NASCAR
FLAVOR OF THE MONTH?

Will NASCAR become just another Flavor of the Month? The sport that began as entertainment for the average person started to change during the years of Jeff Gordon's dominance. He was a California boy that didn't have the layed back drawl of the predominantly Southern Redneck fans. His youthful exuberance began to catch the eye of the Yuppie generation that was looking for something new to latch onto.

At first, there were a few Yuppies infiltrating at the more Western tracks of Las Vegas, California and Phoenix. They were easily recognized not only by their polo shirts, khaki pants and sandals with high socks, but their obvious distaste of the more enthusiastic and boisterous Rednecks. However, they started bringing their friends and soon talk around the water cooler at upscale offices turned from baseball and soccer to NASCAR.

As luck would have it, some of the drivers began moving away from the average fans and drifting toward the upscale fans. Drivers could be seen in more business like apparel and not the normal T-shirt and jeans. They even (egad!) began playing golf. Ticket prices soared and hotels charged outrageous fees making it difficult for the average fan to come to races.

New sponsors started showing up as the trend moved toward fans with more prominent occupations. This meant more money coming in, allowing technology to surge. Race shops with big sponsors that could afford the new engineering began pushing aside the smaller shops. Teams started to form. Rules began to change. With all of the new templates and measurements instituted, it can now take hours for all of the cars to get through inspection. This has caused some drivers to miss qualifying.

Before long TV got involved. FOX and NBC took over broadcasting from ESPN. They turned stock car racing into the hyped up production of reality TV. Fans tuned in and ratings climbed like never before. NASCAR was the latest and greatest phenomenon of the new millennium.

After the passing of Dale Earnhardt, Sr., the sport changed drastically. It seemed that now that stock car racing had taken a spot in Prime Time TV viewing, the media started to pick at the harshness of the sport. NASCAR, not wanting to lose the prestige of the new found interest by TV viewers, began to change rules and enforce restrictions on drivers. No longer could drivers disappear into their haulers and RV's after races. They had to face a barrage of media questions as soon as they stepped out of their cars. Even after extremely stressful races, the media showed no mercy, wanting to catch drivers off guard, stirring up controversy.

As all of us know, TV loves controversy. At one time, beating and banging, fender rubbing and bump passing were all accepted methods of getting ahead on the track. Drivers like Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty and Bill Elliott can recall that Dale Earnhardt Sr. took out a lot of cars using those methods. They didn't call him the "Intimidator" for nothing. What would be happening on the track if he were alive today? Would he be shunned and berated by his fellow drivers, like Tony Stewart has been of late? I think not. When you stop to think about it, Tony should be applauded for staying true to the sport. I believe Dale Earnhardt, Sr. would be proud of him.

If NASCAR continues to tighten their fist and impose more rules, great drivers like Tony will begin leaving. The field will become watered down with racers afraid to touch the cars around them. While NASCAR leaves the smaller venues, Darlington, Rockingham and Martinsville behind, more of the die-hard families that have supported the sport for more than 50 years will be forced to drift away. Racing on the larger tracks will become so boring that fans will no longer tune in to watch. Yuppies will move on to the next latest and greatest phenomenon and NASCAR will be stuck with the huge dinosaurs they have created.

Before this happens, NASCAR and the drivers should take a long hard look at their roots and get back to racing the way it should be. As the old saying goes, "Rubbing is Racing". Stop whining and start driving!

Article by S. Kipple
06/14/04

send E-Mail to tracksidegirls@aol.com

Subscribe to the TracksideGirls Newsletter
Your e-mail:

Search Internet for Search Virtual411 for Discount Paradise Open Directory Search Altavista for