1) It isn't a very popular sport outside of the southeast. No, it actually ranks right behind the NFL in viewers across the country.
2) It's a red neck sport. No, the fan's demographics index very high in the middle income bracket. Their lowest demographic are people who make less than $30,000. By the way, the average age bracket for a fan is 35 - 64.
3) NASCAR drivers aren't real athletes. No, they're in better overall shape than many other athletes. Their body mass indexes far below most.
4) A bunch of red necks work in NASCAR. No, just stop by one of the garages and in no time you'll meet engineers from a few different fields.
5) Could you imagine driving around a race track for hours going around 200 M.P.H. with cars all around you? If you're in a pack, someone in front of you could barely take their foot off the gas and you'd be in a wreck in less than a second.
I got the chance to attend a driver's school at Charlotte Motor Speedway where I could take the car as fast as I wanted. I could barely keep the car on the track with no other cars around me. My respect for these professional drivers is immense.
6) If you want to own a NASCAR team it would take around $18 million dollars to get started then it would cost around $12 million a year to keep the team going during the year. Getting and keeping sponsors is one of the most critical jobs on a NASCAR team.
7) In around 14 seconds, the pit crew can change four tires, fill up the tank, and wipe the windshield.
8) A NASCAR driver on average makes around 20% more than an NFL player.
Lastly, my red neck wife (Miss Maggie), actually did public relations at one point for the Sunoco Race Team. She's not a big fan of the sport but it was a great experience for her.