Apples and Orange. Both fruit. Different juices.

This morning I told my friend, Huston, I was going to the Indy 500 this weekend. He replied, “Oh no! You are a big NASCAR fan???” After I finished convulsing I informed him that I was not a NASCAR fan but a fan of Indy Racing. I know your average man on the street may lump all auto racing together. And while there are some similarities between these two forms of racing there are some major differences. Here are just a few that come to mind. But first, a DISCAILMER. I am an Indy Racing fan. I do not follow NASCAR. If you call me an IRL snob I will not argue with you. Now, on with the chlorophyll.

front row 2006 indy 500-sam hornish, jr; helio castroneves; dan wheldon

THE CARS
Stock cars , the cars driven in NASCAR, are akin to the car you and I drive on the street. There's a hood, a windshield, a roof. An Indy Car has a nose cone and a cockpit. Here, look at these pictures.THE DRIVERS
NASCAR has Dales and Jimmys. IRL has Helios and Scotts (and a few Buddys). Contrary to what some believe the IRL does have more American drivers than foreign. There just happens to be a good percentage of Brazilian drivers in the mix (and they’re hot so you won’t get any complaints from me. Helio, pronounced “el-e-o”, I would learn Portuguese for you.). South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, and others will also be represented at the 500.

NASCAR (and former Indy Car) driver, Robby Gordon, stirred up a lot of conversation about the size and athleticism of the drivers after last year’s Indy 500 when he said Danica Patrick had an unfair advantage because of her small size. To be fair I will remind you of my clear bias. But just eye ball Robby Gordon or Tony Stewart and then compare/contrast their builds to those of Scott Sharp (5’8”/155 pounds) and Dan Wheldon (5’9”/157 pounds). SPEED
One of the biggest differences that most will point out is speed. For instance, this year’s Pole Sitter at NASCAR’s Daytona 500 Jeff Burton’s qualifying seed was 189.151. Sam Hornish, Jr.’s Pole winning qualifying speed for the 2006 Indy 500 was 228.985.

TO EACH HIS OWN
Fans of each sport have their favorite drivers and love the style that they follow. Racing is serious business (ask the families of the late Dale Earnhardt and Paul Dana) but it’s also incredibly enjoyable and exhilarating. My heart will speed on Sunday when Mari Hullman-George gives call, “Lady and Gentlemen, start you engines!” When those 33 cars make that first lap at full speed I will feel very alive and a little lightheaded.