[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm marginally interested in oval track racing. I don't follow it to the point of knowing who's won what races and where they are in the standings, but I know who more than a handful of the drivers are, recognize several of the cars, and at least look up who wins the major events of the year. On rare occasions I'll watch a few laps. A race is not just about the crashes. If you know what you're watching, it's a long and gruelling mental battle. On the surface, all of the cars are equally powerful, all the drivers are equally skilled. So it comes who can keep their focus and make the best decissions with the fewest mistakes over 300, 400, 500 miles at 200 miles per hour, wedged into a car that gets up over 100 degrees and shakes the hell out of you.

I can understand why a lot of people don't watch it. It's a slow developing drama and takes a long time to get the whole story. Like I said, I rarely actually pay attention any more. But I know enough to know that it's more than cars going in a circle and crashing, whether non-fans can see it or not.