By Brandon W. Mudd
I would like to thank the attendees of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499.
I would like to thank them for single-handedly proving the worst stereotypes associated with NASCAR to be true, at least in the minds of those who already believe the sport to be filled with nothing but uneducated hillbillies and their rowdy, shirtless, mullet-wearing, beer-swilling fans. After a race brought to a premature end by a late-race caution, in a hail of beer cans, water bottles, coolers, and God knows what, some of the respectability NASCAR and its fans have gained in recent years disappeared.
Thanks, guys.
I have always taken pride in my allegiance to NASCAR, as well as my position within one of its teams. I have always been thankful to be involved with a sport that promotes love of both God and country and is filled with role models who attend church regularly, do not beat their wives or children, and are not arrested regularly on weapons and/or drug charges. Most importantly, I have always maintained to those around me who make their disparaging comments about NASCAR that, unlike college football and basketball, the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and international soccer, NASCAR fans do not riot after races. That argument was chucked out the window Sunday with approximately four laps to go in the Nextel Cup race in Talladega.
At this point, most of you are already to send your scathing vitriol my way through the e-mail, but before you hit “send,” let me tell you a little about myself. I am a large man who enjoys his red meat and beer. I spend my winters in a tree stand, hunting deer both to feed my family and to enjoy nature. I am a veteran and member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (Post 5553). I am a regular churchgoer. On February 18th, 2001, I wept as though I lost my best friend and I still have a large “3” in the back window of my four-wheeled-drive pickup truck. I am also the communications director for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team and a freelance writer for the American Speed Association. Simply put, I identify more with the fans in the stands than I do with the media in the infield, even though that is how I make my living. Having said all that, I am still ashamed of the display I saw on my television Sunday.
I was not surprised by the reaction. No, not one bit. It is, after all, Talladega. Talladega is not just a race; it is an experience not intended for the meek. The infield is legendary for its drunken debauchery and has its own jail that sees regular use on race weekends. Confederate flags are still flown proudly and the only phrase heard more than “Hand me another cold one” is “Show me your t*ts!” Talladega is a throwback to the rough-and-tumble days of NASCAR’s beginning and, for the most part, is considered holy ground for the series’ old-school fans. So, while the 2.66 mile track is home to some of the sport’s greatest fans, it is also filled with people who start drinking sometime Thursday morning and do not stop until the early morning hours Monday. With that incredible amount of inebriation, we have the first volatile element of the day.
The second volatile element of the day was the driver most affected by the decision to finish the race under caution instead of running a two-lap shootout. Dale Earnhardt has more Cup wins at ‘Dega, 10, than anyone, with the tenth being the last win of his career. His son and heir apparent to the Intimidator’s throne, at least in the hearts and minds of many fans, has four wins there and looked ready to notch another one Sunday.
It was not easy, however. In the past, Dale Jr. made winning at Talladega (and its sister track, Daytona) look easy. Sunday was a different story. There were over 50 lead changes and most of the cars looked as though they were leaving Bristol and not the most-feared restrictor-plate race in NASCAR due to the incredible amount of beating and banging between drivers. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were strong all day. Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon were showing a rare day of teamwork and were running strong as well. Even the Roush teams of Mark Martin and Jeff Burton were challenging for the win. All in all, at least 10 drivers, not to mention his teammate, Michael Waltrip, had a legitimate shot of winning.
With four laps to go, Hendricks Motorsports driver and 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion, Brian Vickers, spun, bringing out the caution flag. Two new rules instituted by NASCAR late last season set up what could be the most controversial finish since Junior’s July, 2001, win at Daytona. The first rule is, no more racing to the caution. Last season, more and more frequently, drivers had proven they would no longer abide by the so-called “Gentleman’s Agreement” (i.e. not race to the yellow flag when a caution is brought out). NASCAR’s new CEO Brian France took that option away from the drivers after a nasty wreck at Loudon, N.H., left Dale Jarrett spun at the start/finish line with cars racing full speed around him. Most drivers and fans believed the rule was just, providing a new measure of safety for the drivers.
The second rule is, NASCAR will stop the race by displaying the red flag if a late-race caution occurs. This gives the fans and drivers the opportunity to see the race finish under a green flag. However, prior to the race, NASCAR officials will name a lap considered “the point of no return,” meaning it is too far into the race to red-flag it, and the race will end under caution. Unfortunately for the fans (and Earnhardt), that PONR lap was five to go and the caution flew with four to go. Therefore, for once, NASCAR made the correct decision Sunday by forcing the race to end under caution. Notice I said “correct” and not “popular,” because I do not think anyone would dispute the fact the two are not necessarily the same thing.
Even with the fans behaving as they did, throwing things onto the track to either curse NASCAR for cheating Junior from his fifth win at that track in the past six races, or to cheer Gordon for breaking the Dale Earnhardt, Inc., stranglehold on the track (DEI driver Waltrip won the other race), that is immaterial. This will be talked about this week and debated and the national media will once again pen their cheap shots at the sport, thanks to Sunday’s incident. But this will go away, just as the situation at the 2002 Pepsi 400 in Daytona went away (for those of you who don’t remember, the drivers were showered with debris after Waltrip won the race under caution; most of those fans also believed that Junior had a shot to win and NASCAR cheated them from seeing it). What won’t go away, in my opinion, were Dale Jr’s. comments after the race.
“It's really the only outlet left for telling it like it is," Earnhardt told reporters. “They were just expressing themselves in the only manner that they saw fit.”
But upon saying those words, Junior then bristled at the idea of the ‘Dega fans being compared to “English Soccer Hooligans.” So apparently, it is fine to condone your fans making asses of themselves in front of millions, but do not compare them to different kinds of fans making asses of themselves.
Earnhardt needs to understand a simple fact: His fans represent nearly 70 percent of the people in the stands and at home watching the races on television. And in case you didn’t know, folks, NASCAR fans are a different breed than other fans. They don’t just watch the races and memorize the stats; they feel as though they are that driver’s family. And with Junior’s poorly-chosen words, he has not only condoned his “family’s” actions at Talladega, he has let them know he finds that display pleasing, as a god shows pleasure to his subjects and worshippers. I am not saying all of Dale Jr’s fans will now riot after every loss chalked up by Driver 8, but the Son of the Intimidator has spoken and some of his worshippers do not necessarily have what one would call a fair grasp of common sense 100 percent of the time.
While I may have been a bit melodramatic about the affair, I still believe NASCAR and its fans were given a black eye by this debacle. Will it go away? Of course. Was this as bad as fans setting fires, turning over cars, and stabbing people? Absolutely not. And the most important question: Do some fans even care? Probably not. Most of NASCAR’s old-school fans probably enjoyed it. In recent years, NASCAR has gone out of its way to “clean up” the sport, i.e. make it more appeasing to that much-sought-after 18-24 demographic that has a lot of disposable income. This effort has left a lot of NASCAR’s most loyal fans out in the cold and for good reason. You simply do not leave the dance with someone other than the person who brought you. It’s disrespectful to those who stood by and defended the sport when no one else would.
The point is this: You don’t have to embrace NASCAR’s new face. You don’t have to embrace the fact Nextel is doing everything it can to seemingly take the flavor out of a great sport. You don’t even have to embrace the fact that NASCAR is trying to gain respectability within the ranks of professional sports in America. But what you have to realize is this: If you condone what happened Sunday, you have no right to complain when the mainstream media comes down on NASCAR and its fans for being drunken and rowdy. NASCAR fans cannot have it all; they cannot behave in this manner, but then question why they and their sport of choice gets no respect. It may not be fair, since other sports fans appear to riot all the time and little is said about it, but it is a fact of life that we, as fans, have to live with. We are the underdogs and, as such, either need to set a higher standard as we have done in the past, or accept the fact maybe those “legitimate” journalists are right.
Brandon W. Mudd can be contacted at bmudd@charter.net.
