Why NASCAR Stats?

When StatLeader announced that after the close of Fantasy Football we were going to turn our analysis skills to NASCAR and the Nextel Cup, many of our members asked "Why?. It would seem only logical to turn to something like baseball where fantasy games have been around since the early 80's.

Certainly baseball (not to mention most other sports) is easier to predict than NASCAR. There really isn't a more difficult task than trying to predict performance in a sport where mechanical problems or a mistake by another participant can knock the favorite out of the competition in first few minutes of the game.

Take Dale Jarrett in yesterday's Daytona 500. He has the poll, he historically finishes above his starting position (not all drivers do), he has the fourth best record over the past six races on the Daytona International Speedway (behind Michael Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, and Jr.), the poll position has the highest percent of victories of any starting position, and what happens? The race starts, I reach down to get some chips, and when I look back up, Jarrett is well on his way back to 38th position. What a sport.

So why did we do this to ourselves? Why not choose a easy sport to predict? Simple. We love NASCAR, and it's not just the drivers, the cars, the excitement, and the festivities. There is something uniquely American about the sport. Much more so than America's Pastime (baseball) or any sport that claims to have "America's Team".

NASCAR embodies everything that good about America, start to finish. For example, how many other sports start off with a prayer? In this day of overreacting to political correctness it was so wonderful. to see a prayer given at the 2004 Nextel Cup Awards as well.

It's about the American values of courage, determination, and team work. Every week 43 drivers literally put their lives on the line. Yet at the same time never forgetting that they can not accomplish their goals alone.

Perhaps most of all, it's about respect. Respect for sport. Respect between the teams and drivers, and respect for the fans. No other sport makes itself so accessible to their fans or shows such appreciation to their fans. As much as we enjoy other sports, let's face it, NASCAR stands above the rest.