The Daytona 500, classed as the Super Bowl for American motor racing, takes place today at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. To commemorate, here are the highlights from the 2008 Daytona 500.

I know I’ll probably get lynched for this but seriously, what is the appeal? As a European, I get to enjoy the Formula One World Championship every year, and that, without a doubt, blows Nascar out of the water.

Formula One has the best cars, the best drivers, the best teams, and the best tracks, all competing to be number one. What’s Nascar, and the Daytona 500, compared to that? Child’s play, that’s what.

My biggest problem with it is the simplicity of the track. Who wants to see cars going round a circular banked track for hours on end? Isn’t that the epitome of a boring spectator sport?

All we’re left with really is the crashes, which I admit can be exhilarating and fun to watch, as long as no-one dies in the process. But isn’t it a little ghoulish to watch a sport purely to see something go wrong?