NASCAR NEEDS A MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Posted 12/30/10 at 5:00 AM PST by Jim McCoy | Email This |

If you’re much over the age of 25, you’ll recall baseball’s lost season of 1994, when player and owners reached an impasse. Some called the battle of “the millionaires versus the billionaires,” but fans felt they came out the real losers. When play resumed in 1995, the fans let the sport hear about it with attendance off by some 20 percent, and those showing up being none to quiet about their disdain for what baseball had become.

Not missing a game in nearly 14 years, Cal Ripken, Jr. closed in on history at a time when he was needed. As he honed in on one of baseball’s hallowed record of 2,130 straight appearances, Ripken came to embody what fans remembered loving about the game. After a long night out on the ball field, after speaking to the press, the unassuming shortstop signed autographs, spent time with the fans and would do laps around the warning track, as if to say “thank you for allowing me to make a living at doing what I love.”

NASCAR needs a Cal Ripken, a Richard Petty, or a Bill Elliott in his prime. Of all of NASCAR’s challenges, this may be the sport’s simplest, yet most difficult fix.

Sure, NASCAR drivers sign autographs, but have you ever noticed how many drivers never even look up at the fans making the requests? Is asking for a little eye contact too much to ask?

More and more, there is a disconnect between the driver and the fan. This comes at a time when there is a very obvious disconnect between what the racer drives and what the fan drives. I submit the former is the greater problem as the ranks of the “motor head” continues to shrink as technology advances and race cars are powered by eight cylinders in the day and age of four bangers, minivans, mini trucks and sport utility vehicles. If we can’t relate to the car, we ought to at least relate to the driver.

Who’d fit the part? Figuring that out is easier said than done. Jeff Gordon is more like Tiger Woods in more ways than one, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. acts more like the Prince Charles of NASCAR, except I think the next in line to England’s throne enjoy his life much better than the crown prince of auto racing. Jimmie’s too perfect, Tony’s too caustic, and the boys in Joe Gibbs’ stable- Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano- too often act like those irritating, spoiled nephews whose antics you have to endure at family gatherings.

Carl Edwards displays some of the gestures that show fan appreciation, but his challenge will be overcoming the perception he is a fake, largely in part due to many dust-ups with other drivers. Veterans like Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte command respect, but only Martin has managed anything resembling historic achievements in recent years.

This by no means suggests that these drivers don’t give anything. Nearly all of them have some cause they support, and they all make a number of charity appearances. That’s the rub, they all do it, and let’s face it, we get the feeling they do it as some kind of obligation or tax write-off.

Perhaps this fan expects too much. Maybe we’re all living in la-la land in terms of what we want from the drivers we cheer for. On the other hand, imagine what would happen if a champion came along who wasn’t perfect, so much as he or she was genuine.

It’s not impossible, after all, the presence of such drivers, like those mentioned above, have graced the sport before. We sure could use one now.

Tags:
Carl Edwards
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Denny Hamlin
Jeff Burton
Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch
Mark Martin
Tony Stewart

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Anonymous (not verified)2 years ago

It hasnt been the same since"A.D."

AFTER DALE.....

td90 (not verified)2 years ago

Unapproachable.....back in the day you could talk to get an autograph and even get close to drivers..Not today...Big Money Corporations have a strangle hold on nascrap...there used to be a day when at Martinsville drivers would walk up to the fence before the race and talk to the fans.now....A fan can not get near the fence without beibg shuued off by a nascrap official......The days of old are gone......replaced by the might Corporate Dollar...R.I.P. Nascrap

jimmccoy222 years ago

@Chad. From what I've heard of Mr. Kulwicki, I would guess he would also be included in that number, along with a few others. For the sake of the article, I could not mention them all, but I'm glad you've done so. One thing's certain: if I were to do one on NASCAR's most truly unique champion, he'd head the class. There's never been one like him before, and sadly, there'll never be another.
We can always hope.

ross (not verified)2 years ago

Could not agree more with all of these statements.

Chad (not verified)2 years ago

How do you have a story with that headline and NOT even mention Alan Kulwicki???

Anonymous (not verified)2 years ago

This stuff started to become apparent around, idk 2005 or so, that's when everything went downhill...2003 was the last great year of nascar and that'll never change, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, and Rusty Wallace were all still alive and well...
Nascar needs to first of all, get trust back in their REAL FANS, get rid of crap like the green white checkered, let guys race back to the caution, and stop overcharging tickets for races! After watching the 2010 Daytona 500, for EIGHT HOURS, which had THREE green white checkered finishes, (who came up with that?) I was done, haven't watched a full race since...

Anonymous (not verified)2 years ago

I haven't watched more than 5-6 minutes of any race since DE died. This "playoff" junk is junk. Cookie cutter cars race on cookie cutter tracks. Any colorful language or behavior is quickly quashed by nascar, hence nascar's colorlessness.
An inevitable thing happened on the way to the 21st century, nascar became populated with millionaires. Track owners, owners, drivers, it was bound to happen. The sport came from the people it is now too good to be around.
I think that purists/old fans will have to settle for local tracks and their regional touring series, the nascar that we knew and loved is dead.
The fee to get into the HOF is more than most out of work blue collar race fans can afford.
RIP the REAL NASCAR.

Anonymous2 years ago

well with all the young kids they brought in to replace your your rustys, schraders elliott rudds etc- they shot themselves in the foot and its catching up with them now. So ending all of my heroes careers for these newbie prettyboys is their own damn doing- dont blame anyone but themselves- they wanted ratings with goodlookin/speakin kids they got it- and now, no elder statesmen to look up to. BOOHOO CASHCAR! you broke it YOU fixx it!

Anonymous (not verified)2 years ago


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