Phoenix was not a sellout by any means but the crowd looked pretty good on tv. Then I read that the tv ratings were DOWN nine points over last year. Las Vegas seemed to be far less than a sell out and again I read the tv ratings were down almost 10 points. Then comes Bristol, the track where 160,000 seats were sold out for 55 consecutive races. I did NOT get to see the race as I was involved in a work project at the time, but I did walk through the den where Ann had it on and stood there and watched about 10 minutes of it. As someone mentioned in a Forum Post, the only way to prevent the television cameras from showing all those empty seats would have been to NOT televise the race at all. I have watched some of the highlight shows which obviously show only the “exciting” parts of the event and although the racing looked somewhat competitive, it was NOT the way Bristol racing was in all the days when it was selling out. I could not help but imagine Terry LaBonte and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. coming down to the checkered flag on the new track. I can’t imagine the result would have been as thrilling or as memorable as it was all those years ago. Bristol has lost something of its magic and I frankly don’t think the loss is due to the lack of caution flags as much as it is from the loss of the truly slam-bang competition for which the track was famous. For which most short tracks were famous.
I talked with a friend who actually attended the race this past weekend and his comment was “if I ever go back again, they will have to PAY me to come”. Knowing what a huge fan of Bristol he is, or was, and the fact that he lives less than 45 minutes from the track sort of surprised me to hear that. But maybe that is the way things are going in the sport right now. Could be the economy, could be the high price of gas, but it could also be that NASCAR fans are tired. Tired of being used, ripped-off, and otherwise abused with the no-care attitude that seems to permeate the world of NASCAR. Even Danica couldn’t bring a decent crowd to the Nationwide race. Is her allure wearing thin? Guess I’ll have to put in a call to D.W. and find out if he is resigning as head cheerleader for her.
Many of us here have, very often, lamented the fact that NASCAR overlooks us. By “Us”, I mean the fans who traveled all over the southeast back in the day to watch our favorites run. Those of us who spent almost all of our disposable income buying race tickets and souvenirs. Someone commissioned a study to determine the proper demographics to pursue as new fans and the result came back to “go for the 18 to 36” age group. I read that within the past three months. Then, just recently, I read a report where the average NASCAR fan is “grayer”. So, they can’t have it both ways. I learned that long ago.
It is going to be an interesting race weekend. The boys are headed for Fontana, California, where, even on the best day there are more folks putting money in parking meters in a mall parking lot than go to that track. I can’t help but wonder what NASCAR pays these Hollywood types to show up and parade through the pits feigning interest in the sport when they have no clue what they’re seeing or hearing. The latest huge blockbuster movie I hear about set for premier is “The Hunger Games”. NASCAR brass may want to take in that movie if Fontana has as dismal attendance as I am expecting.
I want to reiterate, one more time, that I am not anti-NASCAR and neither is this website. NASCAR has been a part of my life for 60 years, a huge part. I want to see the sport survive in spite of the best efforts of some to kill it. Most of us here want that. So, what is the answer? That question makes me smile because we have answered that on this site a couple hundred dozen times. One of the very best answers to that question I’ve read in a long time was posted in a blog post by Max Plummer under the title “Just a Fan”. I would ask everyone who hasn’t read it already to go to the Blog posts on the break AFTER the Legendtorial and read that. Max states he is NOT a writer. But as I read his story, I could feel the excitement, I could smell the popcorn, and I could recall so much of my younger days so compatible with that post. Whether or not Max sees himself as a writer, I hope he will make more contributions to the Blog posts and to the site overall. It is because of memories like his that we have interesting stories to tell the younger fans we want so much to recognize the history of the sport. Max, if you’re listening, thanks for the memories and please keep them coming.
Which brings me to my next very positive outlook for stock car racing. We have Bob Lutz as a guest on the show tonight and he is involved in efforts to revive the Myrtle Beach Speedway. I have many fond memories of that track and one not so much. Allow me to explain.
In 1963, my uncle, aunt, cousin and I attended the Grand National Race at the track on a very hot July day in 1963 to see Ned Jarrett beat Buck Baker by 7 or 8 laps, maybe more. I just remember it wasn’t a close race. I remember Cale Yarborough was driving Herman Beams Ford that day too. That is an ok memory, but what really sticks out is that I actually “babysat” a 3 year old Kyle Petty for about 20 minutes when Lynda Petty asked me to. Kyle was very well behaved that day and I deny any rumors to the effect that the short encounter with me led to Kyle’s outspoken opinions. But that is a memory I’ve thought about many times over the years. Then there was the late model sportsman race in 1974 when Richard Petty took the Chrysler kit car down to the track to compete against Bobby Allison and others. That was my 10th year high school reunion night. Don’t know what went on at the reunion but race night was fun.
I raced that track during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Had some really great races down there, especially with one Jim Sullivan who would always run me door to door, lap after lap for second or third place. What fun that was. What fun it was the night I bumped my brother Richard going into turn three to get around him and he caught me when I came up on a slower car in turn one. I had one of the most beautifully choreographed slides in Myrtle Beach Speedway history as I sailed over the embankment in turn two. Good thing was that you just drove back on the track and kept racing. Now for the downer side. It was an accident at Myrtle Beach Speedway that ended my driving career. I won’t go into the details here, but most of you who know me have heard the story.
What Bob and his group are attempting is what we’re talking about. Restoring racing to a time such as Max Plummer recalls so beautifully in his Blog. I relish the thought of having a speedway reborn, much as Andy Hillenburg has done with Rockingham. The cookie-cutter tracks to which we are subjected week after week have worn us out. We want tracks where we can be comfortable with seeing our favorites run and really and truly race. I went to some of the now defunct Goody’s Dash Series races at Myrtle Beach Speedway and those were some awesome events. A very competitive track in its current configuration. From what I’ve heard and what I’m sure Bob will address here tonight, we are looking for good things at Myrtle Beach. The kind of racing we here at RacersReunion enjoy is coming back, at Myrtle Beach and at Rockingham. This may be the rebirth that will stock the Madison Avenue slick talkers. This may be the bolt from the blue that lets us know the mile and a half cookie cutter tracks are NOT the perfect venues for the kind of racing we want to see.
I won’t pretend to have the answers. But I don’t feel bad because NASCAR doesn’t have the answers either. I do know that Max Plummer sure put forth a great argument for a return to the days when the sport was about the fans. Seems NASCAR has forgotten a lot of that in spite of their advertising efforts to the contrary. The thought that Myrtle Beach Speedway will race again also shows that someone has the interest of the true race fan in mind. Remember folks, YOU are the fans! It is because of YOU that stock car racing exists. It’s because of folks like Bob Lutz and Andy Hillenburg that it may continue to exists. And I haven’t even addressed what is going on in Shelby, North Carolina at the Historic Cleveland County Fairgrounds Speedway but you can bet that is coming soon.
E-mail me at: legendtim83@yahoo.com Follow me on twitter at legendtim83
