Christmas Presents - Do You Re-gift?

[Robbie]

So how do you all like your Christmas presents?

Any of them you love? And are you prepared to re-gift any?

[CatsEyes]

Won't be re-gifting anything this year! 8) Our gift to each other was a trip to the Vegas NASCAR race in March-Woooo!

[Soundy]

Won't be re-gifting anything this year! 8) Our gift to each other was a trip to the Vegas NASCAR race in March-Woooo!

That's awesome!

[Robbie]

Congrats CatsEyes. Share with us your experiences and perhaps we could finally figure out why Americans are so much into auto racing.

[tigger]

only if I get a ARGO Gift :lol:

[CatsEyes]

Congrats CatsEyes. Share with us your experiences and perhaps we could finally figure out why Americans are so much into auto racing.

It's not just Americans, Robbie! We haven't attended any open wheel races, but at a NASCAR race, you find a surprising cross section of people from all over North America. It's a common misconception that it's just Mr. and Mrs. Bubba from Redneck, Tennessee who go to races. We've talked to people from many walks of life. And yes there is a strong fan base here in Canada, as witnessed in this article:

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/nascar/ne ... ?ID=177222

NASCAR has a strong fan base in Canada with 5.8 million fans, representing one out of four Canadian adults. The average Canadian NASCAR fan has been following the sport for approximately 10 years. The Canadian NASCAR fan base is truly national with fans from all across the country: British Columbia - 12%, Alberta - 11%, Manitoba/Saskatchewan - 6%, Ontario - 39%, Quebec - 24%, Atlantic Canada (made up of all Atlantic provinces) - 8%.

To give you an idea of the scope and popularity of just one race (there are 36 races from February to November), using Vegas as an example: the motorhomes that park at LVMS from Wednesday to Sunday during race week make LVMS the 5th largest city in Nevada. It's a great spectacle. One day we'd like to get to one of the southern races. Actually one day we'd love a track in Washington State, but the NIMBY's will never let that happen!

[Solar Max]

Congrats CatsEyes. Share with us your experiences and perhaps we could finally figure out why Americans are so much into auto racing.

600,000 Canadians have attended a Sprint Cup Race, according to Track attendance records, where the tickets are mailed to an individual or group. This does not include those that buy on race day from a ...reseller. 8)

Personally, I love watching Toyota clean up in that most American of Sports. This is my primary reason for attending, my love for Toyota Motor Products.

Toyota: Moving Forward in the Passing Lane at 25 mph with the blinker on. Oh, what a feeling!

[Robbie]

Okay, Catseyes and SM.

One thing that I believe distinguishes auto racing from other sports is that although the participants are identified as coming from a certain country, they don't seem to represent their country as strongly as those in other sports. Although Greg Moore was well liked in Canada, I don't think Jacques Villeneuve reached nearly the same level of fame and respect among fellow Canadians despite winning the 1995 CART Championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 Formula One Championship.

Who will you guys be cheering for?

[Soundy]

Okay, Catseyes and SM.

One thing that I believe distinguishes auto racing from other sports is that although the participants are identified as coming from a certain country, they don't seem to represent their country as strongly as those in other sports. Although Greg Moore was well liked in Canada, I don't think Jacques Villeneuve reached nearly the same level of fame and respect among fellow Canadians despite winning the 1995 CART Championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 Formula One Championship.

That's because he's an arrogant brat, and we Canadians don't identify with that! Greg Moore was a friendly, unassuming kid who never pissed anyone off, and also played hockey (his car was #99 after his first hero, Wayne Gretzky)... how much more Canadian does it get than that?

Who will you guys be cheering for?

Jeff Gordon all the way, baby! Nothing like the squeaky-clean California kid rubbing it in the faces of the good ol' boys

[CartWheelFan]

Well, a little re-gifting story of my own here, I was given a $25 Petro Canada gift card for Christmas (by my sister who apparently didn't know I've parked my truck while I'm going to school as it's just easier and cheaper to take transit) ergo I have no immediate use for a gas card. However my friend Lisa who lives in Abbotsford oft maligns how much it costs to gas up and drive out to PoCo to have lunch or a drink with her best friend, so I added the giftcard to what I already had for her, and told her that she could use it to make coming all the way out to see her transportationless friend less of an expense and hassle. By definition that would be re-gifting, but at the same time, I only did so as a way of giving it to someone who would get more use out of it, and since technically it would also involve me, and my happiness in getting to spend time with my friend, it turned out to be a win-win I'd say.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!