Brad Keselowski.

Sprint Cup Champion for 2012.

It was close. Or rather, could have been.

The #2 Miller Lite Dodge team and Penske Racing ran a season that was consistent and put them into the position to be on the final podium for the Sprint Cup.

However, there was a hitch. The Lowe’s #48 team of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Racing. They made a push. They got on top. They had problems. They fell back.

A crash, a mechanical, another mechanical… (more…)

Football…? Really! Just as the racing series close on the championships people leave Pit Row for the 50 yard line. It begs the question as to “WHY”? Of course, here at Missed Gear, we could give a white flag about football. However, we know enough to tell that the first few games of the season are merely there to begin to determine the win-loss ratio for the playoffs. Yes… auto racing is the same, to a degree. The early races go from green to checkered with a wide open points system that really only gets tight after the season puts some mileage on the tires.
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But football…? Why does the Monday morning talk shift from “Did you see the race?” to “Did you watch the game?” Even the heads from the sports news are all crazy about the football season. They spend hours on player trades, camp reports, predictions and all types of pre-season blather. Women talk about shoes less than that.

 

While all this football talk is going on, what coverage does racing get? You might get the NASCAR race winner… Maybe Indy… Formula 1…? Not likely unless something spectacular happened. Grand-Am…? NHRA…? Nada. Zip.

 

But get 6 weeks away from the first pre-season NFL game and you can’t shut them up about football! What is it?

 

The short answer is probably “money”. Odds makers and wager takers love it as so much money is tossed over the line on football bets. That means that all these “fans” who wager on the games simply must know every minute detail about every team so they can place their bets. That keeps these talking heads yammering away while thousands are hanging on every word to get some line on a bet they will make in two months.

 

Yes. There is wagering on racing. The difference is there is one race on any given race day. There are 15 games on NFL Sundays. Betting on a football game essentially gives you two choices. Betting on a race could give you 40+ choices. Football variables are more predictable. Point spreads give the wager a cushion. Fifteen games gives the option to pick a few “sure bets” and go for the bomb on a possible payout.

 

The wagering offers a possible explaination on the popularity of football. However, not everyone gambles on the game. The majority do not. So… Why? Why abandon racing for football just when the points are tight and the championship is on the line?

 

NASCAR is racing at full spead with some points drama still left in the chase. There some Sunday night races so if you simply must watch the day games to maintain some kind of conversation on Monday, have at it.

 

Don’t get suckered in to College Football Saturdays, either! Flip channels until you find something fast and watch it! SCCA, F1, Motocross… We don’t care. As long as it is fast and the only balls involved are the ones it takes to make a 3-wide pass on the outside in lap traffic.

 

We believe you will enjoy the race much better. Wanna bet on it?