Alright ladies, it’s February 10th, and I know what you’re thinking about (no, not just the NCAAB hotties of the March Madness picks coming up in a month): Valentine’s Day. It’s only four days until your partner goes out of their way/budget to shower you with tokens of affection and a night of passion (uh, shouldn’t he/she be showing you said affection and passion every day of the year?). But let’s not forget the big event happening the day after the Hallmark holiday: that’s right, we’ve got your Daytona 500 pick! (A lot more people will be looking forward to seeing fast cars crash than Valentine’s Day, trust me.)

Rev my engine, indeed!

Now, for those of us enterprising souls who’ll be betting on the Daytona 500, we’ve got a bit of a task ahead of us. All the big names are present for this one (which kicks off the NASCAR season, dont’cha know): Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Plus you can’t help but keep an eye on Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch — it’s going to be a tough race to handicap, indeed. Gotta say, though, I’m liking the looks of Tony Stewart; the Stewart-Haas Racing stable has got a bright future ahead of it, and I can’t see Tony losing to Ryan Newman again this year. In fact, I’m gonna run over to my sportsbook right now and put a wager on Tony to take it. As if I needed another reason to be excited for this weekend

Regardless, Carl Edwards will always finish first place in my heart.

Again in the category of surprising-sports-women-love: NASCAR.

Now, I didn’t really think too much about NASCAR until my mom professed her love for the motorsport. In fact, she has some kind of ambition to go to Talledega one of these years. (Then again, my mom also has a secret love of horse racing which has nothing to do with the crazy hats the fashionistas wear to the Kentucky Derby)

For those of us ladies who aren’t my mom (who is awesome, btw) - or Nicole Scherwhawhosit, the Pussycat Doll who’s dating current Formula 1 champ Lewis Hamilton - and seek a little more excitement from the cars going around and around in a circle until someone crashes into a fiery ball of destruction, there’s always NASCAR betting. Jimmie Johnson - the newest inductee into The Most Boring Champions Club - looks to have this Sunday’s Ford 400 odds all wrapped up championship-wise, but your real best pick of the event is Kevin Harvick. Yeah, he’s a relative unknown, but he’s got great value and a decent chance of taking the thing all the way to the bank, champagne bottles and all. And, you know, a decent chance not crashing his car into a fiery ball of destruction.

Awesome.

Still, I think my mom’s got her money on Jeff Gordon - “because he seems like such a nice young man”. You know how it is. (Just make sure you pick a good sportsbook, k?)