What’s your favorite Saturday or Sunday afternoon activity? Maybe cooking out on the grill, time with family, or a good nap? How about watching 40 some-odd cars drive 188 mph around Talladega Superspeedway? Laps 50 through 100 always make for a good short nap too (But I wouldn’t know from personal experience…).
NASCAR is a family tradition around here. My grandfather never missed a race and had every branded item possible. Mark Martin is from our hometown of Batesville, Arkansas, so of course he is the favorite. My second favorite driver would have to be Dale Jr, followe by Jeff Gordon. Guess you could say I am a Hendrick Motorsports fan only I just can’t stand Jimmie Johnson. So by now you’re asking… “Why are we talking about stock car racing?”
Well it kinda hit me yesterday in the hay field, what do NASCAR and farming/ranching have in common? Well, I know that I drive around in circles all day just like a stock car driver. Only my pace is more like 5 mph and I make right turns instead of left. @etcattlewoman suggested that we both sweat a lot and are not paid well. True, it takes some stamina to make that many rounds on a track or in a field. But that’s kinda where I got stuck…
This year NASCAR made the switch to ethanol fuels with the 2011 season with SUNOCO E15 blend being the official fuel. So all of those grains from American farmers’ fields are fueling those cars around the track now. The American Ethanol logo can now be seen on the fuel cap in all NASCAR races. You can keep up with an Agriculture view point of NASCAR through the Illionois Corn Growers blog.
In 2011 Furniture Row companies came out the Car of the Heartland campaign to bring farming to NASCAR fans (one of the largest American fan bases in professional sports!). The campaign includes a Farm American car, in-store campaigns, and at the race track fans can sample local produce and view footage as the team driver meets local farmers every week. Kinda like bringing the farm to town. There is all sorts of cool information on the Farm American team website about how they are cultivating the future.
American Agriculture is responsible for over 22 Million American Jobs.
75% of wildlife in the United States live and roam on agricultural land.
The Statue of Liberty is equipped with elevators that use a soybean-based hydraulic fluid.
Every year, consumers spend more than $545 billion on food that comes from American farms and ranches.
There are more than 165,00 farms in the U.S. that are operated by women.
–Some Food For Thought from the Farm American website
Now I need a little help. In what other ways do NASCAR and Agriculture collide?
