Before we go any further with this little piece, let me stress that I'm not talking about the bloggers, I'm talking about the people who get paid to write for this site and others, as well as magazines, newspapers, etc.
I'm trying to get a handle on just how this whole NASCAR journalism thing works and I have to admit, I'm a little puzzled. More to the point, I'm confused as to how so many people are employed as NASCAR journalists when they all write the same damn thing and they make a good deal of it up as they go.
For example, I just finished reading a completely uninspiring piece by Jeff Owens which takes yet another shot at comparing Kyle Busch to Dale Earnhardt. How many articles have been written on this one subject over the past two weeks? Lots. How many of those articles were written well? Not many. Owens, being the daredevil he is, tries to play it up a little by adding Jeff Gordon into the mix as well, but it's pretty much the same thing we've seen written several times by several people.
I think the way this works is one person is allowed to have an original thought, and then everyone else has to hop on the bandwagon and beat that horse until there's nothing but a glob of glue left, which is why we keep getting these Busch/ Earnhardt comparisons.
Actually, it's sensationalism in all its glory and it's disgusting to see. These people don't care about reporting the news, they care about stirring the pot in order to get fan reaction and comments on their little pages. Fact based reporting is a huge inconvenience for them, especially when it's so much easier to just make stuff up and put it out there for the world to believe.
I received a piece by email the other day which highlights perfectly what I'm talking about. This came from the Associated Press, so it's not like I'm picking on something your Uncle Reginald wrote for the local newspaper and betting sheet.
The title read, "(Greg) Biffle A Solid Candidate To Replace Stewart", and the article went on to explain that Biffle should take over for Tony Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing, even though, as far as the author knows, Biffle has had no contact with JGR and even though Stewart is still signed with JGR through 2009. So, in a nutshell, the article claims that Biffle is a "solid candidate" for a job for which he hasn't interviewed and which isn't even available. That, my friends, is some seriously lousy writing.
It's also just one example of a larger trend. Take a good close look as you read the "news" over the next few days. You'll notice that there are some very catchy headlines out there which have very little to do with what's actually written in the article. Hell, there's one woman out there who will put a driver's name in a headline and then never even mention him in the body of the article.
Also, take note of the many pieces which are simply rehashes of something someone else has written within the past day or so. Sure, a name like Kyle Busch is hot right now and readership is important, so it stands to reason that there will be lots of things written about him. But, why does everyone find it necessary to write the same thing?
One person comes up with an idea, and then everyone else grabs it and runs with it. No news today? Hell, let's just make some up. That's sad, but it is laughable when it backfires. Writer after writer last year reported with complete certainty that Dale Earnhardt Jr would be driving for Joe Gibbs Racing this season after Jeff Hammond said it was a done deal. Well, someone should have told Jr about that, because he got confused and has been driving for Hendrick Motorsports all year.
The only way this trend is going to change is when the fans that read these articles start standing up and demanding some credibility. When you read a piece that presents innuendo and rumor as fact, sound off! Leave a comment where possible and where it's not possible, email the writer as well as the writer's boss.
It's not too much for us to ask that we be presented with fact based news pieces rather than fiction passed off as news. NASCAR fans deserve better and as you may have guessed, I'm sick and tired of it. Aren't you?
On Tuesday morning, I received an email through a NASCAR forum I run and I want to share the details of that email here, because at least some of you will find it interesting.
"Hi,
I am a mom with Multiple Sclerosis. We are having an online silent auction to benefit MS. (and) 100% of the proceeds go to the MS Society. I have many Nascar items that are authentic and have been signed..."
There was more to the email, but in a nutshell, these folks are running an auction to raise money for MS and they're having difficulty getting the word out, so I thought I'd tell all of you about it.
They have some pretty cool items up for bid, so please take a moment to have a look around and see if there's anything you like. Click here
As an added incentive, if you don't at least go look, flying ferrets will come to your home and #### on your carpet. You've been warned.
It's the night before the 2008 Daytona 500 and my pulse is quick, my breathing is quicker and small beads of sweat are showing on my forehead. But that's just because I'm watching some "adult entertainment" here on the old pc.
At around 3:30pm ET on Sunday, February 17, the green flag will wave to start the 50th edition of the Daytona 500 and at that moment, 43 cars will theoretically have a chance of winning the race, but only 10 or 15 will realistically have a chance of winning the race. And there are some very interesting possibilities this year.
What about Michael Waltrip? Disgraced last season by a cheating scandal, Waltrip, being a very effective PR person, made us forget all about that scandal by getting loaded and shrewdly wrecking his SUV on a rural North Carolina road.
But Michael Waltrip Racing is back and looking strong this year. Michael put the 55 on the outside front row, while MWR drivers Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann gained entry to the race during Thursday's qualifying races. It could easily be argued that both Waltrip and Jarrett have a good chance of winning the 500, but it's doubtful, simply because they won't get much help from the rest of the field. Their only real allies are the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, and that group have already made clear they're only interested in helping each other.
