Dale Earnhardt once said, "The winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose."

According to some of the drivers I have interviewed in the past, they learned that finishing the race is better than tearing up the car trying to win.

Roy Hibbard (1950s to 70s super-modified/sprint No. 26 driver) said when he began racing winning was everything. He either finished first or he was on the trailer with something broken on the car. "I finally realized that the most important thing was to finish," Hibbard said.

Bobby Ford (1960s super-modified/sprint No. 2 driver) told me that he would have won a points championship out at Sportsman's Speedway without ever winning a race that year if it wasn't for a family problem that caused him to drop out of a race.

Consistency and persistence seems to be what makes a race worth while for drivers running for points championships.

One of my friends, Michael Brown (305/360 sprints No. 85 driver), won a points championship at Central Missouri Speedway in 2003 in the 305 Sprints class without winning a feature. He remained consistent by running in the top five and that is what mattered.

So what makes a race exciting? Is it the winner, the loser or possibly the crash that was in between?

I don't personally like to see crashes as I have many friends who are race car drivers. If they wreck and have to work on their car that just means more money they have to pour into an already expensive hobby.

American Writer and Humorist Dave Barry, best know for his weekly newspaper column that was syndicated to more than 500 newspapers, said, "Auto racing is boring except when a car is going at least 172 miles per hour upside down."

Exciting? Maybe yes, but I still prefer the good old, battle-to-the-line racing that involves a little rubbing. Rubbing is okay, but a crash is bad for anyone.