Me and NASCAR

Hi everyone!

I am Sally and I will admit, this is my very first blog/post ever. So please be patient with me. :) Before I go much farther let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a big sports fan and am very loyal to my teams. Baseball has always been my favorite sport and have followed the Chicago Cubs since I was four years old. And thanks to my favorite TV series, the Dukes of Hazzard and the General Lee, I became a NASCAR fan around '97 or so...and a few years later found myself  following the Chicago Bears for football. Outside of NASCAR, I am a fan of all teams rooted in Chicago (except for the White Sox...can't go against my Cubs ;) )  Baseball, NASCAR, and football are my favorite sports, but...

This blog will be about NASCAR and my view/opinion on NASCAR. For how little it is worth. As I said, I became a NASCAR fan around '97 or so and since then, I have became a pretty big fan of the sport and of my favorite drivers. That is the thing with NASCAR, there are so many drivers out there to follow and each fan has their favorite drivers, their well liked drivers, and well, their drivers that they don't care so much about. That is one thing I have learned about NASCAR...or it's fans...is that everyone is very loyal to their favorite driver and opinionated about those drivers they don't like. And I can't say I am much different...which is also another great thing about NASCAR. With so many drivers out there and all the different personalities of the drivers, it attracts the fans to that driver or perhaps against that driver.

As I said, I am not much different than what is listed above. I have my favorite drivers, my favorite team, drivers I like or wish the best for, and drivers I don't care too much about. And as I write this blog, I will write about them, but will try to keep it neutral and write about all the drivers on and off the track and all that goes on during the race and after the race.

With all that said, thanks to a poster page in a People's magazine around the time I started to "like" NASCAR, I am now a huge fan of Jeff Gordon. It started out liking him because I thought he was good looking...and still do...and because at that time he had two championships to his name. And after being a loyal die hard Cubs fan, well, I wanted to follow someone who will win a championship here and there (Sorry Cubs...still and always will love you!). Though Gordon has won two championships after I had seen that poster page and after I became a Jeff Gordon fan, I didn't know enough about NASCAR at the time to really know he won the championships or what they meant. Sadly the only person I really knew to talk to and ask questions about NASCAR to was an online friend who somehow "disappeared" or at least stopped emailing me, so it had taken me awhile to really get the full grasp of all that NASCAR was about and all everything means. In fact, it wasn't until the new point system and the Chase had started in 2004 when everything clicked into place and I had started to fully understand what the points meant and had got me watching the race every weekend. Sadly by then, all four of Gordon's championships had been won and celebrated...though if it wasn't for the new Chase system, Gordon would have at least two more championships to his name. Personally, even though the new point system and the Chase had helped me understand NASCAR as a whole, I am not a big fan of the Chase. But that is just me...and the Chase is just one more thing that adds controversy to NASCAR.

Which is also something I learned about NASCAR. There is always some sort of drama unfolding. Some event that adds controversy to the sport or to the race or to the driver. There is always something that fans can argue and fight about. Something to feel passionate about. Something to have an opinion about. Like the whole Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon deal...now don't get me started. ;) LOL.

As I said, Jeff Gordon is and always will be my favorite driver. Yeah it started by his picture and the small amount of info that was on the page, but the reasons I like Gordon has grown over the years. Yes I still think he is good looking, but once he gets behind the wheel, what does his good looks do for him? Not much. His wins, his poles all add up and help give me reasons to support him as well. But it is more than what he does on the track that has grabbed my attention and support to the 24 driver and team...to me he is a champion on and off the track. All his charities he does for children, for the poor, for the hungry, and all that I have heard from fans who have met him all but helps me to know he is a great person on and off the track. I definitely chose a favorite driver for a wrong reason, I am just lucky that he has plenty of right reasons, for me, to continue to follow and like Gordon. I for one really hope he wins  his fifth championship before he retires so I can experience a championship season and a championship off season with my favorite driver, but if he doesn't I will continue to follow and support him for who he is and who he has become over the  years.

And through Jeff Gordon, I have also become a big Jimmie Johnson fan and have been one since about the time he came to NASCAR...all because Jeff Gordon owns half of JJ's car. So I guess I do somewhat know how it feels to experience a championship season and off season thanks to Jimmie Johnson's six championships he has won...but it's still not quite the same, to me, if Gordon would win a championship.

In general, I am a big fan of Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports as a team. My top four drivers are Hendrick drivers in this order: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Kasey Kahne.

I do have a few favorite none Hendrick drivers and them being Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle. Plus plenty others that I do like and wish well for from race to race...surprisingly, one of those drivers, has become Kyle Busch.  A few years ago, he was on my small list of disliked drivers that I couldn't stand, but over the past few years he has slowly shown, to me, that he has matured. Perhaps getting married helped him a bit, I don't know. He is also a controversial driver it seems. Either people like him or hate him. He will never be one of my favorites, but have grown to accept or at least admit that he is one of the drivers I do like and wish well for.

Well, that is a little bit about me and my general view on NASCAR...all of which, is my opinion. The whole point, to me, for this blog is to write about the sport of which I love. The sport I that I can't get enough of...as of right now, there is exactly two months left to the beginning of the 2014 NASCAR season. But whose counting down, right?

I will use my blog to write about the race and all that has happened in the race, the point standings, and all that happens on and off the track...from info that I read on line, of the races I watch, and of what I think or feel about it all. My opinions may not always be right, but they are my opinions. I will try to keep my opinions at a minimum...feel free to disagree, but please be nice. ;)

I will write during the off season...am still thinking of where I should start or what to write about. I will try to update the blog at least once a week.

To all who read this, I want to wish a very Merry Christmas and I hope you get to spend it will friends and family. Hope you have a Happy New Year and that 2014 will bring you happiness and health. :)

Thank you for all who took the time to read all this.

NASCAR HMS FAN