I can’t begin to count the number of young fans that have written to thank me for articles designed to acquaint them with the colorful characters and stories that abounded in the early days of NASCAR, but with learning, comes knowledge. Once they know what it used to be like and compare that to what it is today, they almost have to feel cheated by the glitzy product presented for the masses now.

The sport of stock car racing springs from roots buried deep in Southern soil and was populated by tough old rum-runners that lived to beat and bang on each other around a dirt oval somewhere, anywhere! That was the beginning, but as with everything else, evolution began almost immediately, with the onset of paved tracks, beginning with the sweet old “Lady in Black” we call Darlington...and yes, the upcoming race at Atlanta "should" still be at that grand old track. Tradition demands that, if anyone is listening.

As the tracks grew in length and the surfaces changed from dirt to asphalt, the method of racing necessarily changed with them, especially after the addition of two high-banked monster tracks called Daytona and Talladega. It didn’t take drivers long to figure out that frammin’ and bammin’ at those tracks could lead to unpleasant consequences, so the racing became smoother and less aggressive, but it was still racing and the idea was still to win the race.

With the advent of television, it was inevitable that the sport would grow from being merely a redneck southern sport to a more widely viewed entity. But what endeared many “new” fans of that day was when the very first race telecast from flag to flag, the 1979 Daytona 500, ended with a fistfight between Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers, Bobby and Donnie. That tough underbelly of the sport was still alive and well, despite the scrutiny of the TV camera. NASCAR racing was introduced to the masses and a star was born.

Through the 1980s and into the 90s, we still saw fierce rivalries between drivers and we still saw drivers with diverse personalities that didn’t necessarily cotton to being interviewed on camera and would never have consented to being wired for sound while they were racing because they knew their own shortcomings. Then somewhere in the mid 1990s, things began to change. I’ve tried over the years to pinpoint an exact time or date and the nearest I can come is the closing of North Wilkesboro in 1996 to ensure race dates for a track in Texas and one in New Hampshire, a travesty that happened with the complete blessing of NASCAR, though they disclaimed any part in it.

Once that happened, more changes were right down the road, including sweeping changes within the sanctioning body itself, until today one can hardly recognize the sport of perhaps only ten years ago. By far, the most disappointing to the fans became the homogenization of the drivers themselves, who were no longer permitted to have personalities of their own or voice likes and dislikes about anything race-related within earshot of a microphone or camera. No, the little corporate soldiers of the new decade had to spout the company line at every opportunity, whether the “Company” be NASCAR or a deep-pocketed sponsor. That made them appear bland and colorless compared to the likes of Fireball Roberts or Joe Weatherly.

The idea that a driver was fined and docked points for uttering a four-letter word is somewhat ludicrous to me in light of comparison to some of those Good Ol’ Boys I’ve watched over the years. Somewhere in my mind, I can hear Curtis Turner and Smokey Yunick laughing hysterically at what NASCAR might consider an unacceptable word. Now, those boys could and did utter words that would literally turn the air blue, and somehow, everyone loved them, either for it or in spite of it.

For the past couple of years, some of that changed with the advent of "Boys, have at it", but even that is at the discretion of NASCAR and things such as "secret fines" for "Tweeting" for Heaven's sake, tend to sully the meaning of that phrase.

These young fans are bright enough to see the difference between somewhat bombastic but definitely charismatic drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson and the sterilized versions we have today. Almost unerringly, these new fans flock to drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and yes, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski too, since these sometimes "bad boys" occasionally act up as though they had minds of their own. Fans, both new and old, sense something of the past in these drivers and it’s something they obviously like.

I don’t think it’s so much about the tracks as perhaps it is about the ambience. These youngsters can go to a rock concert cheaper than they can go to a race. They do not come for the “Show”, though it may have started out that way. These are the “stayers”, if you will, and they are there for the race, just like the old fans. Given that, it's not surprising that they’d prefer Darlington or Bristol to the wine and cheese laden show that is Fontana.

There’s actually nothing wrong with the racing at Fontana or any other track on the circuit, save for maybe New Hampshire, that couldn't be cured by losing the perfect aerodynamics in which they’ve managed to cloak those 3400-pound behemoths we call stock cars. Despite the “image” that NASCAR wants to project, this isn’t F-1 and the fans don’t want it to be, either the old fans or the new fans. You remember the old ad campaign that proclaimed, “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile?” Well, maybe it should be!

In answer to my friend's question, I don’t think the “new” fans are necessarily becoming “old”, I think they’re becoming “fans.” They’ve been to school, learned the difference between yesterday and today and feel cheated by today. It would be nice if simple truths such as that were understood by today's specialists that call themselves "Marketers" but alas, all things now are computerized and depend on numbers, ratios, percentages and demographics rather than common sense.

Stock car racing was born a simple sport enjoyed by simple people. To me it only makes sense that if we want it back, what is needed is to employ the KISS principle... Keep It Simple Stupid!

Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!

~PattyKay

Email:  nas3car@etcmail.com

Twitter: @MamaPKL

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