An Obsession Begins

Hi, I'm Katy and I'm a NASCAR addict: This is my story:

Last week as I sat down to watch the Daytona 500 I remembered the very first race I ever watched on television. It was the 1993 Daytona 500. I’m not sure why my family was tuning in that day 16 years ago, but we were.

Like most 12 years olds, I probably wanted to watch something else. I remember thinking that watching these people drive around in circles for hours was going to be horrible. What could be exciting about that? The only interesting thing was the wrecks so what did I wish for? Yeah, I wished that someone would have a wreck and boy did I ever get my wish.

It was during the 93 Daytona 500 that I became addicted to NASCAR. As Rusty Wallace’s Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac went tumbling through the grass end over end I could not tear my eyes away. For me there was no turning back. Every weekend from that day until I went away to college was spent glued to my television. I became obsessed with racing. I kept notebooks with race results in them, covered my walls with posters, and cried at Christmas when my grandparent’s bought me NASCAR related merchandise. I wasn’t your typical teenage girl, not even a little bit. I dreamed of one day going to Charlotte Motor Speedway and watching my favorite driver Rusty Wallace (I owed it to him for wishing someone would wreck).

Over the years my NASCAR obsession went away. Instead of watching races on television I had to do the grown up thing and work on Sundays. I might have watched a few races here and there over the years, but nothing like I had back in high school. I knew who won the championships and who the top drivers were but I didn’t really follow anyone in particular. I left the NASCAR stuff to my best friend Jenn who I had met in college. She had developed a huge obsession with all things NASCAR and while I didn’t have a driver to follow she knew everything there was to know about NASCAR. (I’ll let her tell her story)

In the summer of 2007 my obsession was renewed when I had the chance to purchase tickets to the Coke 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for a discounted price. I figured this would be an awesome birthday gift for Jenn and it was. That May we loaded into a rented car and drove the 8 hours from my house to Charlotte for the race. That started a new tradition.

Since then we have attended 2 other race weekends together. In the 2008 we spent a week in Charlotte touring all the race shops, going to practice, qualifying, the Nationwide Series Race, and of course, the Sprint Cup Race. We also spent several days in Indianapolis leading up the Allstate 400. We have gotten sun burned, stood in long lines for driver appearances, and drank more Miller Lite than should be humanly possible.

Unlike most people I don’t cheer for Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, or Dale Jr. Instead you will find me cheering for Kurt and Kyle Busch on Sunday or maybe one of the underdogs that no one really follows. I drink Miller Lite and NOS Energy Drink, think certain drivers might be the spawn of the devil, and never, ever, ever miss a race on television these days.

Well that’s my story. Want to tell us how you got into following NASCAR? Leave us a comment!

You are probably still wondering why The Biff Files, right? I will save that until my next post.


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Katy Lindamood is a freelance writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed NASCAR addict. She co-authors The Biff Files with Jennifer Eblin her best friend and former college roommate. She's not Greg Biffle, doesn't know Greg Biffle though she did diss him once at an appearance.

Photo 1: Taken at Christmas sometime in the mid 1990's - That clock rocked!

Photo 2: Taken July, 2008 in Jenn's car on the way to Indianapolis for Brickyard Weekend.