For those wondering, though we are nearing the end of the racing season, this column will continue to appear throughout the off-season, as often as something worthy of discussion presents itself. Some years, that is a constant stream of subject matter, while other years it more resembles a dry creek bed. It all depends on who does what to or with whom. Some of you, I know, will go into hibernation until the roar of engines at Daytona wakens you from deep winter slumber.
But for now, we still have two races before we bid adieu to the 2012 season. I had a topic all ready for this week until I went to sleep Monday night... and then, I had a dream... no, I really did! I dreamed I was sitting where I am sitting now, at my keyboard, and I was writing words about a revelation that had just come to me. The dream was so vivid that it awakened me, but not so abruptly that I could not remember what it was I had been writing. It had to do, of course, with NASCAR and all the various problems we and others continue to discuss, but it was different. It wasn't a complaint, a problem or a solution. It was one simple truth; one I believe we have all overlooked, and yet it is the root of all that we seek to fix... and when I say, "We", I mean fans, NASCAR, media and all concerned.
Upon reflection, I'm sure the dream was spurred by some conversation on our Forum concerning the little post-race dust up between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon in the Nationwide race at Texas. Several folks referred to one or the other of the youngsters as "punks", "young punks" and a few other assorted verbal slurs. Since neither one has done anything to anger me, bother me or even raise a small blip on my radar screen, I asked why so much animosity was directed toward them. My question went unanswered... until the dream answered it for me. I guess that means the answer has been lurking in my brain all along, hidden somewhere behind the clutter and cobwebs of an aging mind.
NASCAR has changed; we all know that. It has changed in many, many ways from the sport we used to know and love. The cars have changed... oh my, have the cars ever changed! The venues have changed, and to many minds, not for the better, with short tracks now in short supply and an overabundance of 1.5-mile snoozers. The race lengths grow shorter, to accommodate the visual media who demand neat little "packages" for broadcast. The broadcasters themselves have changed as well as the networks from whence they broadcast, and are about to do so again quite soon. Even the commercials have changed, especially in that there are far more of them. Yes, NASCAR has changed in many ways, but none of the changes mentioned, save perhaps the cars, can account for the mass turning away of fans from both the tracks and the TV screens that we have seen over the past decade.
All that, taken along with the comments on the Forum, came together in my sleeping mind to unveil the simple truth that what has changed, radically and irrevocably, are the men themselves! The men behind the wheel... and I use the term loosely when I say "men." Cast your mind back; you don't have to go too far... the 80s or even early 90s will do. Who were driving the cars then? None of them were children. The first of those to come along was Jeff Gordon, who came from parents fairly well-off, but not to my knowledge, what one would call rich.
Before Gordon, the men we watched, cheered and adored were for the most part all blue-collar, hard-working guys from backgrounds much like our own, that raced either as a weekend pastime or to earn a living as a full-time racer. Over time, the pay did get better, but until the media explosion of the 90s, it could be described as "adequate" but not as "excessive." I remember well Dale Earnhardt missing qualifying at Martinsville in 1989 because Hurricane Hugo had torn out fencing on his ranch in Mooresville, and HE, not some hired workers, had to fix it to contain his livestock. Gentleman Jimmy Hensley, the pride of Ridgeway Virginia, qualified the Goodwrench Chevy that day and stuck her on the pole. Great memory there, but the point is, Earnhardt was first a farmer, then a racer, and stayed where he was needed.
Show me one driver today that would... or could... do that. Handsome Harry Gant raced on weekends. During the week, he put on roofs in the Taylorsville NC area. The guys with money were car owners, not drivers. Drivers... racers... came into the sport for the love of racing. They raced to win, which after all, is why the race is run... or should be. But I'm not talking about the racing here. We've done that over and over. Today, let's turn all attention to the RACERS! How do the men of yesterday compare with the children of today? And that, guys and gals, is where the problems arise.
As I heard repeatedly in that Forum conversation, there is little or no respect whatsoever for the kiddies behind the steering wheels today. They are seen, rightly or wrongly, as a pack of rich spoiled little brats, whining and crying... and sometimes throwing a tantrum to get or demand their own way. They don't get their hands dirty; they have manicures and their hair is "styled", not cut. They don't slow down to sign an autograph; they have timed "sessions" in which those lucky enough to be near the front of the line might get one article signed. The only autographs I ever sought were in chance encounters with three men, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress and Ned Jarrett. Nice company to keep. All were at different times and races, and all were more than gracious and willing to sign their names for me while engaging in meaningful conversation. Today, I can't get Brad Keselowski to follow me on Twitter. I'm just another of his quarter-million Tweeps.
