Everyone has their reasons of why they cheer for the driver(s) that they do. So, how did you become a fan of your driver(s)?




Ashley

I was in a KB Toys when I was a kid, and saw this sweet yellow 1/24 Pennzoil diecast that I wanted so bad. My mom bought it for my birthday, and since seeing that car in the store, I have been a diehard Michael Waltrip fan. That was 18 years ago, and it may have taken ten years to see him win his first race (bittersweet day :(), but it's been a fun ride.

Back in 2001 at Watkins Glen....Jimmie was some unknown kid driving in the Busch Series. I knew nothing about the guy, but was watching the race, and his brakes went out, and he SLAMMED into the barrier going into turn one. After the crash, as he got out he stood up on his roof and jumped up and down in celebration. I thought he was the man, and I've followed him ever since.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPVkxBlUDuc

Casey Mears? Just because I like the guy.

David Reutimann? No real reason, just liked what he did in the Truck series and thought I'd follow his career.

Carl Edwards-Because I'm a Die Hard Red Sox fan and he drove the Sox car. he seems like a down to earth kinda guy/kid, and he has just as much fun like he was a kid so it makes him fun to watch

well,
when i started watching racing i was a huge ernie irvan fan (still am) he won the daytona 500 that year and because of him and kulwicki i won $500 in a nascar weekly pool. i just liked the way he drove, may have been abrasive to some, but so was dale sr.

reed sorenson i met in erie in his rookie year of asa. he didn't finish well (got caught up in a wreck) but ran in the top 3 all day. i got a chance to spend some time with him talking racing. he kept calling me sir. and from that day on i have been pulling for him each and every week.

joey logano, i just like the kid. i think he has the skills to succeed, i just hope there isn't too much pressure put on him. if he just drives, i think he will do well this year.

dave

i grew up watching earnhardt sr. my family has always watched so i started at a very young age and always loved earnhardt. after he died i went to dale jr mainly because of his father but i also like his down to earth personality. as for kyle busch i just really love his aggresive driving style, kinda reminds me of sr a bit.

Ok here goes nothing of my 3 favorite drivers

Tony Stewart - at the start of the 1999 season, I really didn't have a main driver to follow. I kinda liked the LaBonte Brothers, Jeremy Mayfield, Bill Elliott, but hadn't had a main driver since Cale Yarborough retired (started rooting for Cale in 1977 because of Shasta cola) and Alan Kulwicki had died. Here was this rookie on the outside pole for the Daytona 500. I had watched Stewart some in his USAC days when ESPN used to show those and liked his fiery attitude so it was an easy choice to root for Stewart. After Double Duty (Indy 500/Coke 600) I was a Stewart fanatic and started buying 1999 VIP which got me into Racing collecting (have collected other Sports and Non-Sports since 1977).

Robby Gordon - me and Robby have kinda gone back and forth. I started a small Robby collection in 2000 and sold them all when he started a wreck when Tony went flipping in the Daytona 500 in 2001. Started collecting Robby again in 2002 and got real serious in 2003 when he won the 125 and then the 2 road courses. Pretty hard core Robby Fan now even when him and Smoke don't see eye to eye. Robby is still my #2 driver behind Tony.

Todd Bodine - Credit it all on Tabasco which is my favorite food condiment of all time. Oddly enough, when Todd was fired and they put Jaws in the Tabasco #35, my disdain for DW grew leaps and bounds (which is saying something cause I have never liked Dee Dub Ya). Started collecting him in 1999/2000 when I joined NTN2 first wanting Tabasco related cards only and quickly taking any cards of "The Onion.".

Well I sorta explained this in my blog lol-but heres the excerpt haha.

This is why I picked Carl Edwards:

First the blog part lol:

I saw him race a piece of junk truck for an underfunded team in the truck series in 2002-I was impressed-then Roush hired him and quickly I was cheering on the dude with the dorky braces and the never give up attitude-I didnt know hed turn into this megastar-I just liked his personality haha-then of course along came a backflip and a ripped body and a breakout 2005 season in Busch and Cup-and now my lonely driver with the goofy braces is a household name-odd how that worked out but saying im a huge fan is an understatement lol. Anyways-thats the story on my collecting passion.

