At a glance, the common ground between the motorsports realm of NASCAR and the winter sport of luge should seem small. Then again, after a season-opening exhibition race for the stock-car crowd that faced snow and ice this past week,

Germany is expected to once again dominate the medal count in luge, but the U.S. could pull off a surprise or two, especially in the women's events.

Athletes look to hit top speed in one of the Winter Olympics’ most exciting sports, as bobsleigh, luge and skeleton look to fascinate the crowds in Cortina.

Luge made its Olympic debut in 1964, where athletes race feet first on a sled at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour. Competitors complete four runs over two days and their cumulative times determine their rankings, with gold awarded for the lowest total time.

Nobody knows for certain when luge — the French word for sled — started, since nobody surely took note of the first time someone slid feet-first down a slope. Some say the 15th century, with evidence that there were races in Norway around that time.

MUSKEGON, MI - On top of a sand dune near the Lake Michigan shoreline sits one of only four luge tracks in the United States. Built in 1984, the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park was created to help revive the former lumber town as part of a community campaign.