[ERA535]

Whatever your beliefs about NASCAR - the Twin 125's that run today are perhaps the best races of the whole year -

I was living in Florida in the early 80's and used to visit a dealership near Orlando that employed some rabid NASCAR followers - they insisted I go to see the Twin 125's. They told me that THIS was the race to watch - that the 500 was boring compared to this one.

I am more of a F1 and CART fan but went because I had never seen a stock car race and kind of liked the idea that maybe the crowds would be a little lighter. Plus those guys were so enthusiastic about the 125's - I HAD to go.

I was right about the crowds (then anyway) and the racing WAS intense. These guys are racing to see who gets to race on Sunday. Nothing is held back. One pit stop. I was not disappointed.

The first race starts at 10 AM Pacific time today. I rarely miss watching them. It kind of amazes me that NASCAR doesn't realize what kind of excitement (and money and exposure) they could get from these races if they were shown when everyone was home and could watch TV.