NASCAR is in Austin this weekend, and I would venture that Austin doesn’t really know. Granted, I’ve been a bit hunkered down these last few weeks, blogging up a storm, so I may have missed the telltale buzz, but Austin isn’t really a NASCAR kind of city. Austin is a lot of kinds of city, and NASCAR isn’t one of them. Still, uh, hey guys, it’s here, it’s neat, let’s get into what to expect, Q&A style:
Will There Be Fiery Crashes?
Depending on your view, unfortunately or fortunately no. Those happen more on big oval speedways, like Daytona and Talladega, where the cars get going really really fast (that’s two reallies) instead of just really fast (one really), like they’ll be going out at COTA this weekend. Now, that said, Austin did host some of the biggest, fieriest crashes in all of last season, but that was because NASCAR decided to try driving in the rain since other series do that sometimes and they were not at all prepared to drive in the rain, so they basically made stock cars drive blind, which is a good idea if you’re trying to make someone die (nobody should die this weekend—would be really surprising if anybody died) and a bad idea if you’re not trying to make someone die.
Why Should I Watch, Then?
Goodness. That’s sick, you freak. It’ll be fun! The racing’s dramatic, those who like NASCAR tend to love NASCAR, and if you’re into Formula 1 you might actually enjoy this a little more in some ways. Not to make it either-or, but there are a few things NASCAR does better than F1.
Is There Anybody Cool Involved?
A few people, yes. We aren’t going to go through all the big names to know in the sport as a whole, but we can give you the drivers a non-NASCAR fan living in Austin might want to get behind:
Chase Elliott
NASCAR’s putting most of its marketing weight behind this guy, because he’s 1) pretty good, 2) the son of an old NASCAR great, and 3) not a bad-looking guy. He’s a little on the quieter side, but he seems like a cool enough dude, and he’s great on road courses, which makes him the favorite this weekend.
Bubba Wallace
Another heavily-marketed NASCAR driver, Bubba Wallace is best-known for being NASCAR’s only full-time Black driver in the Cup Series. He’s on the rise competitively, driving the original car for Michael Jordan’s team. Not historically all that good at road courses (great on superspeedways—won at Talladega last year), but fun guy to get behind. Breaking barriers.
Ryan Blaney
If you’re looking for a real medium NASCAR driver to get behind, jump on Blaney. Run of the mill non-controversial NASCAR man. Young, dates a model, great hair, good smile. Not good enough that you’d be a bandwagon-jumper, either.
Kurt Busch
Oh hey, Joe Rogan, didn’t see you there. Kurt Busch once testified in court that his ex-girlfriend was a trained assassin. Thought you might be into that kind of thing. He drivers Michael Jordan’s team’s other car.
Daniel Suárez
Mexico’s only Cup Series driver, Suárez drives for Pitbull’s NASCAR team. Local guy, in a way.
Ross Chastain
Pitbull’s other driver, Chastain is the most likely to do something that infuriates older, lamer drivers and/or causes a massive disaster, but to do it in a cheeky way. He’s cheeky. Likes to smash watermelons. Family thing.
Kyle Larson
A bit controversial (go read his Wikipedia page, make your own conclusions, I’ve written about it enough and my opinion isn’t that valuable on the topic) but quite possibly a better driver than your little F1 bros, and sleeper potential to one day end up in that series.
What’s Up With the Trucks?
There are a few minor league NASCAR series. The two highest level are the Xfinity Series—normal stock cars, sponsor rotates so this used to be Busch and then Nationwide and maybe a few other things in there—and the Truck Series, which is stock cars but they’re trucks. The Truck Series is for bumping and bruising, so it isn’t a bad one to attend in person if you’re looking for a cheaper ticket but still the full experience. These two will race Saturday, Trucks go first. Oh, also, some Cup Series drivers drive in these races from time to time to get extra cash, get to know a track better, et cetera. So don’t get confused if you see one of the names above on a truck.
What Is the Point of NASCAR, Anyway?
Kind of a vague question, guy, but I’d say it’s for people who like having a good time. It’s about being in the heat, soaking in some drama, watching some cars go fast while looking at least something like the cars you see on the street. Whole thing started because moonshiners were souping up their engines to outrun the cops. It’s a cool history, its modern iteration is fun (we’re working on making it even more fun), we encourage checking it out since it’s in town. It’s definitely hitting an older demographic than MLS is, but comparable sphere of American significance. Gets way (way, way, way) more TV viewers, is a lot more regional, it’s ok if you think you’re too good for it but if you think that you’re probably a butthead.
When.
You used a period there, not a question mark, but Trucks and Xfinity are Saturday, Cup Series is Sunday, 2:30 PM Texas Time. See you there (just kidding I’m watching on TV I’ve gotta do NIT interview stuff on Sunday).