At this point, I have to break into my own train of thought for just a bit. In his Legendtorial this week, delivered after this column was written, my friend Tim Leeming holds forth that today's drivers are the physical equal of yesterday's racers because they too came up on dirt tracks around the country. Well, some of them did, but I'd wager most did not. A whole lot of what used to be dirt is now wearing a black asphalt dress to the prom. Also, a great many of them came to us from open-wheel venues, where whether the surface is black or brown, the cars are about a ton lighter and a whole lot easier to turn.
He also mentions the ability to haul around 3400 pounds of sheet metal and mechanical parts without benefit of power steering, and concedes to our mutual friend, Sandeep Banerjee, that he feels today's kids could do that. Challenge time! Guys, it ain't gonna happen. Hearken back to what I've been saying here. With "possible" concessions given to Mark Martin and Carl Edwards, who really mean it, the kiddies may train in a gym, but then they practice their skills on a dang computer. That combination is never going to produce the muscular structure of a man pitching hay or swinging a hammer nine or ten hours a day. Hard work builds muscle tone that is hard to equal by lifting weights.
And... leave it to a gal to have to remind the men, the cars of yesteryear were meant to be driven without power steering, as it had not yet been invented. I could do it even when I weighed 115 pounds... and yes, I did, once upon a time. The trick, gentlemen, was not to drive those cars without power steering, but to drive cars equipped with it, after it failed. That makes it a whole other discussion, as that wheel becomes almost impossible to turn. I can attest to having watched Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough and Ricky Rudd each manhandle one of those behemoths around an oval for many, many laps under that circumstance. If you tell me that either Denny Hamlin or Austin Dillon could do likewise, I shall laugh from now until Sunday at the thought. Now, back to our regular column, already in progress...
Honestly, this is offered only as observation, not as an indictment of any or all of today's drivers. I guess most can't help it; they were raised like pampered pets and are still treated that way by car owners, crew chiefs and fawning media members. We have one that despite winning almost no races over the past several years, remains at the top of the popularity list for doing nothing other than looking cool in jeans... so they tell me. Personally, I thought his Dad looked much better, as his muscular stature showed off those Wranglers to better advantage. Hey, I'm old, not dead, and there's no law against window shopping.
If the problem is as I see it, and I fervently believe that it is, what could be done to change or amend the animosity felt by fans for drivers? One cannot force kids to grow up. Too many, it seems just grow tall without ever maturing. I just find it astounding that so many of those seem to be driving race cars today. Unlike some of my gentlemen friends, I don't stoop to calling them names. That would make me as childish as are the kids... and yes guys, I'm talking to you. They are not "punks" as much as they are merely immature. Grab hold of your bootstraps and pull yourself up above calling children names.
Mr. France, I don't see this topic as one you can solve, but it's one you should be aware of, Sir. NASCAR's "Integrated Marketing Communications group" cannot possibly change the minds of all the fans that have turned away, no matter the amount of "Spin" applied. Under your Granddad and Dad, stock car racing was seen and run as a blue-collar sport, which it has always been. The drivers were men that the fans could relate to, and did, all having been "cut from the same cloth", as they say. Folks that can relate to the drivers of today have little interest in stock cars and even less in racing. The little girls that come to see the pretty boys will soon marry someone else and raise children, with no time or inclination to go racing. At best Sir, you might want to consult the marketing department at Proctor and Gamble as to what products they offer that might aid in removing the starch from white collars while dying them a denim shade of blue.
So, what say you gentle readers? Is it hard for you to find the same respect for today's "cute kids" that you felt for yesterday's men? This writer sincerely believes that the "youth movement" was carried too far and got out of hand. In time, racing may return to making rookies "pay their dues" before being placed in a good ride. That would be a start, and of course, would have to come from owners weary of having their expensive equipment wrecked time after time while a youngster learns how to race. Driving is easy; almost everyone does it. Racing is not easy, and everyone should not try it... especially in the best of equipment.
I look forward to hearing from all of you, without turning this into a battle of youth against age, which it is not. I speak only of the perception that because today's drivers are both young and rich, they are not taken seriously or respected as were their predecessors. There's just something about stock cars and manicures that don't go hand in hand... pun definitely intended.
Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay
Email: nas3car@gmail.com
Twitter: @MamaPKL
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