1997: I became a NASCAR fan, all because it was a quiet Sunday in February, with no football or baseball or hockey. I wasn’t a basketball or soccer fan at that time.
I came across the Daytona 500 on CBS, and figured that this was as good a time as any to watch a race. I never had in the past, I had only followed Indy Car racing on and off since I was a kid.
I picked the first and maybe only driver who had a web address on the back of his firesuit: www.jeffgordon.com
He went on to win the race, and NASCAR and Jeff Gordon gained a new fan.
2017: the new format for races are, in my opinion, a joke. 3 stages per race, each with a ‘winner’ and points assigned, with bonus points for playoff purposes for the winners.
NASCAR has changed their format more times than I can remember, since the creation of the Chase for the Cup. I don’t recall IndyCar or F1 changing as frequently or drastically, if at all.
Jeff Gordon retired 2 years ago, at the end of the 2015 season. I watched very few races in the past few seasons, and with both Gordon and Tony Stewart (retired last season) out of racing, along with the revamped points system I think I’m done with NASCAR.