I have, many times, questioned the passion with which many of today’s drivers approach the sport. By that I mean I question whether their passion is directed to the competition, or only to the money to be earned by being a Cup driver. I have never questioned that issue with Tony Stewart as he has always exemplified what a racer really is. A “Racer” is someone who drives anything, anywhere, anytime, just to compete. Last week I took exception to his definition of racing as it related to the Brickyard 400 and I’m not changing my opinion there. The Brickyard just is not a place where the NASCAR cars put on a good show. I know that Sunday on the Pocono telecast, it was mentioned at least three times, by different drivers, although stated a little differently by each, that you gained position in the pits, not on the track. Passing, as we stated last week, just did not exist at that track. I won’t beat that dead horse anymore as it doesn’t matter now, but NASCAR is surely aware that fans are no longer impressed by the “stock car” boys running that venue. All the hype in the world will not put the Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, Newman, or any of the NASCAR boys in the historic mist of the Indy facility.
I do believe passion for the sport still exists in many of today’s competitors, surely Tony Stewart. What really excites me is the passion I see in the young ones coming up, Jeb Burton, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, the Dillon boys, and others. The passion is there for the sport, at least in what I have observed. The young LaJoie driving for Richard Petty Motorsports development has won two ARCA events and his passion is readily displayed even if his vocabulary could use a little “cleaning up” in my opinion. But then, so could mine. Just ask Ann about that! I am also of the opinion that the young up and coming drivers are aware, to some extent, that the almighty dollar has destroyed much of the magic of the sport for some. But then I have to remember that when The King won his first Daytona 500 and Chris Economaki stuck the mic in front of him asking “how do you feel winning the 500”, Richard’s answer was “$37,000.00 richer”. I also remember when he won his first race he was asked how it felt to win and he responded that “the only difference I can tell is that first place pays more than second”. But I think we can all agree Richard had the passion.
Okay, back to the originally intended theme for this week. One of my social media friends who is quite the overall sports fan for baseball, football, and racing, was actually in Pocono Sunday and posted a ton of pictures from the event. Over the three or four years he and I have been friends, I have read his posts and seen his pictures where he attends Major League Baseball games, NFL games, several races, and fishes quite a bit. He catches fish the size of which I can only dream as the biggest fish I ever caught was the size of my hand and even that is a “fisherman’s tale”. Tom seemed like the perfect person to address my questions.
A little background on Tom. He is 23, a college graduate where he was on the Dean’s List every semester and graduated near the top of his class. He is very well rounded with interest in many things, as I have already stated. But, when asked about what would be his favorite pastime, without hesitation, he emphatically states it is stock car racing. So I asked him how that all started. Tom said he was playing with Legos with the 2001 Daytona 500 on the television for background noise. Gradually, the legos garnered less of his attention while the race on television gained more. I asked Tom what it was about the racing that drew him in and his answer was very interesting. He said he really didn’t know and couldn’t explain it, but he quoted Dale, Sr., saying “They can’t put it in you and they can’t take it out of you” meaning that the true fan becomes a fan for whatever unexplainable reason unique to that person and once brought into the sport, it stays with you. Ask my 80 year old Uncle Bobby about that. Even today he keeps up with what is going on in the racing world. Tom did tell me he has never missed a race since 2003, recording those he can’t watch in person, and he has, in fact, recorded every race since 2003. He has been to Pocono, Richmond, Daytona, Bristol and other tracks. He says Daytona is his favorite although he loves the Bristol track for the close “rubbing is racing” competition.
Tom went on to say that he thinks NASCAR got it right with the Generation six cars and he is impressed with most of the racing this years. I was also impressed that, like me, Tom attended most races with his family which includes a younger brother along with his Mom and Dad. When he talks about his family, you can tell he has a close knit family and it is wonderful to see that in today’s world. So many young ones really don’t have much connection with family anymore it seems to me. There is no mistaking the passion in this young man for racing. So it is there in the younger generation without a doubt. I had hoped to connect with my young friend in Canada who also travels to Michigan, Talladega and other tracks but he is on summer break from college and is involved with family activities at the time. He, too, is very passionate about the sport, so we have established that passion definitely exists in the younger fans.
After my discussion with Tom, I connected with my 79 year old friend in Alabama, whom I actually met in Talladega about 1971. He has been a big fan of the sport for years, and although he and I communicate rarely these days, I did connect with him long enough to ask him basically the same questions I had asked Tom. As one would expect with folks who have been with the sport for so many years, the opinions are different as to when the best years of NASCAR were/are, but the end result of that conversation was that, at 79, John still has the same passion for the sport as he did in the 1950s. He is quick to point out that he thought the cars of the 50s and 60s looked more like what you bought at the dealership than those of today, but he does applaud NASCAR for the move to make the Gen-6 cars appear more like their street counterparts. He does believe all the rules NASCAR has these days have removed the ability of the crew chief to innovate (although he believe Chad Knaus still has the touch) and that he doesn’t like. John still claims Darlington as his favorite track, and although he lives less than an hour from Talladega, he hates that track along with Daytona. He really got wound up on what Bruton Smith did to Atlanta. He said Atlanta, in its old configuration, put on some of the best races ever.
So, the bottom line of the two conversations, if indeed there is a “bottom line” is that a 23 year old and a 79 year old are pretty much in agreement. Passion for the sport still exists, though perhaps in different forms, and as so many of us know, once the racing bug bites you, it is for life. Although the questions I put forth to both of my friends were the same, and although the answers were a little different in some respects, without a doubt, the passion is equal in both parties. I am not using the last names of my two subjects, although I have permission to do so, and I withhold those just in case my passion for the sport may have misunderstood or misquoted them in some points. I do hope, honestly, to one day get Tom on this show, not to talk about the history of the sport so much, but to let you all know where I think the future of the sport may be headed. As I said last week, with the crop of young drivers we have coming up, we need to be excited. With young folks like Tom and my Canadian friend, Sam, we have a new generation of passionate race fans. Even with boring races like the Brickyard, that is something about which I can get excited.
Oh, and as for excitement, I’m sure we will be in for it this weekend at Watkins Glen. Remember the finish of that race last year? I am a road course fan and will be watching the drivers negotiate that twisting, snake-like ribbon of asphalt. Too bad Tony won’t be there to race, but his passion will be there. You can bet on that.
