Boring? You ain't watching the same races that I am

You've watched a NASCAR race and you say you're bored?

How can that be?

I'm never bored when it comes to NASCAR, and there are a lot of reasons for that.

NASCAR racing presents such a palette of brilliant, intricate scenarios and personalities that you can't help but be engrossed in it. I think.

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Come to think of it, I can remember falling asleep during more than one Cup race -- but I think I can safely say the sport, the venues, the racing had nothing to do with that. At least I don't think they did.

I can't remember if I played 40 holes of golf the day before and was worn out. But let's get back to the racing.

Let's say you have a deviously fiendish new car, which is an absolute bear to wrassle around the racetrack; only a few guys really figure it out -- but these are the best damned drivers in the world, so there aren't many cautions.

Hello -- there's only gonna be about 10 cars on the lead lap at the end, because as any racing purist hates to admit, you need more cautions to keep the weak sisters engaged, or at best, give them a chance to work on their weaknesses.

But either way, isn't that interesting? Seeing the desperation of A, B or C favorite driver trying to avoid the unavoidable -- being lapped -- and then just as desperately trying to stay in position to get the free pass just has to be riveting.

The real danger is, by and large, you're dependent on someone to show you these elements, or tell you these stories -- and at that, your experience might only be as good as the performance of the network that's presenting it to you.

At the risk of being a real homer, you ought to try engaging some of NASCAR.COM's technical tricks. I bet if you were scanning Jeff Gordon's radio transmissions for the 120-odd laps he ran at Texas, you probably would not have been bored.

Depending on your support or disdain for the four-time Cup champion, you might even have been delighted -- but definitely not bored.

And trying to figure out how this perennially title-contending team could comprehensively "miss it" for the second time in just three races, would have to keep you involved. I think.

Again, using NASCAR.COM's technology, you can chart lap times, you can chart margins between your favorite and the race leader -- or his competition. (Continued)