I would like to thank the attendees of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499.
I would like to thank them for single-handedly proving the worst stereotypes associated with NASCAR to be true, at least in the minds of those who already believe the sport to be filled with nothing but uneducated hillbillies and their rowdy, shirtless, mullet-wearing, beer-swilling fans. After a race brought to a premature end by a late-race caution, in a hail of beer cans, water bottles, coolers, and God knows what, some of the respectability NASCAR and its fans have gained in recent years disappeared.
Thanks, guys.
I have always taken pride in my allegiance to NASCAR, as well as my position within one of its teams. I have always been thankful to be involved with a sport that promotes love of both God and country and is filled with role models who attend church regularly, do not beat their wives or children, and are not arrested regularly on weapons and/or drug charges. Most importantly, I have always maintained to those around me who make their disparaging comments about NASCAR that, unlike college football and basketball, the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and international soccer, NASCAR fans do not riot after races. That argument was chucked out the window Sunday with approximately four laps to go in the Nextel Cup race in Talladega.
At this point, most of you are already to send your scathing vitriol my way through the e-mail, but before you hit “send,” let me tell you a little about myself. I am a large man who enjoys his red meat and beer. I spend my winters in a tree stand, hunting deer both to feed my family and to enjoy nature. I am a veteran and member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (Post 5553). I am a regular churchgoer. On February 18th, 2001, I wept as though I lost my best friend and I still have a large “3” in the back window of my four-wheeled-drive pickup truck. I am also the communications director for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team and a freelance writer for the American Speed Association. Simply put, I identify more with the fans in the stands than I do with the media in the infield, even though that is how I make my living. Having said all that, I am still ashamed of the display I saw on my television Sunday.
I was not surprised by the reaction. No, not one bit. It is, after all, Talladega. Talladega is not just a race; it is an experience not intended for the meek. The infield is legendary for its drunken debauchery and has its own jail that sees regular use on race weekends. Confederate flags are still flown proudly and the only phrase heard more than “Hand me another cold one” is “Show me your t*ts!” Talladega is a throwback to the rough-and-tumble days of NASCAR’s beginning and, for the most part, is considered holy ground for the series’ old-school fans. So, while the 2.66 mile track is home to some of the sport’s greatest fans, it is also filled with people who start drinking sometime Thursday morning and do not stop until the early morning hours Monday. With that incredible amount of inebriation, we have the first volatile element of the day.
The second volatile element of the day was the driver most affected by the decision to finish the race under caution instead of running a two-lap shootout. Dale Earnhardt has more Cup wins at ‘Dega, 10, than anyone, with the tenth being the last win of his career. His son and heir apparent to the Intimidator’s throne, at least in the hearts and minds of many fans, has four wins there and looked ready to notch another one Sunday.
It was not easy, however. In the past, Dale Jr. made winning at Talladega (and its sister track, Daytona) look easy. Sunday was a different story. There were over 50 lead changes and most of the cars looked as though they were leaving Bristol and not the most-feared restrictor-plate race in NASCAR due to the incredible amount of beating and banging between drivers. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were strong all day. Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon were showing a rare day of teamwork and were running strong as well. Even the Roush teams of Mark Martin and Jeff Burton were challenging for the win. All in all, at least 10 drivers, not to mention his teammate, Michael Waltrip, had a legitimate shot of winning.
With four laps to go, Hendricks Motorsports driver and 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion, Brian Vickers, spun, bringing out the caution flag. Two new rules instituted by NASCAR late last season set up what could be the most controversial finish since Junior’s July, 2001, win at Daytona. The first rule is, no more racing to the caution. Last season, more and more frequently, drivers had proven they would no longer abide by the so-called “Gentleman’s Agreement” (i.e. not race to the yellow flag when a caution is brought out). NASCAR’s new CEO Brian France took that option away from the drivers after a nasty wreck at Loudon, N.H., left Dale Jarrett spun at the start/finish line with cars racing full speed around him. Most drivers and fans believed the rule was just, providing a new measure of safety for the drivers.
