Attention comic book, ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Star Trek,’ and, yes, even ‘Captain Planet and the Planeteers’ geeks. We are not alone.

It happened around the time they started throwing their — dare I say it — own conventions. I mean, that is our territory. Our shtick. Their passion for the socially unacceptable could rival and even surpass ours. These aficionados have officially achieved ‘geek’ status. While they don’t dress up as space aliens and do have girlfriends, they are a force that could possibly join our elite ranks.

They are NASCAR fans.

While a NASCAR nerd would tell you that it the acronym stands for The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, that’s just a polite way of saying ‘turning in left circles.’ Sure, the sport has been around for decades, but it seems within the past few years, the event has spawned its own subculture. To most people, though, NASCAR fans are better known as hillbillies.

‘People interpret it pretty much as you would expect: being very hick-ish,’ said Alex Brewer, a sophomore communications and rhetorical studies major and a NASCAR fan. Brewer said NASCAR fans also carry a bad reputation for acting simple-minded.

As much fun as it would be to completely belittle every ridiculous detail of the culture ? from the T-shirt cannons to the baffling car sponsors, such as driver Kevin Conway and ExtenZe ? I can’t take on the task. When a geek cuddles up with a Pikachu doll in his or her Spider-Man pajamas, it leaves little room to criticize other people’s behaviors.

And obviously I’m referring to my roommate.

But seriously, it’s about time NASCAR fans had someone stand up for them. Except for that ExtenZe part.

‘It’s a sport that takes a lot of intelligence,’ Brewer said. ‘That’s the major frustration I get. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson … they’re all intelligent people.’

While all geeks receive the stigma that you have to be brainy to be a nerd, it seems that NASCAR enthusiasts have the opposite problem. However, being misunderstood by society connects geeks and hicks. Kind of like when the X-Men teamed up with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to fight the corrupt Senator Kelly during … on second thought, forget it.

All I’m trying to say is that NASCAR fans, like all geeks, have dedication. We’re willing to wait 12 hours outside for the latest Nintendo system release. They’re willing to sit down just as long to watch cars drive in endless circles. They have the Indy 500, we have the San Diego Comic-Con. We have Darth Vader, they have Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The key for making speedway haters appreciate the sport is pretty much the same routine that geeks practice. Sit them down and actually make them watch the thing. Go with something broad and enjoyable to everyone. Once given a real experience with geek culture, a lot of people actually don’t mind it. But then again, there was that time I tried convincing my friends to play ‘Wolverine’ with steak knives. For some reason they still won’t answer my texts.

The key part to understanding the NASCAR culture is understanding the fans. Just like geeks, they just want to have as much fun with their passions as possible. So what if most of them wear trucker hats and treat Bud Light like a delicacy? If nerds have shown the world anything, it’s that stereotypes rarely apply in real life. Except for the Wolverine knife game. Your reputation might take a hit with that one.

‘You’d be surprised about who likes NASCAR and who doesn’t. I’ve met a lot of kids who don’t look like NASCAR fans but absolutely love it,’ Brewer said. ‘Sure, it’s misunderstood, but it’s misunderstood like a lot of things.’

Flash Steinbeiser is a communications and rhetorical studies and writing major. In his perfect world, NASCAR would allow the Batmobile to race. He will continue to wait to see this. His column appears every Monday and he can be reached at ansteinb@syr.edu.

Published on April 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm