The 1960s. The USA begins to change as a President is assassinated, we become bogged down in a war in jungles half way around the world, and young people start to influence the government by protests for civil rights and to end the war in the jungle. The USA put a man on the Moon. Awesome. And there were some really great cars around then.
The 1970s. The technical age began to gain momentum as space exploration continued and cable TV spread, computers were starting to appear in homes, and the baby-boomers were coming of age, as they say, and taking their place in government, education and business. Loved some of those cars from the 70s.
The 1980s. Well, what can I say? The world began to change faster than some could keep up. Technical and cultural changes came so quickly some folks really could not keep up. Cars in the 80s began to change. Not so much fun anymore.
The 1990s. This, for some, seems to be a lost decade. Seems more energy was put into fear of Y2K as it was called, than was put into anything else. Cars became a means of transportation and began to morph into look-alike boxes on wheels.
The 2000s. All that has happened since January 1, 2000, is enough to boggle the mind of someone my age and I don’t know where to begin describing the events of that decade so I’ll leave that to you all.
Now, think back on those decades as it applies to stock car racing, specifically, if you will, to NASCAR racing. There was, of course, no NASCAR in the 30s although Cody Dinsmore will point out that stock car racing was thriving in Georgia during that decade. We all know that it was after WWII in the late 40s that NASCAR was formed and began to sanction races. The first “Strictly Stock” race in June, 1949, ended with controversy and a disqualification of the winning car and, at that time, there was a clear effort by the NASCAR folks to present races to entertain and to showcase driving talent and auto performance.
During the 50s, Darlington came along, then Daytona . Stock cars were running 500 miles on asphalt tracks and while not still strictly stock, the appearance of the cars were. Heck, they came right off the showroom floor into the shops and were made into race cars. The 60s saw Atlanta, Charlotte, Rockingham, and, at the end of the decade, the mammoth track in Alabama. Cars became full-fledged racing machines and when the 1969 Dodge Daytona was introduced, the racing world rocked.
The 70s saw major corporate sponsorship enter the sport and what had built the sport began to disappear. No more short tracks running what then became Winston Cup Races, at least no short dirt tracks. Major sponsors began appearing on the quarter-panels and hoods of the cars. The little guy was being pushed aside, although he didn’t realize it yet. The decade ended but not before the televised coverage, flag to flag, of the Daytona 500 which ended with two Allisons practicing nose modification on Cale Yarborough. NASCAR had, it seemed, come of age in the media world.
Noteworthy of the 1980s was the 200th win by The King with the President of the United States in attendance. Other than that, it was just racing as usual. The 1990s saw the retirement of The King and the introduction of a young guy named Jeff Gordon who would put the sport on a new path. From 1992 on, racing has, depending upon your position, enjoyed phenomenal growth, or is going down the tubes faster that the Dodge Daytona setting records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Let’s consider this. If you could go back in time, to any point, what decade, or what specific time would you choose? Did you know that time travel has been a topic of discussion since at least 780 B.C.? Did you know that it has been a much discussed topic between very well-educated folks, science fiction writers and someone named Brian Losak who actually researched and explored the subject enough to have his exposé featured on PBS a few years ago. He presented, and supported, that Einstein’s theory of general and special relativity supports the probability that time travel is possible although not yet accomplished. Just think of movies like “The Time Machine”, “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”, and “Back to The Future”, although total fantasy... all of those movies offer a look into what time travel may be like.
If we could go back, what would we do, as race fans, to prevent what most of us perceive as the current downfall of NASCAR? What point in time would you choose as the time to step in and do something? There is no truly correct answer here; it is up to each of you to make your decision as to what you perceive is wrong with the current status of the sport and to offer suggestions. What is it that needs to be done to revive the sport to the status it enjoyed when the grandstands were filled and tickets to certain venues were impossible to come by? Give that some really deep thought and e-mail me your suggestions to: legendtim83@yahoo.com and I will try to put together a special Legendtorial for a later date.
I must caution you, however, that the assignment is not as simple as it would seem. For, you see, times have changed and continue to change. Consider this: We lost Andy Griffith a few weeks ago. I have been watching many of the marathons that have been running "The Andy Griffith show" almost any hour of the day. One episode I especially like is the one about Mr. McBeevee. If you haven’t seen it, or don’t remember it, Mr. McBeevee is a telephone lineman guy that Opie, about 7 at the time, encounters in the woods. Mr. McBeevee befriends Opie and gives him a hatchet, which Andy makes Opie return, and then gives Opie a quarter to spend. Can you imagine the reaction of a parent in these days if a 7 year old son comes out of the woods with a hatchet given to him by a man? It would not be pretty.
While we’re on the subject of Andy Griffith, remember how Mayberry was the ideal town? Even had a country song a few years back about missing Mayberry. While we’re on the subject of old television shows, think of “Father Knows Best”, “The Donna Reed Show” “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. Family values were taught in those shows, usually a moral for the family. Take a look at what’s on TV now. Trash. Absolute and complete trash for the most part.
While this Legendtorial admittedly rambles from here to eternity without the aid of time travel, the real intent is to ask each of you, including me, to think about what has happened to NASCAR. What has caused the sport to begin this downslide where stands have a very large proportion of empty seats? Do we really want to turn our backs on NASCAR? Many of you listeners have written Forums or Blogs or Homepage articles that contain many good suggestions. How do we get NASCAR to listen? Are we going to lose this sport that so many gave so much to build? Are all the lives lost in racing accidents going to be in vain because we give up on NASCAR?
I truly believe that NASCAR fans need to organize and present a united front to the market geniuses who are pursuing the demographic that is killing the sport. I truly cannot believe that a united front of true NASCAR fans cannot make a point if presented properly. NASCAR is even pushing the “retro NASCAR” in their Dot Com Store and is making commercials supporting their interpretation of the history and heritage of the sport. We are not asking that the new generation fans be considered less a fan. We are not asking that NASCAR management accept a mandate like the Arab Spring where all leadership in the organization is removed and replaced. We are, I think, asking for a voice to be heard. In fairness, to have this happen, we must present a positive and united front with constructive suggestions rather than trashing NASCAR at every turn. Yes, I have been guilty of that too. But I want NASCAR to survive and to return to the grandeur it enjoyed. I have a list of suggestions and I will probably do a Legendtorial in the very near future outlining those suggestions. The point of tonight was to get you folks involved. We have at our disposal, some of the most dedicated, educated, and knowledgeable sports fans in the world. Let’s make use of this fact. E-mail me at legendtim83@yahoo.com.
-Tim
Twitter: @legendtim83
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