The second rule is, NASCAR will stop the race by displaying the red flag if a late-race caution occurs. This gives the fans and drivers the opportunity to see the race finish under a green flag. However, prior to the race, NASCAR officials will name a lap considered “the point of no return,” meaning it is too far into the race to red-flag it, and the race will end under caution. Unfortunately for the fans (and Earnhardt), that PONR lap was five to go and the caution flew with four to go. Therefore, for once, NASCAR made the correct decision Sunday by forcing the race to end under caution. Notice I said “correct” and not “popular,” because I do not think anyone would dispute the fact the two are not necessarily the same thing.
Even with the fans behaving as they did, throwing things onto the track to either curse NASCAR for cheating Junior from his fifth win at that track in the past six races, or to cheer Gordon for breaking the Dale Earnhardt, Inc., stranglehold on the track (DEI driver Waltrip won the other race), that is immaterial. This will be talked about this week and debated and the national media will once again pen their cheap shots at the sport, thanks to Sunday’s incident. But this will go away, just as the situation at the 2002 Pepsi 400 in Daytona went away (for those of you who don’t remember, the drivers were showered with debris after Waltrip won the race under caution; most of those fans also believed that Junior had a shot to win and NASCAR cheated them from seeing it). What won’t go away, in my opinion, were Dale Jr’s. comments after the race.
“It's really the only outlet left for telling it like it is," Earnhardt told reporters. “They were just expressing themselves in the only manner that they saw fit.”
But upon saying those words, Junior then bristled at the idea of the ‘Dega fans being compared to “English Soccer Hooligans.” So apparently, it is fine to condone your fans making asses of themselves in front of millions, but do not compare them to different kinds of fans making asses of themselves.
Earnhardt needs to understand a simple fact: His fans represent nearly 70 percent of the people in the stands and at home watching the races on television. And in case you didn’t know, folks, NASCAR fans are a different breed than other fans. They don’t just watch the races and memorize the stats; they feel as though they are that driver’s family. And with Junior’s poorly-chosen words, he has not only condoned his “family’s” actions at Talladega, he has let them know he finds that display pleasing, as a god shows pleasure to his subjects and worshippers. I am not saying all of Dale Jr’s fans will now riot after every loss chalked up by Driver 8, but the Son of the Intimidator has spoken and some of his worshippers do not necessarily have what one would call a fair grasp of common sense 100 percent of the time.
While I may have been a bit melodramatic about the affair, I still believe NASCAR and its fans were given a black eye by this debacle. Will it go away? Of course. Was this as bad as fans setting fires, turning over cars, and stabbing people? Absolutely not. And the most important question: Do some fans even care? Probably not. Most of NASCAR’s old-school fans probably enjoyed it. In recent years, NASCAR has gone out of its way to “clean up” the sport, i.e. make it more appeasing to that much-sought-after 18-24 demographic that has a lot of disposable income. This effort has left a lot of NASCAR’s most loyal fans out in the cold and for good reason. You simply do not leave the dance with someone other than the person who brought you. It’s disrespectful to those who stood by and defended the sport when no one else would.
The point is this: You don’t have to embrace NASCAR’s new face. You don’t have to embrace the fact Nextel is doing everything it can to seemingly take the flavor out of a great sport. You don’t even have to embrace the fact that NASCAR is trying to gain respectability within the ranks of professional sports in America. But what you have to realize is this: If you condone what happened Sunday, you have no right to complain when the mainstream media comes down on NASCAR and its fans for being drunken and rowdy. NASCAR fans cannot have it all; they cannot behave in this manner, but then question why they and their sport of choice gets no respect. It may not be fair, since other sports fans appear to riot all the time and little is said about it, but it is a fact of life that we, as fans, have to live with. We are the underdogs and, as such, either need to set a higher standard as we have done in the past, or accept the fact maybe those “legitimate” journalists are right.
Brandon W. Mudd can be contacted at bmudd@charter.net.