Speaking of JGR, this is a motley bunch, isn't it? You have Tony Stewart, already firmly established as a guy lots of people love to hate. Add in Kyle Busch, a guy almost universally disliked, and Denny Hamlin, a likable guy who seems to go out of his way to be disliked, and you have a very volatile mix. All three are very good drivers, but they're also very stubborn, short tempered and ultra competitive.
It's very possible that one of the JGR drivers will win the 500. Denny took the win in their qualifying race and all three have looked good in practice, but the question is how well will they work together at the end of the race? We could see the three of them run nose to tail coming to the checkers, then wreck the hell out of each other when they all spread out and go for the win. Tony's already punched one of the Busch brothers this season and it could be two before the day is over.
And then there's the group at Hendrick Motorsports. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are perennial favorites in pretty much any race they enter and they'll have to be considered favorites this weekend as well. Both have run well in practice and JJ is starting on the pole.
There's a newcomer at HMS this season by the name of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not much is known about him because he doesn't get much mention in the press, but the word is that he's a pretty decent restrictor plate racer, which would be helpful if they were racing restrictor plates. But they're not; they're racing cars. Luckily, he appears to have some ability in that area as well. I just hope that someone will get busy and write about this guy so he won't be such a mystery to us.
There are other possibilites as far as eventual winners of the race, but the odds are that the winning car will be either a Chevy or a Toyota and it will be piloted by a driver mentioned somewhere in this article.
That is, unless Derrike Cope gets a last minute ride, and then all bets are off.
If you’re a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, or if you know one, you’ve most likely gotten an email or seen posts on message boards about an article that surfaced last week claiming that all traces of Jr.’s tenure at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) have been eliminated from the company’s showroom. As you can imagine, this news did not set well with Jr.’s legions of fans, most of whom already think Teresa Earnhardt is the most evil woman on the face of the earth, and the cry quickly went out, calling for her head on a platter (or at least for everyone to stick their tongues out at her).
BUT, and this is a big but, which is why I typed it all big like that, how much truth is there to the story? Is it true that there’s no trace of Dale Jr. anywhere at DEI, save for a picture on the front of an instructional DVD available for sale in the gift shop? Is it true that Teresa is standing on the cat walk high atop the showroom, cackling with delight as she looks down and sees no likenesses of Dale Jr.? Or is it possible that some writer, wanting to get his newest article passed around a lot, simply put a bunch of BS on paper, knowing that people would take it as gospel?
In order to answer that question, I hit the Dale Trail and made the drive up Highway 3 to DEI headquarters to have a look around. (It should be noted that this trip required great personal sacrifice on my part, as DEI is at least twenty minutes away from my home.)
The lobby of this place is really cool; with a #3 Goodwrench Lumina parked dead center in front of a backdrop featuring a collage of DEI cars on a race track. Among the cars pictured is a red #8 Budweiser Monte Carlo piloted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., so it was already beginning to look like the story might have been a load of horse extract, but I figured I should investigate further, just in case that image was part of a conspiracy to simply make me think everything was fine.
I made a right turn and walked around the backdrop to find a very large glass wall, behind which I could see several race cars, including the one front dead center, which just happened to be the red and white #8 Budweiser Monte Carlo Dale Jr. drove to victory in the 2004 Daytona 500. Dang, I was only two minutes into the place and I’d already seen two instances of Dale Jr.’s past here; maybe the guy who wrote the article has problems with his eyesight?
There were several other cars of Jr’s parked behind that wall, including the #1 Coca-Cola car he drove in Japan a few years ago. Also present were cars driven by Michael Waltrip, including the 2001 Daytona 500 winner, and Steve Park’s winning car from North Carolina Speedway the week after the 2001 Daytona 500. It should be noted that there are no plaques explaining the significance of the cars on display; if you didn’t know your recent NASCAR history, you wouldn’t know which car was which.
I turned left to walk further into the showroom, and it was in this area that the true purpose of the place became apparent. (Its small size also became apparent; this showroom is not what you’d call spacious.)
Sure, there was a mention (complete with a car and photos) of Martin Truex Jr. and his 2005 NASCAR Busch Series championship. And sure, there was a car that had been driven by Paul Menard. And there was even a very small display dedicated to Mark Martin.
And no, there were no displays dedicated to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR Busch Series championships. And no, there were no photos or displays dedicated to Michael Waltrip or to Steve Park (DEI’s first driver).
But there were lots of displays dedicated to Dale Earnhardt, and that is the true purpose of this showroom; it’s a celebration of Dale’s life and the many accomplishments from throughout his career. There are a few of his Winston Cup trophies, his much pursued Daytona 500 trophy, race worn uniforms and lots of other memorabilia. If you’re an Earnhardt fan, this place is a must see, but see it after you’ve been to the museum at Richard Childress Racing.
I noticed, though, that there were several things missing from the displays. Where was Dale’s Rookie of the Year trophy? How about his first Winston Cup trophy? IROC trophies?
Ask a question to get an answer: because space is limited, and to keep the place fresh, displays are changed out on a regular basis, so the things I saw today probably won’t be on display the next time I go, but other gems will be.
Why aren’t Dale Jr.’s Busch championships featured? Because Martin Truex Jr. is the most recent champion from the DEI stables and his car occupies that spot.
