NASCAR: Why the Daytona 500 will always be better than the Super Bowl

This Sunday will be another Sunday without NASCAR Cup Series action. Instead, fans are gearing up for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Georgia.

Well, race fans, just one more week or so until the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the Advanced Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Daytona 500 commercials are all over the television with one major event left in the way before the season gets started: Super Bowl LIII. This Sunday, the New England Patriots will play in yet another Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams.

Now don’t get me wrong; I enjoy watching football and look forward to everything the Super Bowl has to offer. However, I just don’t quite get nearly as excited for it as I do for the race season to begin.

This could very well be due to the fact I am a Buffalo Bills fan and the likelihood of seeing them in the Super Bowl any time soon is pretty much zero. The Super Bowl just doesn’t get my motors running the way that NASCAR does. The endless supply of chicken wings and pizza is great and all, but I prefer the sound of 40 engines being pushed to the max over football.

Let’s be honest too for a second here. A big reason why people tune into the Super Bowl is to watch the commercials. We could care less about the eight to 12 minutes of actual game time that gets played in a football game. If you’re not convinced that the Daytona 500 is better than the Super Bowl, then keep on reading.

Why the Daytona 500 will always be better than the Super Bowl

Way more parity in the Great American Race

It’s almost a guarantee from the time the season starts in September to Super Bowl Sunday that the New England Patriots will be one of the teams in the Super Bowl. It’s almost as predictable as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers being in the NBA Finals every year was when LeBron James still played in Cleveland.

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The beautiful thing about the Daytona 500 is that even the underdog has a shot at winning. Last year, Austin Dillon took home the Harley J. Earl trophy. Sure, NASCAR has its heavy hitters who are the favorites to win, but they are not always the ones who win.

Blatant penalties do not reward teams.

The NFC Championship game between the Rams and the New Orleans Saints had one of the worst no-calls if not the worst no-call in sports history. Whether it was pass interference or helmet-to-helmet contact, something should have been called on that play.

Instead, the officials and the NFL have chosen to ignore the issue altogether, and now the Rams will be playing for a Super Bowl championship. That, my friend, is not how it works in most sports, including NASCAR. Teams and drivers are penalized for violations frequently in NASCAR. Although the punishments do seem to be pretty weak at time, at least teams are being punished and not rewarded for breaking the rules.

You have to stay focused for three to four hours straight, not eight to 10 seconds at a time.

The center in football will snap the quarterback the ball, and he will hand the ball to a running back, who will be stopped almost immediately. There there is a break. Repeat this step three times, throwing in an occasional pass. Then there is a commercial. Once again, eight to 10 seconds of playing time, then a break. Repeat.

Do you see where I am going with this by any chance? In NASCAR, there is no such thing as a break in action. There are no timeouts and no video replays delaying the races while officials check to see what they missed.

Even under caution or at the end of stages, drivers have to be on their toes. Do we come into the pits? Do we stay out and try to lead some laps? If we do pit, how many tires do we need, two or four? Unfortunately, break every eight to 10 seconds do not occur to give drivers more time to make these decisions.

Wrap-up

As a sports nut, I will be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday. I will be rooting for the commercials to be funny and Tom Brady to win. Other than that, I will be constantly reminded that the Daytona 500 will be just two short weeks away with the Advance Auto Parts Clash and Gander RV Duel Duels mixed in. So good luck to both teams competing this Sunday in the Super Bowl, and even more good luck to the Super Bowl trying to top the Daytona 500.

If you had the choice between watching the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, which would you choose? The choice for me is clear, the Daytona 500! What are some of the reasons you would pick one over the other?