Anyone else a closet F1 fan?

I used to watch F1 in the days of Alain Prost and he earned the nickname "The Professor" for good reason. What irks me now with F1 is the fact that they mandate having to run on multiple kinds of tires in each race and the race often seems to be over after the first lap is complete. Things seem to almost be pre-decided and the races are rather short. It has a very elitist feel about it now. If it appeared to be more "common" I would be happy to watch again.

I know that there are many on the site who hate NASCAR but I started watching after my son was given some Tony Stewart memorabilia for his 8th birthday. I cheer for "Smoke" and "Jr" but there are other great drivers. Many of the drivers appear to be more "real" and personable, as though you could have a beer with them (ie: Mark Martin).

Personally, I hate the short tracks like Martinsville and anything else under 1.5 miles. I really love the high speeds of Talladega and Daytona, but I have a soft spot for Watkins Glen after I visited the area to do some hiking. There is much more action back and forth in NASCAR and I am pleased to see the substantial safety improvements that allow drivers to walk away from serious wrecks that would previously have been fatal, even if it means the cars are much less "stock" than before.