Reply #23: Well said [View All]

[Jose Diablo]

Any description of the experience of "being at" a NASCAR event is just a shadow of the real experience.

In the mid 50's there was a dirt oval in the river bottoms of north Kansas City called Riverside.

The cyclone fence around Riverside had a split that allowed us 'poor' kids entry to watch the races. I think the track owners wanted the split in the fence to be there for us.

The cars were Fords, Chevy's a few big block Dodges with the fender wells cut-out to allow the exhaust headers exit room. The headers glowed cherry red.

The stands were protected by a tall chain link fence, like a baseball backstop, at the first turn. When the cars screamed into the turn the tires would throw clay clods into the fence and pepper us with clay.

And the smell, a mixture of burning oil burning rubber and dirt was like what I would experience much latter to be a drug rush.

It is impossible for me to describe the experience. I think the descriptions about NASCAR as being pointless left turns, wasting resources or other words that say more or less they don't understand is just that. They don't understand.

Much like not understanding a point of view from people forced by economic reality to live in crummy rental trailers and listen to others call them 'rednecks', 'trailer trash' and other terms that relegate the poor to permanent underclass status. But the rednecks are white. Could this be the difference in empathy?

Then to spout about being 'enlightened' to plight of the poor is just plain hypocrisy. Talk is cheap.

Even the Democratic Party has a long way to go before they can call themselves the party of the people.