I don't watch much of it anymore- but I used to enjoy NASCAR races.   The attraction to me is akin to an airplane at takeoff- there's an awful lot of power contained in a small space and under constant control. Had I come to Alaska 20 years before I did, there's not doubt in my mind that I would be a pilot.

But when I watch a plane in flight or at take off, I don't thrill at the prospect of its crashing. And I don't like car crashes- I don't watch races hoping to see a crash.

One aspect of the races does disturb me: aggressive drivers. Fierce, focused, alert drivers I admire. But some go much further. Dale Earnhardt, for example, was notorious for his bullying (You're saying 'ballsy', right?) of other drivers on the track. To me, that kind of thinking and behavior it results in is asking for it. I would not be proud of it and I certainly would not try to emulate it, were I his son.