Sunday,in the Daytona 500 of Football, the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots, employing a thrilling, breathtaking and awe-inspiring defensive package named after a thrilling, breathtaking and awe-inspiring sport NASCAR. The moniker, and its genesis, makes sense. Think about it& DE Justin Tuck went to college at Notre Dame, a quick three-hour drive from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Look at him during a game, dancing here then there behind the line of scrimmage. Aren ‘t his shimmies which often result in a spike of some poor quarterback reminiscent of Darrell Waltrip in Daytona International Speedway’s Victory Lane after winning The Great American Race in 1989? Then watch the swim move from DE Osi Umenyiora, whose college (Troy University) sits about a two-and-a-half hour drive from big Talladega Superspeedway. His go-to move: Juking right, swatting a helpless defender away, and launching left. Can ‘t you envision a similar slingshot maneuver on Lap 200 on Feb. 26? And now everyone’s down with JPP DE Jason Pierre-Paul. He went to school at the University of South Florida, near NASCAR’s bookend tracks Daytona and Homestead-Miami Speedway. His specialty: Off the block speed, every single play. If the NFL had an American Ethanol Fastest on the Restart Award (they don ‘t, but NASCAR does), he ‘d win it every game. No wonder the Giants nicknamed its all-out pass rush after the world’s most competitive form of motorsports. ‘We came up with NASCAR; we call it our speed package,’ Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, who notched two sacks last night, told ESPN. ‘Why do we call it that? All of us compete about who’s the fastest and who gets to the quarterback the fastest. So NASCAR’s just something that felt right.’ Among the NASCAR drivers who attended Super Bowl XLVI were Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Austin and Ty Dillon.(NASCAR)(2-7-2012)