There are no displays dedicated to Jr., Waltrip or Park because those guys are all former drivers for the team. Truthfully, there were only a couple non-Dale displays, with one being a large glass case dedicated to Truex and the earlier mentioned small case for Mark Martin. Menard is barely mentioned and Aric Almirola and Regan Smith are nonexistent.
In the gift shop, there was still ample evidence of Jr.’s time at DEI. There were no #8 Budweiser products for sale, but there were lots of other items, including some really cool die casts from his Busch series years. None of these things were marked down, or priced any lower than comparable merchandise from other drivers.
It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose, but I saw no evidence of any attempt to “eliminate” Dale Jr. from DEI’s existence. He’s not openly celebrated, but I can’t see a reason why he should be: Sure, his name is Earnhardt, but he’s now a driver for a rival team. His place in the team’s history is made apparent through the display of his cars and I’m sure that if the company wanted to eliminate him, they could easily slide #3 Goodwrench cars in there and hide the Bud machines in the back.
Bottom line, if you visit the museum at Richard Childress Racing, don’t expect to see much mention of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton or Clint Bowyer; they are featured, but Dale Earnhardt is the real show. Likewise, if you visit DEI, don’t expect to see much mention of drivers – past or present – other than Dale Earnhardt.
And whoever wrote that story and got all those fans of Dale Jr. worked up for nothing, you really should be ashamed of yourself.
To see the photos I took while at DEI, please Click here
At first glance, this may not seem to be about sports, so I'm recommending you skip past the first glance and move right to the second.
On any website where people interact, you'll find great people who have a lot of fun talking about the topic(s) of that site, and you'll also inevitably find some not so great people who take great delight in causing trouble. These people are often referred to as "trolls", presumably because they live under bridges and have really bad breath.
It's very easy to be one of the great people who always plays nice, but it takes a lot of talent to be a true troublemaker, so I'm here with your handy dandy guide to being the best internet troll you can be, which is entitled, "Your Handy Dandy Guide To Being The Best Internet Troll You Can Be". Let's get started, shall we?
First, you'll need a computer and an internet connection. Since you're reading this, it will be easy for you to Google these terms to see where you can find computers and internet connections near you.
Next, you need an agenda. You can be a general troll, meaning that you'll criticize people for pretty much anything they say, or you can be a specific troll, meaning you'll only go after people who say things about your favorite team or your favorite driver or your favorite serial killer, etc.
No matter which route you choose above, there are some very important components to being a great troll and you must embody them all if you want to be truly effective.
It's very important to be a poor speller. I can't stress this one enough. It's against the troll code of conduct to spell words correctly, so proper spelling will give you away as a wannabe very quickly.
You must be creative with profanity. It's not enough to use profanity, you need to be able to use it in new and exciting ways. Sure, you might get a reaction if you call someone a mother somethingorother, but you'll get a much stronger reaction if you specify just whose mother that person has been somethingorothering.
TYPE IN ALL CAPS. I DON'T THINK I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE, DO I?
Accuse the other person of being ####. When you get into a war of words with someone, odds are they will win it. Why do I say that? Because most trolls are mental midgets and you're a troll, right? So, you'll need a back up plan for when you lose an argument, and few things will do more damage than accusing a complete stranger of being ####. Of course the other person will be humiliated that you've somehow deduced the sexual orientation he's kept hidden from family and friends for all these years and he'll likely be so ashamed that he'll never show his face on the site again. Or maybe not, but it's free to try, right?
Don't let facts get in the way o####ood opinion. This is a biggie for a good troll. Go right ahead and state whatever is on your mind and when confronted with evidence to the contrary, stand your ground. Question the other person's sources, as in, "Elias WHO?", and when the source can't be questioned, question the context, as in, "sure, but does it list how often he scratches himself after all base hits, or just home runs?"
When in doubt, threaten physical violence. This one will really show them. Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of others like being threatened by some faceless name on a computer screen. Sure, you're a scrawny, 120 pound geek sitting in front of his computer wearing three day old underwear, but tell someone you're going to kick his butt and everyone will think you're 7 foot tall and bullet proof. All the other people on the site will instantly become afraid of you and no one will ever dare disagree with you again.
Your head must be up your rear end. This is not negotiable, all trolls have their heads up there, without exception.
These are the most important components of being a great internet troll, but explore a little and see how many new ideas you can come up with. You're only limited by your imagination, profanity filters and, in certain cases, law enforcement agencies, so have at it.
If you're looking for real world examples, odds are that a few will show up in the comments section below this post.
By now, most of us have seen the video of the altercation between Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth following the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon. In case you missed it, Kenseth was standing on pit road, waiting to be interviewed by Speed’s Bob Dilner, when Carl stepped into the frame and physically moved Matt backwards several steps. When Matt attempted to get around Carl, Carl restrained him. The video cuts out for a short bit, but when it resumes, Carl can be seen faking a punch at Matt and laughing when Matt flinches.
