How long is too long for a NASCAR Cup event? I seriously think NASCAR has absolutely no idea how long "too long" might be.

SUNDAY, APRIL 1st - MARTINSVILLE RACE:

I watched the start of the race (would SOMEONE please put a merciful stop to the military fly-over at sporting events during the Star Spangled Banner?), and then headed out with my wife for a nice afternoon stroll around Carmel.

It was a gorgeous day here, and we spent well over two hours on our walk/jog. The race was still on when we got back, although I didn't pay attention to which lap they were on, ... there was a caution at the time.

I waited for my wife to finish her shower, then took a long hot shower myself - felt good after being on my feet for so long - still trying to shake off the winter doldrums ...

I then drove over to my folks house. They live 15 miles away, and their landscape lighting system and the dog's invisible fence hadn't been working for some time. It took me a while to find the break in the invisible fence wire, but I got it fixed. And I had to do a little rewiring on the landscape lighting system as well.

After finishing these repairs and chatting with the folks awhile about the NCAA games last night, I drove to the grocery to buy stuff for Sunday dinner. After a leisurely stroll around the store to find my wife's preferred ingredients for chicken marsala, I drove home.

I'm not sure how long it takes to cook chicken marsala, but I had time to write a two page report for a client regarding their compensation programs before being summoned to dinner.

My wife and two grown children (in town for the weekend) had a very nice meal and had a nice conversation afterwards. Then it was time for them to hit the road - the boy heading back to Purdue and our daughter back home to Louisville.

After about 45 minutes, we noticed that our daughter had left some of her clothes behind. We called her and made arrangements to meet her 1/2 way to get the clothes to her. I hopped into the car, drove down the road a bit and turned on the radio.

AND THE #$&@! RACE STILL HAD 56 LAPS TO GO ! !

Unbelievable. Who can spend that much time watching a race around a little bull-ring, let alone a larger track? I have gotten to a position where I want to like NASCAR, as they're on far more than any other form of racing. And I like some elements of the competition. But I simply can't get past the incredible, INCREDIBLE length of EVERY RACE.

So ... who won?

... watching the Busch race today at the Autodromo (what a great course) when a car spun off into the grass - the first incident of the day. And OUT CAME A FULL COURSE YELLOW ! ! ? ? At the time, Juan Pablo and Scotty P. were running away from the field.

Those of you familiar with road course racing must have been shocked to see a full yellow - at least I was. But then again, it IS NASCAR. Gotta bunch 'em up - racing fans are too dim-witted to appreciate that a great driver with a great car should benefit from the lead he's earned. I know of NO other form of road racing that throws a full-course yellow for a spin, particularly when the cars continue onwards within moments. Even sprint cars will keep running if it's obvious that the spinning car will gather it up and continue to race without threatening other cars.

So I switched to flipping between "Air Force One" on local channel 35 and the race (on like seven channels).

Now Juan Pablo has had a mechanical problem that forced him to pit, moving him to the back of the pack. Normally, in a road course race, that would doom him to a mid-pack finish at best. But due to subsequent full course yellows (multi-lap yellows, despite the fact that the track was CLEAR moments after each incident), Juan is back in the running with 18 laps to go - currently in 5th.

So it seems clear he'll challenge Scotty for a victory. But what a weird way to run a race.

NASCAR - an acquired taste for sure. Egalitarian racing. Nowhere else ...

"RACE IS OVER" UPDATE: Well, JP's a great talent, but his reputation as a rough driver is also well earned. A hollow victory, after punting his teammate aside with about a dozen or so laps to go (not sure when it was, I missed it - Harrison Ford was throwing Gary Oldham off of his plane at the time). Great come from behind race, only to ruin it with a mindless bit of aggressive driving. He almost certainly would have cleanly passed him if he was a little more patient, but that's not JP's style. Maybe he'll grow up. Or maybe he's just channeling Dale Earnhardt.