It’s true. It started in college in GA, when I was exposed to a lot of NASCAR. Then I grew up and got all worldly when I met the husband, and I learned about Formula 1, the biggest, baddest racing league on the planet. You think American athletes make a lot of money? It’s pennies compared to European F1 drivers and their crazy rich teams. Ferrari and Mercedes are big names here, not Chevy and Ford. All the cars are custom built in pieces and assembled for each race weekend. One race engine costs more than my house, and they only last one race. It’s as glamorous as sports get, and racing is a sport; those drivers are working hard.

We watch most of the races together as a family (and the practice sessions, and the qualifying…). It is brilliant, so fascinating to watch and learn about. I’m finally at the point where I only ask 2 or 3 questions a race, as opposed to 20 or so when I was still learning. I’m by no means an expert, but I love it. We even went to one of the rare US races in Indianapolis in 2005 (the famous race where only 6 cars went out because of some wonky tires). The car photo is one that Adam took at that race. My goal is to go to the big fancy race in Monaco. I tried to maneuver our honeymoon around that last year, but we would have had to sell a kidney each.

Anyway, in addition to my love of racing I’ve discovered a general love of watching things go fast. This is why I have become a fan of Top Gear, a British car show that is hugely popular and has been on forever. The three hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May (plus The Stig), spend a lot of time evaluating incredibly expensive sports cars, building ridiculous experimental vehicles to take through obstacles, and traveling the world in crazy racing challenges. It is laugh-out-loud funny, one of my favorite things to watch on TV. They have a popular segment called Star in a Reasonably Priced Car where they interview celebrities then put them in a cheap car and time them around their test track. James Blunt was on recently, and I have to say that his interview was funny, quick, and very British. Who knew?