Warning: Kids Can Get Hooked on Nascar

It never occurred to me that my 1 year old girl might end up refusing to ride in any car other then a Ford, but the tale I was told last night suggested if I don't watch her carefully, it's possible she might. Nascar has a Barney-esque effect on some children. And that frightens me to the core.
My friend Lee had a 5 year old boy who knows the brand name of the material that's used to cover support beams before the exterior is finished on new home builds. It's not because the kid has an interest in siding, but the company happens to be one of the sponsors of one of the drivers he likes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but come on, it's beyond weird. This kid would rather play with Dupont paint then a Transformer because of Jeff Gordon.
It was a few drinks in, so I can't quite recall how the conversation turned to Nascar and it's growing presence inside a family who belongs to a Jewish country club in Connecticut. But once there, I was locked in.
It all started with the Pixar flick "Cars." Harmless enough you'd think; the Lion King spawned interest in the safari, Aladdin forced us all to explain that 99 percent of bottles don't have genies living inside of them and that of the 1 percent, none are as friendly as Robin Williams. Cars seemed run of the mill in terms of the lingering after-effects of the adolescent mind. What's the worse thing that could happen with Cars: The child thinks your ride is akin to the Hillbilly Truck? Maybe he gets into matchbox cars which thankfully have remained remarkably inexpensive to collect.
But "Cars" is the reason this five year old knows what a restrictor plate is and why he'll argue the merits of it. This kid knows about drafting and is the only human on the planet who can explain the Chase points system.
How did it go from a digitally animated film about Cars (not Nascar mind you) to wanting to spend vacation in Talladega? Marketing and product placement. The kid likes cars. He particularly liked the cars that went fast in the movie and wanted to get some as collector items. It was a subsequent visit to a toy store that sealed the deal. At one end of the aisle was the shelves stacked with toys created from anything that spent more then 2 seconds on screen. Four feet down the aisle, an interesting decision: Ask Mom for the car painted in Lowes blue or Home Depot orange. This apparently was fascinating. Could he grab the vehicle that had the words "Monkey Butt" on it?
What came next was a curiosity. The numbers. The colors. The names. Who were these people with these fancy cars? And then came the mistake: Dad explains that this is Nascar and it's not a cartoon. They get home, and Dad proves it by tuning in a race.
Lee proceeds to tell me the kid is now a junkie. Can't get enough of it. If you ask him where Darlington is, he can point to it on a map without even blinking.
I don't have a problem with Nascar in the same way I don't have a problem with swim meets. But I won't be pushing competitive swimming on my daughter because I don't want to take her to the 5 AM practices nor do I wish to officiate the 6 hour swim events she'd be a part of. I like the Daytona 500 as much as the next guy, but having to choose between watching the Redskins play the Cowboys and deal with a tantrum or just flipping over to race five of the Chase is something I can't live with.