Stewart's Prelude Quite Simply Unbelievable

Sometimes, when you're around something so much, things can start to run into a pattern. Read this news, write that blog post. Research this rumor, digest as much more news as possible. Repeat.

I've gotta say, although I didn't know it at the time, that my love of all-things NASCAR had turned into one of those patterns. Nothing shocked me, nothing surprised -- I was just along for the ride.

Until Wednesday night at tiny Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, that is. And boy, do I feel sorry for anyone follows NASCAR to any extent that missed the race either in person or on HBO.

From watching Bill Elliott flip his race car on the frontstretch after a last lap duel with Ryan Newman for the transfer spot in a heat to seeing Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon finish under a blanket at the checkers -- Wednesday's Nextel Prelude to the Dream was the most fun I've had at a race track in years, and possibly ever.
I can't leave out, however, how Elliott, once his car was flipped right-side up and he climbed out to jump on the roof while raising two fists in the air, was told by Ryan Newman that he indeed did not win the battle despite his car being a mangled miss 50 yards past the start-finish line.

Simply, it took a night like this to help me realize that through all NASCAR has become today, it boils down to one thing. The drivers race for fun and to win regardless of the prize at the end of the day. As Clint Bowyer put it, they'd race for a six-pack if need be.

And that's damn entertaining.

If NASCAR wants to grow a fan base 20,000 people at a time, all they ever need to do is run the event that Tony Stewart's team put in Wednesday night in rural western Ohio. Bring your stars, throw them in neutral equipment, and let them race. Repeat that all over the country a few times a year and Brian France wouldn't be needing to diversify his fan base. That'd handle itself.

Tony Stewart (Eldora's owner) did it right this time around. The inaugural year was qualifying and a feature. Now, the format reads like a real bust-em-up drag-em-down Saturday night at the local dirt track. Each driver qualifies, races in heats with some inversions, then races in the A or B mains. And oh yeah, the do it for nothing more than for a few dollars to someone else and the gratitude of their fans.

What a combination, huh?

The product of that equation is fans that don't leave their seats. After all, how could you dare missing out Tony Stewart sliding the car sideways on a restart while Carl Edwards rides the cushion? Or what about the infinitely different driving styles that each driver changes infinite times going low, kinda low, high, or somewhere else in each turn. And you can't beat

Wednesday was the definition "had to be there". If you didn't see it, you didn't know how funny it was watching Darrell Waltrip drive the water truck or how neat it must be for Juan Pablo Montoya to live a life now where he can walk his young child hand-in-hand down the length of a frontstretch without so much as a soul bothering him as he makes his way to his racecar. (Which, by the way, JPM learned very, very quick how to handle the 800hp ice skates that are dirt modifieds.)

Was it cool that it was for charity? Definitely. But the most amazing thing was how fun Wednesday night was for everyone involved.

Edward's backflip and bragging rights will go down as the main story, but because you could feel the atmosphere in the farmland of Eldora, you know that Wednesday's race has done wonders for everyone involved -- drivers, fan, and even TV commentators -- because of one thing.

It was crisp, cool refreshing fun as everyone let their hair down, so to speak, and forgot about the demands of everyday life.

And that's something everybody needs every once in a while, even those racing heroes on TV, and especially you and me.