[Hallen]

Anything for publicity.

I was once stationed in a small town for a 5 week period. I won't say exactly where so as not to offend anybody. Anyway, there were only a few restaurants of any consequence and only one worth a dang within staggering distance of our hotel.

It was a sports bar and served the normal fair. We would go down after our day of training and have a big meal and more than a few beers.

It was normally pretty quiet with a few people playing pool and a few families having dinner.

We came in one evening and the place was packed. We had no idea what was going on. We asked our favorite waitress what the deal was, and she said "Oh, it's cage match night on Pay Per View". There was only one table left and it didn't have a view of the big screen TV. We assured the waitress that it was OK that we couldn't see the screen.

Honestly, I was having more fun watching the locals because where I sat, I could watch them watch the TV.

When those "wrestlers" came out from back stage, all talking in the restaurant stopped. Forks topped with food stopped half way up to open mouths and just stayed there. It was comical.

I had to be careful not to stare and I am sure my jaw dropped as much as theirs did... not because of engrossment in the "Cage Match" but in absolute astonishment. I had no idea there were so many people so in to this form of entertainment. My opinion of the intelligence of Americans in general went down a notch that night.

I am sure many of the NASCAR faithful are the same type of fan. Totally in awe, and totally oblivious to what it is they are really watching. Not all NASCAR fans are that way, but there are more than a few that are.

The NASCAR guys are just targeting their faithful market space. These are the fans I hope that ALMS never, ever goes after because it will mean that our true sport (as opposed to "sports entertainment" like the WWF and Pro Basketball) would be in dire jeopardy if they do.