Some more explanation:

I like Carl cause he has more fun than anyone, I think he drives harder than anyone and will win at any costs (Kansas LOL). Hes the best interview, the best with his sponsors, and not far from the best on the racetrack. And most of all-hes real. Hes a great guy whos extremely competitive and occasionally he goofs up lol-dont we all-its just his fire that burns. Hes not afraid to say what he thinks, he will do what he believes in no matter what-right or wrong. Its all those things combined-personality, values, how real is the person, and driving talent too boot-in short I think hes pretty much the man haha.

I grew up with Racing, My dad raced dirt in Upstate NY for my entire childhood and not a staurday went by that we didn't race. I remember the entire East Coast being snowed in back in 79 which left nothing for anyone to do but watch the First Flag to Flag Nationally Televised Daytona 500 and the Boxing Match that followed.

What makes me a Gordon Fan?

Well, back in 1996 my step-daughter's Dad was a Rusty Fan, so she was too. I started buying her Rusty Stuff and My Daughter (3 @ the time) got a little Jealous. So I took her to the Nascar Store at the Mall put her in front of the wall of 1/64 and Told her to pick us a Driver to root for and collect....She picked Jeff Gordon...I started watching every Sunday and man did she pick a winner. I then got to looking into his background and getting to know all about him.....
And here I am today,
Proud of My Daughters Pick, Proud of My Collection,
and above all

Proud to be a Fan of 4 Time Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon

2001 at Watkins Glen....Jimmie SLAMMED into the barrier going into turn one. .

I remember that race, I've never seen anyone hit so hard in my life, he was dang lucky for the styrofoam, The Rooftop Celebration was a nice touch:winking0071:

I kinda go by generations. When I was a kid my first bike was a red bmx style with blue trim.
I always loved that 43 and put a big STP sticker on my bike. That was back in the 70's and he was
all over the place back then on TV when I lived in southern MD and he was always winning. I have some
autos of his and someday will focus more on collecting him. Hands down has the most beautiful autograph
in all of sports.

Next up would be Ricky Rudd. In my early teens, I would spend my summers watching racing with cousins of
mine, one in particular was a huge Dale Sr fan back when he was everyones favorite. There was a few years
where those two really went at each other hard. I always loved it when that Tide would collide with Dale Sr.
I just always rooted for him since at the time everyone hated him.

Which brings me to Kyle. The Number One Reason why I like him and Tony Stewart is "THEY CAN DRIVE".
Put Tony or Kyle in a GO Cart and they'd drive the heck out it. I think Tony is the best pure driver
there is, but Kyle just has that reckless abandon that I love. The win at no cost, never play it safe attitude.
As a Red Sox I also like Carl and remember them unveiling the car at Fenway. But like Carl a lot more for
his Fire unfortunatley I think Carl and Kyle will continue to become a heck of Rivalry.

These days it's hard for me to pick one absolute favorite. If I had to I'd say I probably root for Kyle the most. But I also really like
JJ, and Clint Bowyer also. In order it's Kyle, Tony, Carl, JJ, Clint but I really like all of them. Of the younger
drivers David Ragan has really grown on me. I think he has a lot of talent, as does Brad Keselowski.
I think I'm more of a fan of racing these days and find it hard to pick just one. Take Gordon for instance. I
really rooted for him to get a win this year, also Kennseth. I hate to see those great streaks end. I feel it
would be better for the sport if they hadn't.

This year should be very interesting. I really hope Tony does well with the new team. It will be different with
all the new cars and teams. And for the first time ever I'll be rooting against the 20 Home Depot.....I just have
a huge problem with the Silver Spoon Treatment.....

Elliott Sadler - I picked him to collect because my dad already had a collection started. And I liked how he had M&Ms on his car.. because they're one of my favorites. So I became a fan.

