Today’s column will be a bit off the beaten path, but it’s a topic I very much enjoy and hope you will too.

Some NASCAR fans have no desire to see anything other than the racing. They don’t care about the drivers being interviewed, they don’t read feature pieces, and they turn off rain delay coverage until the final word comes down on whether or not the race will take place.

Me, I’m not one of those people.

I find it enjoyable when the television coverage allows for a little goofing off. I think the kings of that are the FOX/SPEED crews, but TNT did a decent job this weekend. As a single, mid-twenties middle-class female, I’m squarely in the demographic NASCAR wants to attract. Well, they’ve sucked me in, and it isn’t just trying to get a glimpse of my favorite driver.

During the rain delay television coverage that has come to be unfortunately commonplace over the past few weeks, some of the drivers (and the on-air talent themselves) have been very engaging and surprisingly funny when interviewed by the booth or roaming reporters.

The best example I have for this is Carl Edwards. I’ll admit that for a long time I was no fan of Carl’s. I don’t know why. No particular reason. One memorable delay with FOX he climbed into the Hollywood Hotel and helped Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond forecast the weather. Did anyone hear him throw in a quip about a Roush weather formation taking over and obliterating a Hendrick weather formation? Priceless.

Edwards was also interviewed extensively during Pocono’s rain delay. In the bus lot, he proudly showed off his new motorcycle, his mountain bike, and oh yes, his coach driver Tom Giacchi (he of the unshaven beard). As the story goes, Edwards bought Giacchi a metal detector as a gift last year, and over the Pocono weekend, they went exploring together, eventually scraping together more than $11 in change. Edwards seemed inordinately proud of their loot and happy to play second banana to Giacchi for a few minutes.

Tuesday night, Edwards was a call-in guest on Tony Stewart Live. Edwards was calling from Lancaster, SC, where he and his Busch crew were relaxing after a day of testing. Unthinkingly, Edwards revealed their destination (a bowling alley) on-air, and hosts Tony Stewart, Matt Yocum and producer Paul Pabst were howling with laughter, frequently giving out the address and name of the bowling alley, instructing fans to show up with as much merchandise as possible.

Edwards, the winner of Stewart’s Prelude to The Dream race at Eldora Speedway, laughed hysterically as he called in to give an update on the small swarm of fans who came to the bowling alley and effectively wrecked the one night Edwards had to relax with his crew.  Edwards has a new fan in me.

I do base my allegiances partially on the driver himself, not his sponsor or sometimes even his ability. It’s why I am a Stewart fan though he has given me many reasons not to be one. The quiet philanthropist in him intrigues me. When I read that he has purchased houses for elderly neighbors in his hometown of Columbus, Indiana and helps out Red Farmer and also has supported Sam Ard, I can’t help but have a tremendous amount of respect for him. He could take his millions and not do a damn thing with them. During rain delay coverage at Pocono, Stewart talked several times about the Prelude race, and the smile on his face told me that it married two things he personally feels strongly about: racing and helping people.

Kyle Petty in the TNT booth was a breath of fresh air for the team, though Benny Parsons will be sorely missed. I don’t necessarily want KP out of the car, but I love him on TV. He was poised, funny and clearly knowledgeable (let’s face it, some drivers could barely explain loose or tight). His impromptu interviews with his father Richard Petty, Chad McCumbee, and Bobby Labonte were great. The feature he had with David Pearson was relaxed, and to me, on par with Wendy Venturini’s The Real Deal.

It is during these rain delays or these call-in shows or soft features that the drivers are revealed to be a little more than just a driver. We see what makes them laugh, hear the stories that they like to tell, and understand a little bit more about what makes him tick. For the fan like me, these times are the best. Sometimes I take a nap during the race. I always watch qualifying, practice and pre-race shows because it is the best time to catch this sort of silliness.

We also see a little bit of a driver’s life on the road 38 weeks of the year. We’ve seen Kevin Harvick interviewed on the steps of his coach with his Yankees-jersey wearing Chihuahua Little One, Jamie McMurray with black socks and sandals (a fashion faux-pas even in the bus lot), Chip Ganassi sitting on the tailgate of his truck and Roger Mears meticulously drying water off one of the Mears Gang vehicles while son Casey was interviewed.

Shows like SPEED’s Trackside! also allow another outlet for some old-fashioned ribbing and riffing. Where else but cable could we watch Elliott Sadler faceplant horribly in Charlotte in 2006 and then, in the beginning of the 2007 season, blush when pressed by Darrell Waltrip on Sadler’s new girlfriend? Where else could we see Hammond accidentally-on-purpose shove Larry McReynolds into a pool at the Larry Mac All-Star Barbeque? And we can’t forget RaceDay, because watching Kenny Wallace get his Ric Flair on never fails to make me laugh.

I hope NASCAR and the TV networks do not drop this type of coverage. NASCAR prides itself on the fact that their athletes are literally the most accessible in all of sports. The drivers who interact well with the fans and TV are a treat to watch and a treat to cheer for.

Until next week when we’ll have some extensive coverage of Michigan and the race for manufacturer’s bragging rights, remember that rubbin’ in racin’.

Have a question or comment for Samantha? Email her at samanthamaynard@sportsgrumblings.com