NASCAR vs the NFL...still no contest

As the NFL concluded the first quarter of its 2006 season, I realized that I haven't watched a single Nextel Cup NASCAR race since the NFL season began. For four straight weeks I've simply come home and checked NASCAR.com to get my race results following my Sunday at the sports bar watching the NFL. To be honest, this has worked out just fine for me. I haven't really missed watching the races every week and this begs the question...Why does NASCAR insist on going head-to-head with the NFL?
I consider myself a pretty big NASCAR fan. During the spring and summer months, my Sunday errands and chores are planned around what time the NASCAR race starts. This has become especially true since my taste for Major Leagues Baseball has waned in recent years. From the conclusion of the NBA Finals until week one of the NFL regular season, NASCAR is the only spectator sport I really care about.
I even have a favorite driver...Jeff Gordon. I even began playing in a fantasy NASCAR league this year. I've even found myself critiquing the race analysts on NBC and FOX, discussing which ones are the best and which network has better coverage. I even play the EA Sports NASCAR series of videogames.
However, this all changed on September tenth. It was the first Sunday of the 2006 NFL season and suddenly NASCAR didn't seem to matter that much anymore. Not only have I not watched a single race in the past month, two out of the last four weeks I forgot to even set my fantasy NASCAR lineup. I'm sure I'm not the only sports fan that does this on an annual basis.
This is odd when you consider that this is the most exciting part of the NASCAR schedule. The Nextel Cup season is coming down the stretch and is right in the throws of its ten-race "Chase for the Cup."
I've mentioned before how I believe that NASCAR has replaced the NHL as a "big-four" sports league in america, but this doesn't explain why, at least for the time being, NASCAR doesn't schedule more Saturday night races during the "Chase."
On its 2006 regular season schedule, NASCAR had seven Saturday night events, including its All-Star Challenge. NASCAR gets great ratings for these "Racing under the lights" events. Only one of ten "Chase" races is scheduled to take place under the lights this season.
I'm the first to admit that NASCAR's growth, increased popularity and soaring ratings over the last decade is most impressive. Heck, they've even drawn me in. However, NASCAR must realize that they are not yet ready to take on the 800-pound gorilla that is the NFL. The simple solution...more Saturday night races in September and October.