There are a few theories as to why Carl behaved the way he did, and several would seem to make sense, but here at the Dan Williams Institute, we’ve done some research and we’ve come to the following conclusion:
Now, now, Edwards fans, before you go posting comments, keep in mind that we here at the Institute are Tony Stewart fans, so we know an #### when we see one.
Let’s look at a couple notable incidents in recent Edwards history, shall we?
Who can forget Carl nearly removing Dale Earnhardt Jr’s hand with a flying side swipe following a Busch race last season?
Or how about Carl’s sarcastic gestures at Kenseth during a Busch race this year at Kansas? Carl wrecked out of the race and while Matt was nowhere near Carl when he wrecked, Carl evidently felt he should blame Kenseth anyway. (The two had made contact earlier in the race and that contact had caused one of Carl’s tires to deflate, but it was purely incidental.)
Stewart last season called Edwards the Eddie Haskell of NASCAR, and it’s becoming very clear why Tony said that.
The incident Sunday at Martinsville was noteworthy not because the two drivers had a disagreement, and not even because teammates were at odds, but because of the completely unprofessional manner in which Carl behaved.
As a teammate to Matt, Carl has many options when it comes to airing a grievance with him, but he chose to do it very publicly and in a fashion befitting a school yard bully. It was also a BIG mistake doing it anywhere near Dilner, who ranks just ahead of Lee Spencer when it comes to sensationalistic and opportunistic NASCAR journalism. Dilner doesn’t mind making up news if that’s what he has to do to have a story, so there’s no chance he’s going to pass on reporting an incident like this.
With question marks surrounding him, Carl may have been dealt the biggest blow by another teammate, Greg Biffle. On Monday’s edition of Inside Nextel Cup, Biffle explained why Carl was angry at Matt, but he made it clear that Carl had no right to have a beef with Matt and intimated that Carl is far from the clean cut guy he appears to be.
Phrases like, “the true colors are coming out” and, “the people wearing the 99 and Carl Edwards t-shirts… they need to second guess…”, were very telling, especially coming from a teammate.
Roush Racing said that there will be no disciplinary action taken against either of the drivers and that’s certainly their prerogative, but it seems that by taking no action, they’re telling Carl it’s okay to humiliate his teammates whenever he feels the need and whether he’s right or not.
All that aside, the cool part out of all this is that we can now add a new name to the club:
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
Tony Stewart
Robby Gordon
Kevin Harvick
and now,
Carl Edwards.
Welcome to the NASCAR ####s Club, Carl, we’re glad to have you aboard.
Like thousands of race fans, I was thrilled when it was announced last year that ESPN would again be broadcasting NASCAR races in 2007.
Ever since the day ESPN broadcast their last race in the Fall of 2000, many of us have expressed the thought that of all the networks who had brought us NASCAR races, ESPN did the best job covering them.
And they did.
But not any more.
Gone is Bob Jenkins, who, even though he much preferred open wheel racing, did an absolutely great job as the anchor of each broadcast.
Gone is Gentleman Ned Jarrett, pushed into retirement by the emerging NASCAR partners of FOX and NBC in 2001.
Gone is Benny Parsons, his voice silenced forever in January of this year.
Gone is the excellent coverage we got from ESPN. In this new era of ESPN, we’re treated to Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Rusty Wallace in the broadcast booth, with a seeming cast of thousands ready to chime in at any time, and a host of idiotic graphics to help dumb the sport down as much as possible.
I am a huge fan of Dr. Punch, but he belongs on pit road, not in the booth - the job he did as a pit reporter was, in my opinion, the best you could hope for. In the booth, he’s put into a role where he sometimes has to feign a lack of knowledge to elicit commentary from Andy and Rusty and it comes across as unnatural, because it is unnatural. He knows a helluva lot about the sport and he should be on pit road demonstrating that knowledge.
ESPN has a guy on pit road, Allen Bestwick, who is a natural in the booth. They have a guy in the booth, Dr. Jerry Punch, who is a natural on pit road. I’m no expert, but I know that if I were the producer of a show and wanted my fans to start liking it, I might think about a change.
Andy Petree, well, he’s a failed team owner and he’s doing a nice job of adding to that legacy as a broadcaster. Yes, he did win two Cup titles as a crew chief for Dale Earnhardt,and yes, the teams he owned did have a few good runs before they folded, but that doesn’t make him a good choice for the broadcast booth. Knowledge only goes so far, you need personality as well.
Rusty Wallace is a NASCAR legend. The owner of a Cup championship and over 50 wins, his on track accomplishments speak for themselves. But, as a broadcaster, he leaves a lot to be desired. His use and overuse of terms such as “man” (as in, “man, I don’t know what he was thinking), “there’s that” (as in, “there’s that aero loose we’ve been talking about”), “I tell ya” (as in, “man, I tell ya, I still don’t know what he was thinking”), among others, wears thin very quickly.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that ESPN is the worst broadcast crew out there – TNT wins that election in a landslide – but they could certainly improve.
The ESPN producers should do one of two things:
They should watch the FOX broadcasts and take some serious notes.
OR
They should watch tapes of the races they used to broadcast and go back to their roots – get rid of the idiotic glitz and graphics, get a good team in the booth and show us racing the way we used to see it. It was, after all, what made them our all time favorites.
