Can't watch the race on TV? Turn on the radio!

Long before television realized that racing was entertaining enough to be televised on a weekly basis, the radio broadcasted NASCAR race events. Between 1960 to 1979, only the important races were televised. In 1979, CBS aired the Daytona 500 in its entirety for the first time. On the last lap of the race, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison collided cars and got out of them to fight - all while Richard Petty won his sixth Great American Race.

Although it may be more entertaining to watch the race on TV because you see the action, the collisions, and the wild battles between the cars to pass each other, radio stations are still broadcasting the race.

Before you jump in and tell me the radio is too old school to be cool, hear me out. Races run 36 weekends a year, including the hot summer months, and we all have things to do and family to visit. Some want to get outside for a swim in the pool or a boat ride while others just need to catch up with the kids. Whether you're headed out for bar-b-que, driving to work or the beach with the guys/girls, or busy cleaning the house, you don't have to miss out because you aren't able to sit in front of your television for four hours of racing.

What do we do? Deal with it, miss the race? Sure. Or, you could turn on the radio, maybe even the internet, and listen to the race on a local station. Depending on the track you can hear the races on either Motor Racing Network (MRN) or Performance Racing Network (PRN) affiliates nationwide. The announcers don’t sit around gossiping about their opinions of what they do see like a bunch of frat boys at a rush party, they actually give a creative, explicit detailed play-by-play of all the action on the track. There are a few guys hanging around different sides of the track to give descriptive detail of the scenes, and they don’t hesitate to show enthusiasm either. It’s quit intense and arousing at times; you’re often left to sit at the edge of your seat, or like me starring at the radio (thinking if you stare long enough you’ll actually see the race coming from the radio).

The guys don’t have TV’s to see the action they may miss, they have to pay attention to all of the activity, and they don’t have the opportunity to have an instant replay to help them see what happened, like you’ll see on TV. They’ve got to be on their toes, and in sync to where the last guy left off.

Sure, there are commercial, station identification breaks, and sponsor plugs, but that’s just a small part of deal. If you turn the TV on, and leave it on mute, you’ll notice the radio is ahead of the television, and you get to hear who wins the Daytona 500 before you see the cars turn the last corner, like I did last Monday night.

As a writer, I truly believe that listening to what is happening helps with the story I’m going to write (I even listen to novels on audio – to help with my fiction writing - because it helps me hear what I should be writing). The point I’m trying to make is, there really aren’t any good reasons to miss a race anymore, so you should stop making excuses.
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Genevieve works with children during the day, but is a writer – all the time. She’s currently living single, working out, hanging out, and spending time with her niece on Lake Norman in North Carolina. Other writing projects she has are: Charlotte Fitness Examiner on Examiner.com; a novel, and television script. She also takes the time to write about Charlotte nightlife, relationships, fashion, politics, and has written a few movie reviews. Genevieve can be reached on twitter at @C_Genevieve