Earlier this evening, Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, make a gutsy call and kept the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Impala SS out on the racetrack as the laps wound down in Phoenix.  This was a gutsy move because Knaus watched every other leader come down pit road and get fuel, while his team’s car slowly ran out of gas.

But in the end, the Lowe’s Chevy had enough gas to cross the finish line, do a burnout on the front-stretch, and complete half of a Polish victory lap before running out of gas.

I watched the entire race and finished the race on my feet, pacing back and forth in front of the TV, yelling at my guys for not bringing the Lowe’s Chevy and getting a splash of gas.  I couldn’t watch the last two laps, and I think I screamed, “Oh, no, he’s run out of gas!” about four times during that period.

That’s right, I am a huge Nascar fan.

While you might think Nascar is about rednecks and loud cars going in circles, it is also about people.  In one of the nicest news stories I have heard, the pre-race show included an interview of Jeff Gordon.  Today Gordon make a 15-year old’s wish come true.  This was his 200th wish made true through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Gordon has only started 516 Sprint Cup races, so he has had children quite frequently in his pit box and with him on race day.  Absolutely amazing, and it shows the level of compassion and charity drivers have.

How often do you hear nice stories like that with other sports?