NASCAR fans are a passionate lot, make no mistake about it. The vast majority of us have a favorite driver, and we are fiercely loyal to that driver, the team he drives for and the company that sponsors him.
You’ve probably seen the slogan (or variations of it), “NASCAR, not a sport, but a way of life”, and how can anyone argue with that since our shopping habits are dictated by the guy we root for on race day?
Not only do we buy the products produced or sold by our drivers’ sponsors, but we’ll go so far as to refuse to even think about buying something from a competitor.
Faced with a clogged toilet, a Tony Stewart fan would pee in the trash can before buying a plunger at Lowe’s, and a Carl Edwards fan would jot notes on his stomach (the fan’s stomach, not Carl’s) before going to Staples for a pack of Post-Its.
A Jamie McMurray fan would never think of touching a drop of Southern Comfort (which is probably for the best, fan or not) and a Kurt Busch fan (I know, he doesn’t have any, but play along) would drink sewer water before drinking any beer but Miller Lite, although some people would argue the two pretty much taste the same.
A Kevin Harvick fan would push his car miles to get to a Shell station rather than the Exxon around the corner, and if you ever see a Reed Sorenson fan in a Wal-Mart, there’s a good chance he’s recently suffered a sharp blow to the head and doesn’t know where he is (admittedly, it’ll be tough to pick him out of the crowd, because most of the people shopping in there match that description).
A Denny Hamlin fan would drive cross country to hand deliver a package before using UPS, if only for the fact that lots of people don’t even realize UPS still sponsors a car, since we never see it on Sunday.
You’ll never see a Mark Martin fan in line at the Navy recruiting center and you’ll never, ever see a Dale Earnhardt Jr fan drinking anything but Bud (if only because Bud cans have been proven, by Jr’s fans, to be extremely aerodynamic when it comes time to throw things onto the track).
A Kasey Kahne fan (especially one of the three stalker women who have long out stayed their welcome in the All-State commercials), would stomp the #### out of the Geico gecko and a Ricky Rudd fan would would snack on tree bark before even considering anything but a Snickers bar.
This list* could go on and on, but you get the point. Fans refuse to spend money with competitors to our favorite drivers’ sponsors and that’s why the sponsors continue to pour money into the sport.
What’s that? You don’t want to be limited in your buying choices? Then you should consider becoming a Kyle Petty fan. He has so many different sponsors even he can’t keep up with them all, so you’re free to spend your money with anyone you choose.
You could also become a fan of Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, Dave Blaney or Jeremy Mayfield. All these drivers actually do have single sponsors, but few ever make a race, so you can just pretend you don't know what you should be buying. (You'll have your Sunday's free to do whatever you like as well, since you won't need to watch the race to know your driver finished 50th again.)
*I’m really glad I didn’t try to compile this list when Mark Martin was sponsored by Viagra.
I never met the man, but Bill France Jr. was a hero of mine just the same.
His father, “Big” Bill France, created the entity of NASCAR, but it was France Jr. who turned it into the sport we love to watch every Sunday and every NASCAR fan is in his debt.
To put it into the perspective of the electronic age, Big Bill created the computer, but Bill Jr. created Windows.
When he was handed the reigns to NASCAR after his father’s retirement in 1972, many doubted that France Jr. could take this small, regional sport and even maintain it, much less grow it. He had been perceived as a very weak shadow to his very strong father and there appeared to be some merit to that argument even a few years into his tenure as president of NASCAR.
In 1976, A.J. Foyt took the pole for the Daytona 500, but his time was disallowed when NASCAR officials said they’d found “sufficient evidence” of the use of nitrous oxide to boost Foyt’s engine’s horse power. Foyt, never known as a shy man, went on an angry, up close and personal tirade against France Jr., railing at France for the sanctioning body’s decision . This was huge – no one would have ever dared get in Big Bill’s face like Foyt was doing to France Jr.
A call was made to Big Bill and shortly, his car screeched to a halt near the infield garage area. Big Bill stormed into the garage and while there are no accounts as to what actually occurred in there, it was reported by Sports Illustrated that ten minutes later, Big Bill “emerged from behind closed doors with his arm around the neck of a suddenly compliant Foyt, who was saying. ‘Yessir…yessir…yessir.’”
However, in spite of maybe being a little nicer than his father in the beginning, France soon became respected and feared, just as his father had been, as a man who spoke his mind and who’s word was law. As stated in many of the testimonials we’ve seen about him, people always knew where they stood with Bill France Jr. and there was nearly universal admiration for him.
It was Bill France Jr. who worked out the now legendary series sponsorship agreement with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s Winston brand. (Some who think they know the history of the sport will now pipe up and say, “NOPE! It was Junior Johnson who put that together!” They are wrong. Johnson was involved, but to a much smaller degree than often believed. Junior went to R.J. Reynolds looking for sponsorship for his car, but the tobacco giant, reeling from new government restrictions banning cigarette advertising on TV, explained that they were thinking on a much larger scale than sponsoring just a single car and that they had millions to spend. “I believe Mr Bill France Jr. could help you spend some of that money”, was Johnson’s reply and he got them in touch with France, but that was the extent of his involvement.)
