Never being a big auto racing fan, I did get hooked on F1 racing two years ago. I believe F1 to offer a superior racing experience than NASCAR, but I know NASCAR had thousand of fans, especially in the US. I've watched NASCAR racing, and I am at a loss to its appeal, especially when compared to F1. Could NASCAR fans clue me in to what I'm missing in the NASCAR experience?

You likely have too many teeth to qualify as a NASCAR fan. Also, you had to have voted for GWB the last 2 presidential elections.

I'm a NASCAR fan, but since I don't watch F1 I'm afraid I'm not much help with the compare/contrast. I love the personalities involve, pit strategy and, especially this last year, the rivalries that manfest themselves in some pretty wild ways.

Incidently unreg, I have all my adult teeth but thanks anyway. Did you know that NASCAR has a faster growing fan base than any other sport?

I've NEVER voted for GWB, I have all my teeth, don't live in a mobile home, and I'm a girl. I LOVE NASCAR and Formula 1. I love cars. I think the appeal is totally different for both. Honestly, I watch NASCAR for the wrecks. They are usually pretty spectacular and it's interesting to see how much strategy goes into driving around in circles. Because the cars are so highly regulated that they all pretty much drive the same vehicle, the test in NASCAR is really about the driver's skill and luck and the skill of the pit crews.

Unreg, if you have access to the Speed Channel, I suggest you tune in to some F1 races this year. Since I live on the West Coast and most of the races are in Europe, I TIVO the races so I can watch at a more convenient time. If you live on the East Coast, you can watch most races live. The first race will be on March 12th from Bahrain. PS: the Speed Channel broadcasters are first rate and really funny!!

Doodlebanker, good to hear you're also a F1 fan. What driver(s) or team(s) do you usually root for? I'm a McLaren-Mercedes fan. PPS: I, too, have all my teeth and have never considered for one minute voting for bush.

I like both of them for differrent reasons. F1 for the fact that the cars are the highest technological advancements in the automotive world, plus, the sound from those engines are music to my ears. NASCAR for the wrecks, of course, and they know how to advertise the snot out of the races. Plus NASCAR races, once you get past the whole "left turns only" thing, are some of the most exciting races out there.

Nascar all the way. Go to a race- the thrill of being there is awesome and the sound of those cars racing is something I'll never forget. I love all those guys.

Comparing F1 to NASCAR is like comparing ballet to boxing.

The largest picture in my office is a lithograph of Jimmy Clark in a Cosworth powered Lotus - he was my hero. F1 is very nearly an art form. The annual budgets that the teams operate on would exceed the annual earnings of most U.S. companies. The drivers are clearly the most sophisticated in the world - few Americans have been successful at that level, particularly in recent years. F-1 used to be televised early on Sunday mornings and I would watch them religiously, but we do not have Speed Channel at home so I rarely have a chance now.

NASCAR is Americana on steroids. I do not like the wrecks at all; the best race I have ever seen was green flag from start to finish at Talladegah. NASCAR has heros and villains on the track. A villain can become a hero over time. It has serious fans in the stands, people who cheer when their driver came in fifth because they know without being told that moved him up two places in the point standings. They don't give a rip about being stereotyped. The "race" is about 20 things going on at once, not who is ahead at the moment. As noted, there is more man vs. man "racing" in single NASCAR race than there is in a season of F1.

With equal access to both series I would follow both, because I like a cheese burger just as much as I like chateau brignon. However, the cheese burger is a lot easier to find.

Life without Speed Channel? Almost too horrible to imagine.

Jimmy Clark -- definitely one of the best drivers of all time.

My home office (well, it has my game pc in it and my wife hardly ever goes in the room) has a 4'x3' pen and ink print of Damon Hill in a Jordan, in Buzzin' Hornets livery. That is actually my wife's fault. We were in Windsor, England walking along the Themes, and I wandered past an F1 wheel and tire chained to a tree, said something to the effect of hmm...interesting and completely missed the F1 memorabilia store. My wife, bless her, was kind enough to point it out and then let me spend money in it. They had an OZ Racing wheel + Tire signed by Senna, M. Schumacher and Haikkenen (sp) if I remember correctly...when I saw it there were only 7 World Championships associated with the names...now there are 12. I was afraid to ask how much it was.

This past F1 season had few bumps (indy...) but Suzuka Japan was amazing. I just hope in the next few years the FIA's rule changes to curb costs (Toyota's budget is rumored to be whatever they decide to spent...$500 Million...) doesn't turn it into Champ Car...

Ken, great analysis. Rubbin' is Racin'.

Did you hear that the USA will have a driver, Scott Speed (yea, that's his real name), driving for the new, junior Red Bull team? Bernie and the gang have a lot of work to do in the US after last year's US Grand Prix failure in Indianapolis, and having Scott drive is a good start. I doubt, however, that he'll earn too many points. Red Bull's budget for their two teams is still less than the budgets of the big boys: McLaren, Ferarri, Toyota. I'm sorry to see the loss of the V-10 to be replaced by the V-8. Will the team budgets really be affted by the switch?

Yes, I have seen Speed drive in one or two of his lower level races, he has all the skills to succeed, but with the small team budget, I don't hold out much hope of him doing real well. And the two red bull teams are supposed to be two completely seperate teams, one is team red bull, the other is team torro rosso.

Ferrari actually said that budgets increased with the one engine for two races rule, and if I remember correctly, eventually the v8's have to last 6 races. Their reasoning was with the 2 race rule they would make parts for 100 engines and only keep the pieces for 1, that is how important parts matching and tolerances became. When they could change engines as often as they wanted all 100 engines worth of components would be built up.

And it is very cool that the US has a driver in the series, hopefully he has better luck than Michael Andretti did. The only draw back is Scott Speed only sounds slightly literate when interviewed...which when compared to Kimi Raikonnen is actually a step up since he hardly ever talks.

When NationsBank took over BofA, the SF Chronicle sent a reported to Charlotte to do a short series of articles about Charlotte, the differences between Charlotte and SF, and what BofA employees moving to Charlotte could expect. The articles were funny, and I remember the reporter writing that he went out to the Charlotte Motor Speedway several days before a big NASCAR race, and the stands were full of fans watching workers in streetsweepers clean the track.