April 5, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

"This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."- William Shakespeare.

In the past few years, several NASCAR drivers have attempted to make over their public personas. Kurt Bush and Tony Stewart leap to mind, but last week, even the normally imperturbable Jeff Gordon shoved fellow Cup driver Matt Kenseth on pit road, stating afterwards, "I feel like it takes a lot to make me mad, but I still get mad - lately I haven't been afraid to show it."

Gordon has always been seen as the consummate corporate spokesperson - handsome, articulate, polished. But after 14 years, 73 wins, and 4 Cup titles, Gordon has earned the right to show other dimensions of his personality. "For years, I was just so concerned with, okay, what was this person going to think and what was that person going to think," he said after the incident with Kenseth at Bristol. "I was more caught up in that than I was in being true to myself. What you see today is a more truer Jeff Gordon and who I really am. I'm not a robot."

Jeff Gordon may never be categorized as one of NASCAR's true bad boys (and he does not want to be), but Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are two drivers who have been. While Busch has battled a reputation of annoying arrogance, Stewart is often viewed as angry and irascible. And both drivers, whether compelled by sponsors, team owners, or simply the relentless drumbeat of 21st-century political correctness, have engaged in an ongoing effort to make over their personalities in the public arena.

Stewart himself admitted as much last season on a TV call-in show when a fan lamented the emergence of the new, laid back Tony Stewart, calling him the "NASCAR vanilla bean" and pleading with him to bring back the brash attitude that his fans embraced.

"I'll make you a deal," Stewart replied. "You get Corporate America and NASCAR to follow the lead with that, and you can have me back."

Image makeovers were ratcheted up another notch this year, when Kurt Busch underwent plastic surgery during the off season to have his ears pinned back. Reports differ on whether the change was prompted by anyone other than Busch himself, but the procedure has not stopped him from being the butt of ear jokes - including this recent jab from Kevin Harvick after an on-track altercation with Busch: "It's hard not to pick on a guy when his ears are pinned back."

All of which begs the question: Are public attempts at image makeovers a good idea for NASCAR drivers or do they eventually backfire?

On the whole, NASCAR fans would rather deal with an abrasive but candid Kurt Busch than an Eddie Haskell sound-alike - the archetypal two-faced teenager from "Leave it to Beaver," who was ultra polite around authority figures and a real jerk to everyone else. They would rather watch an old-fashioned Tony Stewart meltdown every now and again, than to abide an obviously watered down version of Smoke.

This is not a criticism of the drivers themselves, who in most cases are simply following the orders of those who sign their paychecks or bankroll their rides. It is directed at those who would ask competitors in one of the world's most dangerous sports to pretend to be something they're not. In many cases, the very emotions that the drivers are being asked to stifle are the ones that help them win.

Save the political correctness for corporate boardrooms, and the plastic surgery for pricey country clubs.

Fans want to see real men with real emotions.

After all, this is NASCAR.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.