a few hundredths or tenths of a second by altering the line they are running, adjusting the car to run a different line, etc, etc as well as trying to make sure they are in a position to get to the end without anything breaking or having some dip*feces* named 'Busch' run into them.

Now, if everything goes right, you might get to be up front at

The End.

This is the part where you've sorted the car out, and drive up somebodies ass to try to force them to make a mistake, or you put the knowledge that you've spent all day getting to drive around a few folks on a line they haven't seen work yet.

It's WAY more complicated than that, really.

Until you've seen 25,000 horspower hauling ass into the first turn in a pack that only 4 or 5 guys or going to come through in any kind of position, heard the noise, and smelled the smells in person, you really can't begin to appreciate what it's all about.

Because it's all about 43 guys trying to be in first place.

Yeah, it's a bunch of guys driving around in circles. But only 1 of those guys is in first place, and the other 20 to 43 of them are trying to chase him down. Believe it or not, somebody usually does.

I was just thinking about this very thing not too long ago.  About the time I got out for the first 9 of the year.  I've even written down a few sentences about it.



Nope, never have.  Unless you count the guys that race up and down our street, that is.  



Okie-dokie, seems like a good place to start.



This must be the first part that I miss.



Now this must be the part I that I always come in at and can't watch more than 5 minutes of without wondering who can sit and watch the whole thing.  Who's Busch?



This is the other part that I always miss.



Would it be similar to the exciting rush of being on a motorcycle, feeling the wind on your face going down a stretch of highway - only a lot faster?

Thanks, maybe the next time that I am flipping through channels and pause for a moment I'll be able to understand why some people like it. 

lol - but that's probably the best explanation I've heard. 

I never see any of that stuff - only them going around in circles.   What's drafting?  By head games do you mean, the decisions the drivers would be making or something else? 

But how am I supposed to know when that is? 

Okay.


'Nother question.  How long is the beginning stage?  How long is the end stage?  The middle is the majority, I'm sure, but what about the others?