It was under France Jr.’s leadership that Bob Latford created the points system we now see used in the sport, (although it has been modified a few times over the years). NASCAR was once known as being very inconsistent with the points system, tweaking and changing it from season to season and often making wholesale changes. France Jr., among others, recognized that for the sport to be taken seriously, they needed a solid points system that was fair to all competitors and it was Latford who layed out the basic blueprint for the current points system on a cocktail napkin.
It was under France Jr.’s leadership that NASCAR grew from a small, regional racing series into a multi-billion dollar empire with national (and somewhat global) appeal.
France Jr. recruited O. Bruton Smith, founder of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., to help him grow the sport across the country and Smith jumped at the opportunity. Separately, but with a common goal, the two built and/or acquired tracks across the country, expanding the fan base well beyond its beginnings in the Southeast portion of the country. Although they later wound up at odds with one another, France Jr. and Smith worked together to bring us what we now have.
It was under France Jr.’s leadership that the 1979 Daytona 500 became the first NASCAR race televised live, in its entirety, from coast to coast in the US, and it was most certainly divine intervention that led to the Northeast part of the country being snow bound that particular Sunday, leading to a massive television audience that France Jr. could never have imagined. Millions tuned in to watch, if only because there was nothing else to watch, but they saw an exciting race with the unforgettable ending of Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison in a fist fight on the back stretch. A star – NASCAR – was born.
In the years to come, NASCAR events would be featured live more and more often, on several cable networks as well as CBS and ABC, until eventually, fans could see almost every race live on television and they could often watch qualifying and some practice sessions as well.
Having grown the sport the way he had, France Jr. had it in perfect position to explode nationally and that was evidenced when FOX and NBC/TNT inked contracts to be the exclusive broadcasters for NASCAR races beginning in 2001.
We can only imagine the bittersweet feelings France Jr. must have experienced on February 18, 2001. It was the Daytona 500, NASCAR’S biggest event, and FOX was televising it live and on a grand scale. A huge audience had tuned in to watch and it was a very exciting race to watch – the aero package NASCAR had in place at the time allowed for cars to pass more easily than usual at a restrictor plate track. France Jr. had to have been absolutely beside himself with glee to see how well things were going, to see how his dream of a nationally recognized sport had become reality, to see the teams put on a spectacular race, only to have it dissolve into sorrow as his good friend, and another who helped shape NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt, was killed on the last lap of the race. Like it or not, it was Dale’s death that brought even more new interest to the sport, but if not for France Jr.’s hard work over the previous 29 years, no one outside of the sport would have heard much about it.
Bill France Jr. took a tiny seed, an egg, and nurtured and grew it into what we now see when we tune in on Sunday and when we watch the amazing coverage we see on Speed Channel. In no other sport do fans have as much programming available to them as do NASCAR fans and in no other sport do fans have such ready access to the competitors as do NASCAR fans. One man’s vision was responsible for all of that.
I never met the man, but if I had, I would have shaken his hand and thanked him - his strong vision and hard work built the sport I call my passion.
NOTE: This is an article I posted after Benny's death in January, but it was posted on a site that doesn't get much traffic, so I thought I'd share it here as well.
Folks, the NASCAR community lost one of the great ones on Tuesday, January 16, 2007.
Benny Parsons was a very accomplished driver, with 21 wins and a championship (1973) in his Cup career, which began in 1970 and ended following the 1988 season. He was also a two-time ARCA champion, a Daytona 500 champion, an inductee to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the National Motorsports Press Association’s Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame, an Emmy winner and he is on the list of the top 50 NASCAR drivers.
Regrettably, I never saw him race. In the years that his career spanned, I was a skeptic, wondering just how the hell my Dad could sit and watch (or listen to) a bunch of guys going around in circles. What was the point in that? At the time, it seemed silly to me.
My Dad died of complications from cancer in 1991 and never knew me as the race fan I would become, but I suspect he found out just the same and that he’s pretty damn proud.
I finally began developing an interest in the sport in 1998 and became hooked after a trip to Talladega. But, NASCAR can be confusing for someone new to watching and the learning curve is huge. Luckily, I had the Professor to teach me.
The ESPN broadcasting booth of Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny was outstanding in any order you place them, but Benny was the guy I loved to listen to.
Long before FOX and NBC/TNT came along with their digitized visuals, Benny was illustrating terms such as “loose”, “tight” and “drafting” with no tools but his voice and his knowledge of the sport to draw the images. He did a stellar job.
Benny could describe any scenario in such clear, down to earth English that his point was easily understood, and his broadcasting style was one easily accepted by long time fans, as well as “newbies” like me. When he explained things, he never made it sound like he was “talking down” to people who didn’t know the sport and that’s because he wasn’t - he was simply sharing his enthusiasm with anyone he could.
For all of his patient teaching and brilliant commentating, the thing that endeared him to so many of us was that he WAS us - he WAS me - a race fan. Granted, he was a race fan with a really cool job, but a race fan nonetheless.
