The State of Racing.
Peter and Bud are right on the money about NASCAR; what was once a compelling spectacle and an excuse to drink a few cold beers on Sunday afternoon has become as predictable, slick, and generic as the Target advertising insert in the newspaper. NASCAR’s apparent goal of appealing to everyone, everywhere, has totally eclipsed its roots in honest (and occasionally dishonest) racing, fascinating characters, and regional appeal. A large majority of the drivers seem to be clones of one another, and even their back-flipping, trash-talking, and on-track crashup derby antics can’t make me care one way or the other. Does anyone doubt Cale Yarborough could whip half the field simultaneously in a bar fight? He’s only 67.
In my opinion, NASCAR has hidden its red neck under its Sparco collar. No more Southern 500 on Labor Day. Two-wide funeral processions (no passing, please) at Talladega. “Factory” teams with identical template bodies, instead of unique specials from competing shops. No more Smokey Yunicks. Does anybody really need to see Bon Jovi perform before the Daytona 500? Just give us the flyover and crank ‘em up, please. Remarkably, NASCAR fans are the ones who usually poor mouth all other forms of racing, and love to poke fun at the Euroweenies in F1 and ALMS.
Speaking of the alternatives, I am excited to see renewed interest in the various ALMS classes from Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, and now Acura and Lexus. F1 is as exciting as it’s been since the late ‘90s. There’s even optimism about reuniting the ChampCar and IRL camps for a true American open wheel series. It’s a great time to be a motorsports fan, unless you think NASCAR is the only game in town.
Rob Evans
Greenville, SC
NASCAR.
The sad truth is that you guys are correct about the "bill of goods" relating to what the NASCAR nation has become. As a long time fan since the 60's, I am deeply saddened by what has happened to what was once the most competitive racing series going. When you consider that years ago you could only catch a snippet of a two week old race on the wide world of sports to the absolute overkill which now permeates the airwaves, you can clearly see that the marketing guys run NASCAR, not the racing guys. And I can only shake my head in disgust as the car of tomorrow rears it's hideous form and makes bland racing even more dull.
I predict that as the trendy new fans get bored with this and move on to the next thing, NASCAR will have lost the true racing fan to another series. Bill France must be turning over in his grave.
Juergen Drengk
Livonia, Michigan
No more cars for NASCAR!
I couldn't agree more with every word you wrote clearly expessing what a lot of us have been thinking for years! NASCAR ceased being relevant to Detroit manufacturers many moons ago when it stopped using the cars we can all buy as a starting point for their logo-motion fest. With domestic automakers as cash strapped as they are - it's a wonder they ALL haven't drop-kicked NASCAR into the round file. Hey GM: imagine what you could do with all that dough to advertise some of the great new products you actually build instead of writing big checks to plaster your logos on androgynous blobs driving in circles touting home improvements and hard-ons? Hey Ford: can you measure how many people bought a Fusion because they recognized the grill painted on your parade float? Here's a hint: Look how NASCAR sent Taurus sales through the roof in the last five years. And finally, Hey DaimlerChrysler: You designed the 300, Charger, and the breathtaking Challenger show car with a name that instantly conveys power & prestige and instills "gotta have" in people all over the country - but it wasn't NASCAR, it was HEMI.
Thank you Dr. Bud!
Rick Sand
Boynton Beach, FL
More on NASCAR.
To Dr Bud, you are so right. One time, years ago I was in the infield of Daytona Intl Speedway, and my buddy Ron Keselowski disgustedly said, "if France could charge the sea gulls for landing on his property, he would." That sums up NASCAR.
Bob Kowal
GPW, MI
http://www.autoextremist.com/mill.shtml#mill