Even though the mid-summer weather was doing its best to murder me this past weekend, I had a great time at the Chicagoland Speedway, going behind the scenes at the NASCAR USG Sheetrock 400. It was my first trip to a NASCAR event since I was a young 'un hitting the track with my folks at Talladega in the mid-70s; and to be certain the sport has changed a lot since then. Back when Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty were the kings of oval racing, there was a sense that NASCAR was a roughneck affair, populated by personalities that were more outlaw than athlete. After all, the sport can track its roots to moonshine runners in the Southeast U.S. during the prohibition years of the 1920s and early 30s.

　　NASCAR's done a lot to move away from that perception, and one of the best moves was to put nearly every aspect of their sport front and center. From the blanketing media coverage on Fox, NBC, and Speed Channel, to a pervailing sense of "open-ness"; if it happens in the pits during a NASCAR race, you'll probably see it or read about it. It's one of the things that makes NASCAR so popular among its loyal fans, and it definitely made our trip that much more interesting. Read all about it!