His enthusiasm and love of the sport just bubbled out of him any time you saw or heard him on the air and it was a joy to bear witness to it.
“Man, oh, man!”, he’d exclaim after a close call or a daring move on the track. Or, “How did he do that? I don’t understand how he did that!” “He’s on the apron, Ned! He’s on the apron!”
His excitement was evident in every word and it was infectious. He came across, to me, as a race fan who got invited up to the booth to call a few laps. He spoke like most of us speak, no need for big words that leave folks reaching for a dictionary or thesaurus.
He knew (or maybe just sensed) how to take himself out of the broadcast booth and literally come sit in our living rooms. He was on a national broadcast network doing commentary, but he might just as well have been sitting next to us on the couch, smiling and saying, “Isn’t this a great sport?”
Some of his contemporaries on other networks are quick to point out their own success, but Benny wasn’t. When he did mention his success, he almost sounded embarrassed to talk about it.
Bottom line, I always felt that what I was seeing and hearing was genuinely Benny Parsons. No airs, no false fronts, just the real person, and reading all the articles written about him by people who knew him, I was dead on accurate with that belief. The guy on TV was the same guy you might bump into at the grocery store or gas station.
I never met him, but he was a friend just the same. I prayed for him from the moment I heard he was diagnosed with cancer until the day I heard that his suffering had ended, and now I pray for his family and friends as they are going through a difficult time to which I can very easily relate, as I suppose most of us can.
I unabashedly admit that I shed a couple tears when I heard that he’d passed, but that’s to be expected when you lose a friend and teacher. I’ll continue watching racing for as long as I live, but I’ll miss BP in the booth just as much as I miss the black #3 on the track. There are certain icons you miss no matter how long they’re gone.
And I hope that somehow, in the great expanse of Heaven, my Dad and Benny happen to cross paths so my Dad can tell Benny how his words helped turn me into a fan of my Dad’s favorite sport, even if it is just a bunch of guys going around in circles.
Thank you, Benny, and rest in peace. You will be sorely missed.
Heading to your first NASCAR race? Here’s how to fit in like you’ve been attending races for years.
Tailgating:
Wear a t-shirt depicting your favorite driver and a pair of jeans with no belt. This way, anytime you bend over, you’ll present a nice vertical smile to those behind you.
If it’s a day race, try to get to the track and start drinking beer at around 8:00 in the morning. If it’s a night race, wait until 8:15.
Laugh yourself silly when your buddy, the grill master, singes off his eyebrows after using too much starter fluid.
Hit the souvenir trailers and spend $200 on $50 worth of stuff.
Have a friend snap a pic of you standing next to your favorite driver’s souvenir trailer.
Socialize with the fans tailgating near you, they might give you free beer.
#### the stereo up! Freebird MUST be played at least once every fifteen minutes.
Never mind the portable bathrooms, pee next to the car with the door open for “privacy”.
If it’s a jacked up truck you’re peeing next to, and you’re not a tall guy, the open door trick isn’t going to help much.
Do NOT sit in your car while those around you are tailgating.
Once inside the track:
For the love of everything holy, guys should NOT wear a fanny pack into the track. (Or anywhere else, for that matter.)
Do NOT wait until your bladder is completely full before heading to the bathrooms – this will become very uncomfortable and potentially very embarrassing while waiting in line to get in there.
You will be peeing into a trough; I hope you don’t have privacy issues.
STAND UP for all restarts and really, stand during the whole race. It’s okay to sit down if the caution flag is waving or you’re getting another beer from the cooler.
If your seats are close to the track, hang on to your hat while the cars pass by or it will blow off your head and hit a fat guy ten rows back.
The fat guy will be ticked if the hat lands in his nachos.
Mid-race, with a good beer buzz going:
It’s hot out – take off your shirt so everyone around you can see how much back hair you have. (Bonus points if you’ve had your favorite driver’s number shaved into your back hair.)
The hot girl in the bikini top and cutoffs does NOT find you attractive, and no amount of yelling, “HEY, BABY!”, or offering her strands of beads is going to change that.
It’s okay to strike up a little friendly banter with the guy sitting next to you, and it’s fine to give him a hard time about his favorite driver (this is a tradition among race fans, after all), but don’t try to drink some of his beer just because your supply is running low.
Time to hit the trough? Three words: NO EYE CONTACT!
When heading back to your seat, watch your step.*
*After disregarding the previous sentence, apologize profusely to the guy you landed on.
Back at your seat, ask your buddy who is leading. He won’t be able to answer, he’ll be too busy offering the hot girl in the bikini top and cutoffs some beads.
You’ll notice that the ice in your cooler has melted and your beer is getting warm. Chug the rest of the beer so it doesn’t go to waste.
Continue watching the race, whooping and yelling when the rest of the crowd does so, even though your eyes are now crossed and all you can make out on the track is a huge blur of color.
Post race, very drunk:
Continue cheering until you notice that all the seats around you have been vacated. Yes, the race is over and you’ve been rooting for the traffic pulling out of the infield.
On the way back to the car, you’re drunk and leaning to the right. Your buddy is drunk and leaning to the left. Lean against one another and you’ll be able to stay upright.
