what was the defining moment that you became a NASCAR fan?

For me it was over 30 years ago...I was a foster kid about ten years old and had been sneaking into the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds on Friday nights to watch the Dirt Track races...one night I got busted by an off duty CHP officer who was working security. After we talked a bit instead of being a hard nose, he offered to take me to a "real race" at Laguna Seca Raceway, he talked to my foster parents, set up transportation and tickets and took care of everything...I didn't know ANYTHING about NASCAR at the time and it was a Grand National event...I remember that day with the fondest of memories, It was absolutely awesome. I dont know who won...or even who was racing that day...I just remember that a NASCAR fan NOT a cop, shared his favorite sport with me.

I have been a fan ever since!

It was a hot July day in 2002 and I was visiting my dad. He was watching the Pennsylvania 500 and convinced me to watch it as well. The race started off with Dale Jr. and Steve Park tangling up and eventually fell under a red flag due to rain. The defining moment of the race was when Bill Elliott, my absolute favorite driver, won the race! It was the first race that I had watched every lap of and Bill won it! I've been a NASCAR fan ever since.

Much like yourself, I never paid any attention to Nascar or motorsports. Then two + years ago I found myself listening to the Nascar channel on Sirius Radio. Next thing I know I am watching an exciting Daytona 500 on the television. As my wife watched my interest in racing increase, she suggested that we go to a live race for my birthday, which we did last year. After flying halfway across the country and spending a birthday weekend at the Texas Speedway watching trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races ... I was hooked. Still a rookie fan ... but I am learning and loving it.

When I finally turned 10 yrs old and my mom let my dad take me to the track with him for the first time, I was a fan before that but I only got to listen to it on the radio, cause it won't on TV way back when I was young. Been addicted ever since. Even though it was a tragic race where Fireball Roberts was critically burned and died 2 months later, it was hard on me but I have remained a fan. I'll be a Nascar fan till I croak.

Go Dale Jr & Hms

The first Cup race I saw live. I had been watching for decades on and off, then for about a year with some friends who liked NASCAR. But when I saw the Vegas race in 2003 while sitting down on the infield bleachers, I caught a terminal case of "NASCAR fever." Not much later that year, I watched as my hometown boy Kurt battled with Ricky Craven to the closest finish in NASCAR history at Darlington.

When I went to my race and it was a Craftsman truck race in 2005 at Gateway and my friend Chuck and step dad had met David Reutimann at a car show and became friends and they got pit and garage passes. And we went back by the haulers, by David Reutimann's hauler and we talked with him and got our picture taken with him, he was really nice. I have met him many times. And even though it poured down rain some of the time, it was awesome race, also it was cool to see the jet dryers for the first time and to hear them. I watched the race and there were crashes and I was rooting for David and it was the most fun I every had and he got 3rd place. So that's when I became a NASCAR fan and have been watching NASCAR ever since and I have been to many races.

Bristol, spring 2005. I had been watching Nascar on and off ever since the middle of 03 but was never really that into it or followed it much. Watching Kevin come from 43rd to get his first Bristol win was easily the defining moment for me. Then the next day on monday they had the Bush race that had been postponed due to rain, well he ended up winning that one too to sweep the weekend. Ever since then I've been completely hooked.

it was inevitable. almost like deja vu. I was playing with little toy cars before I could even talk. I always played with cars. "seeing it on T.V. for the first time just made me realize that life was fun". I was watching NASCAR when I was four, but only knew that it was about race cars. Even as a little kid, I knew it couldn't get any better than that. The NHRA as a sister sport. I guess I was happy to be an American before I even learned the pledge of allegiance.

I was hooked when I was a young boy and saw Cale Yarborough as a guest star on The Dukes of Hazzard. Then I learned who Cale was, started watching NASCAR and have been hooked ever since. Who'd've known back then that Cale's record would last 30 years (so far, unless JJ wins his 3rd consecutive title this year).

Well it was the Atlanta Spring race in 2005 when Carl Edwards won his first race and did the backflip! I had to watch every race after that to see if I could see the backflip anymore! I used to watch it with my dad before that though but that is when I really got into it!