Denny Hamlin - I've liked him since the same year.. his rookie year in Busch. He seemed to be a pretty good driver. I'm glad I became a fan. I was the happiest fan ever for those Pocono races in 2006! And then 2006 ROTY!!! And finishing 3rd in points!

Reed Sorenson - I started collecting his cards because I thought he was really cute. haha! At first I wasn't a big fan of his racing, but over the last two and a half years I've really started to like him.

All three of my drivers seem to be really nice guys.

This is gonna be long....

I started watching NASCAR in 1992. Same goes with country music, which I now absolutely love! I was the "they just turn left" guy as well as the "that hick music is for hillbillies" type. I then met some of the most important people in my life, a family of 7 who are still more like my family than my own. I am proud my family instilled manners in me. I would go over their house to hang with my new friend Speedy and eventually his 2 older twin sisters, who to this day are my closest friends. They raced locally and had a strong affiliation for Ford. The dad was a Martin fan and the rest rooted for Bill Elliott. Except for one of the twins, Cyndi, who pulled for that "other guy". He drove an awesome looking black car and, well, she liked him. I was 11 and very impressionable. The country music comes into play because I would go there and sit at their table waiting for them and that was all that was on and it grew on me and I'm thankful for it. Anyway, I started to follow the sport and you know what? That guy with the mustache was pretty good. I've liked Dale ever since.

Why Harvick?
When Dale left us, I actually sat down that night and thought to myself...now what? The name or the car? Cyndi, she chose the name. It was the car that had me hooked to begin with and I couldn't just abandon it. When Harvick won Atlanta, I was sold. It wasn't just that he won so soon, he beat out Gordon!!! That alone was all she wrote for me.

I had in the past collected baseball when I was younger, basketball in Jordan's heyday. And football off and on. It wasn't until 2004 until I bought my first pack (hobby-not that I had any clue of the difference in the two at the time) of racing cards. What did that pack (04 VIP) have in it? A Matt Kenseth 04 Signings card. Cool, I thought. I got a beckett, checked the price and hey, I got me a $40 card! For about 2 months, I was puzzled what the handwritten "30/50" meant. I eventually realized what I pulled and the rest is history. I just wish I still had that card :(

BTW, the first BOX I ever bought yielded me a 2006 Ryan Newman 4-Wide! That box-2006 VIP. I will always buy VIP from now on and when I do eventually buy a case, that's what it will be.

Sorry so long,
Pete

I cheer for Regan Smith because two years ago, he came up here and raced the IWK 250 (The IWK is the biggest childrens hospital in Atlantic Canada, I've been treated there many times and it is the most wonderful place a sick kid could go for treatment) at Riverside International Speedway (a track I work at 2-3 times a year about 45 minutes away). He came up on short notice because "Awesome" Bill Elliott broke a verbal promise to the promoters that he would not come to the event two weeks before, therefore leaving the owners out thousands of dollars in promotion for using his likeness in marketing the event and leaving them without a big name star. Regan stepped in (along with Ricky Craven) and not only showed he could drive by finishing 3rd, he was a class act, visiting the IWK and signing autographs for the sick children and making time at the track for anyone that needed it.

The next year (last July), he came back with Aric Almirola in tow. Not only did Aric run in the top ten all race, he had competition as Regan WON the race! The two are really nice, down to earth guys and hopefully they decide to come back to Canada on their July offweekend in '09.

I also cheer for Tony Stewart because in 2001 when I was into NASCAR but didn't have a favorite driver, my cousin bought me a #20 Home Depot jacket! I loved the jacket and wore it everywhere I went. It has since been torn (cheap material) and seen its share of wear and tear and it has since been replaced, but ever since then, I've cheered for Tony!

When Dale Earnhardt died, I had to pick a new guy. Nothing against Dale Jr, but he wasn't aggressive enough for my taste.....but the young, large eared Kurt Busch definetly was. He's been my guy since :)