This column appeared in the Orlando Sentinel. For the most part I'd agree with its observations. For all its problems and issues, I guess we should be happy for some things in NASCAR as opposed to other professional sports.
Racers drive on in land of lockouts
Mike Bianchi Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel
Posted: Tuesday, Jul. 05, 2011 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
They raced Saturday night at Daytona. And they will race this week, too. And next year. And the year after that. And probably 10 years after that. No matter what, they race. No lockouts here like in the NFL and NBA. No labor disputes. No, you won't find any owners and drivers arguing over who should get a bigger percentage of the sport's billion-dollar jackpot. "They're going to drive whether there's rain, snow or sleet," said Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher, the grand marshal of Saturday night's race at Daytona. "It's a sport that is always there for you. You know, these guys are going to show up and race every week. That's why many of us are such huge fans." Football. Baseball. Basketball. Hockey. They all have stopped working over the years for one reason or another and given fans more information than they ever wanted to know about things like decertification and revenue sharing. Not NASCAR. The show goes on. Days of Thunder. Nights of wonder. Just like Saturday night when David Ragan crossed the finish for his first victory with sparks flying and cars crashing behind him. This is a sport that hasn't had a labor dispute in more than 40 years. And that one lasted all of one week. It happened during 1969 when a group of drivers, including the great Richard Petty, had the idea of forming a union called the Professional Drivers Association. One of the union's first official actions was to boycott a race at Talladega, Ala., because the drivers felt the track was unsafe. Bill France, then the owner and CEO of NASCAR, essentially told the boycotting drivers, "If you don't want to race then pack up your things and get out of the garages." France then filled the field with lower-level drivers who raced in front of a capacity crowd. That was the end of the Professional Drivers Association. Space shuttle astronaut Tony Antonelli, the honorary race starter of the 400, is a long-time NASCAR fan and recites a mantra that many drivers have come to realize since stock-car racing began more than 60 years ago. "NASCAR is pretty quick to tell the drivers that you need NASCAR more than NASCAR needs you," Antonelli said. "That's not a bad way for any of us to be; to understand that it's a big world and we're just a little piece of it." To many fans, this is the allure of NASCAR: They know that no matter what, if they buy a ticket to a race, their favorite driver is going to be there. In today's professional sports world, there are three things you can count on: (1) $8 beers, (2) The Pirates finishing below .500, (3) NASCAR drivers showing up for work. It's always amazed me how NASCAR drivers manage to compete every week while golfers cannot. Can you imagine, how much more popular the sport of golf would be if Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson competed in every stop on the PGA Tour like Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. do at every Sprint Cup race on the NASCAR circuit? A couple of years ago, Mickelson and Woods both sat out what was billed as an important FedEx Cup event because both said they were "tired." In fact, Phil lamented that over a three-month period prior to the tournament he had "no more than two days off at a time." NASCAR drivers have raced with broken arms, broken sternums and broken collarbones. Petty even raced once with a broken neck. Go ahead, NBA. Go ahead, NFL. Lock yourselves out. Knock yourselves out. On this Fourth of July weekend, Ragan and the good ol' boys of NASCAR showed once again there is at least one sport America can still count on. Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/05/2428961/racers-drive-on-in-land-of-lockouts.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1RHZJX6f6
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
