Why I Love NASCAR: Videos

Like my passion for books about NASCAR, owning and watching videos about my beloved sport is high on the list of favorite activities. Once the season is over in November my husband and I tend to take about six weeks off to throw us into the holiday spirit. As soon as the ball drops in Times Square and the Christmas tree is stowed for another year, we attack out NASCAR videos with gusto.

Among the many NASCAR videos we own, a few stand out as viewable time and again. Like old friends they slide into the DVD player, roar to life, and showcase NASCAR’s rich history, familiar faces, tragic stories, and outstanding victories. Some are biographies, others are overviews of the sport, but all help bridge the gap between the seasons, keep us connected to the past while reminding us how much better modern day truly is. The following are some of my favorites in my collection:

Dale The Movie – I was fortunate enough to see this on the big screen in Times Square in New York City in 2007. Seeing my sports hero larger than life on the big screen, in his own form, was intoxicating. From interviews, race footage, and outtakes, Dale was brought to life again and I reconnected with his magnetic personality like I had when he was alive. Throughout the film I laughed, I cringed, I tensed up, and I cried. When this was brought out in video I made sure to secure a copy for my collection. This is the quintessential video for Dale fans or NASCAR fans who missed out on the golden era that Dale Earnhardt lived.

ESPN Ultimate NASCAR Volumes 1-4 - Also from 2007, this series of videos that originally aired on ESPN is a fantastic and entertaining foray into the world of NASCAR. All of the best moments to date are contained and are broken down among four discs. The first is entitled “The Explosion – NASCAR’s Rise” and sets the foundation for how NASCAR came to be. The second is called “The Dirt, The Cars, Speed, and Danger” and showcases the vehicles and the racing. Third in the installment is “Greatest Drivers, Biggest Races, Hottest Rivalries” and does a great job shining the spotlight on these topics. Finally volume 4 counts down the “100 Defining Moments” of NASCAR. As most countdown lists are, this is subjective and open for hot debates. For a person missing NASCAR in the off-season, for the new fan, or the old one fond of nostalgia, these videos are a necessity and a welcome addition to a NASCAR video collection. There was a fifth volume added a year later called “Families” that is, like its predecessors, not only great entertainment and educational, but also raw with emotion and showcases the sacrifices some of the famous families of NASCAR have had to endure.

CMT’s The Ride of Their Lives - Put out in 2009, this is another must-have for a NASCAR video collector. With a different bent than the ESPN collection, this documentary covers similar topics from another angle. Well done, thoughtful, and highly entertaining, this more recent publication continued to explore the meaning of NASCAR’s past while looking optimistically to its safer and more diverse future.

There are more in my collection than these. An honorable mention would have to include the movie 3 based on Dale Earnhardt’s life, but the ones listed above are the triumvirate that solidifies a NASCAR video collection. Having these videos in my collection and having the opportunity to watch them whenever I chose is yet another reason why I love NASCAR.

Chief 187 is a writer, columnist, and blogger as well as creator of the widely popular Chief 187 Chatter. Her column “Why I Love NASCAR” and other articles are featured on Skirts and Scuffs. She can be reached via Twitter by following @Chief187s. To find out more please visit http://Chief187.com.