Back in the parking lot, it’s time for some more tailgating with your group.
Drink more beer, eat some brats, listen to Freebird over and over again. Hoot at the women flashing everyone, never noticing that they all weigh two hundred pounds.
Have fun, just relaxing and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the track - there’s nothing like them and you’ll never forget them.
Take pics with the people tailgating next to you, exchange phone numbers which you’ll lose and tell them they’re the greatest group of people you’ve ever met. You’ll honestly mean that, drunk or not.
Time to leave:
As everyone begins to climb into their cars to head to wherever they’re staying, say goodbye to the people who’ve been tailgating next to you all day and promise them you’ll be in touch
No, no, no. Let the sober guy in your group drive. Yes, we know you’re “totally fine” to drive, but this guy stayed sober all day long just to drive for your group, so give him his glory.
On the way out of the track, just before your eyes close and you fall asleep ask, “Hey guys? Who won?”
The rest of the group will laugh at your question but no one will answer, because none of them know who won, either.
Well, one guy – the sober guy – knows who won, but he’ll lie when he answers you.
How do I know he’ll do that? I AM the sober guy.
One of the races I’ve attended was the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in October, 2000; I went with a group of Dale Earnhardt fans and Dale won the race in spectacular fashion. (It was also Dale’s last win ever.)
For two days, all the diehard Earnhardt fans in my group thought Jeff Gordon had won that race and some still haven’t forgiven me for it.
During a NASCAR broadcast, you’ll hear the announcers use a variety of terms to explain things that are taking place during the race, but the problem, at least for the casual viewer, is that they don’t always explain exactly what those terms mean. Being the helpful person I am, however, I’m going to take a little time out of my otherwise not so busy schedule to help you better understand a few things, and I think we’ll all be better people for it. (Actually, that’s a big fat lie, but it sounded better than saying I was just going to throw a few things against the wall to see if they stick.)
At any rate, here are some of the commonly used terms, and their often incorrectly used meanings:
ADJUSTING WEDGE has NOTHING to do with any activity which involves first getting a firm grip on the waist band of your buddy’s underwear.
TAKING A POUND OUT OF THE RIGHT OR LEFT REAR does NOT involve liposuction.
SPRING RUBBERS are NOT a new seasonal condom from Trojan.
The TRACK BAR is NOT a place to hit on girls.
And on a related note…….
The REAR SWAY BAR is NOT a strip joint located near the track.
LOOSE LUGNUT is NOT a way of describing your drunken uncle at the last family reunion.
Increasing STAGGER does NOT involve downing another beer.
DIRTY AIR is NOT a way of describing your buddy’s beer farts.
And…
The REAR SPOILER is NOT the output area of the aforementioned beer farts.
And…
SKID MARKS are NOT what your buddy will find in his underwear after cutting all those beer farts.
THE WIND TUNNEL is NOT a description of your mother-in-law.
HAPPY HOUR is NOT a great time to head to the TRACK BAR to hit on girls.
Making a SPLASH AND GO STOP does NOT mean the driver had to wizz really badly.
A SPOTTER has NOTHING to do with dribbling pee down the front of your pants.
And last, but certainly not least…
ROOF FLAPS - Just in case you were wondering what they are, remember the immortal words of Larry McReynolds during a race broadcast, “See them flaps on the roof? Them are roof flaps”.
We see tons of NASCAR articles everyday, but there are some headlines we’ll never see written, which may be for the better or for the worse.
Edwards: Stewart Too Polite “Tony Stewart is a great driver and a great guy,”, said Carl Edwards, “but he’s never going to be successful until he learns to stop being so darn nice on the track all the time.”
France: We Value Our Fans’ Opinions In a major announcement, NASCAR CEO Brian France announced today that NASCAR will begin soliciting opinions from fans when considering making changes to the sport.
Johnson: Totally My Fault Following the wreck, which took out six other cars, Jimmie Johnson said, “That was totally my fault and I apologize to everyone I wrecked.”
Mark Martin: I Was Only Kidding About That Retirement Thing
Jack Roush: NASCAR Has Always Treated Me Fairly “They (NASCAR) have always treated me fairly and with the utmost respect,” Roush said. “I have nothing to complain about.”
Yates To Field Chevy’s In 2008
New Book: “A Guide To Using Proper English”, by Larry McReynolds
Kurt Busch Voted Most Popular Driver
Kyle Busch Voted Most Popular Driver
Dale Jr: My Life As A Mormon
Ryan Newman Gets Neck Extension
Fans In The South Welcome Toyota With Open Arms
Fearing Overexposure, NASCAR Scales Back TV Coverage
Knaus: We Can’t Win If I Don’t Cheat
Talladega Infield Rated Calmest In NASCAR
Mike Helton: Appealing To The Masses Matters More Than Competition
Citing Fan Boredom, Bristol Converted To Road Course
New Hampshire Closed; Races Moved to Rockingham and North Wilkesboro
Pocono Closed; Races Moved To Darlington and Kentucky
Bill France, Jr: I REPEAT; My Son Brian Is An ####
