August 29, 2008
By Guest Columnist Cathy Elliott
If someone had looked you in the eye five years, three years or even one year ago and said the most intense rivalry in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in 2008 would be between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, would you have believed them? Tell the truth.
Something that's really fun to experiment with a process called "suspending your disbelief". It has been one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets for decades, but the news has recently leaked out that suspension of disbelief is in fact an official part of the business plans of major studio production companies.
They've gotten quite good at it. Millions of consumers have doggedly accepted that Matt Damon's Jason Bourne character has the power to take an automatic assault weapon apart and then reassemble it in 36 seconds, but can't manage to remember his own name. Also, it is common knowledge that MacGyver can break out of Alcatraz using nothing but tube socks and a stick of Juicy Fruit, and that in the Beverly Hills 90210 zip code, you can still be considered a teenager in your mid-30s.
So, if we actually do believe that aliens landed their spacecraft in Roswell, N.M., and we've kept some of their bug-eyed remains stashed in cold storage for the last 60 years or so, can we truly express straight-faced surprise at the identities of the current feuding factions in stock car racing? Is it really that much of a stretch?
The great visionary NASCAR poet Bob Dylan saw this day a-coming. He even wrote a prophetic song about the future of NASCAR back in 1963, describing the dramatic impact it would eventually have on the professional sports world. Perhaps you’ve heard it.
The slow one now will later be fast/As the present now will later be past/The order is rapidly fadin'/And the first one now will later be last/For the times they are a-changin'.
Ah, the good old days. Tales of the 2003 cup series – only five years ago – read like a history lesson. There was no Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup competition that year; it didn't exist yet. Popular drivers and former champions Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte both finished in the top 10 in the series standings. Both are semi-retired now.
In 2003, Matt Kenseth was the champion. Young racers Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were becoming well known in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but neither had ever competed at NASCAR’s premier level. Busch celebrated his 18th birthday in 2003, while Edwards' cake blazed with 24 candles.
Fast forward to 2005. Terry Labonte was ranked 40th in the driver standings. Bill Elliott did not compete in 2005 and was not on the list.
A lot can happen in two years. A motivated student can earn an associates degree in business administration. And a motivated racer can realize his potential for becoming big business, rather than administering it.
Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards both completed their first full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons in 2005. Busch finished the season a respectable 20th in driver standings while also celebrating his 20th birthday. He won two races and earned Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. Carl Edwards proved to be an early bloomer, winning four races, making the Chase field and finishing the year third in driver standings.
There was a subtle but definite feeling that the NASCAR tide was turning. Tony Stewart won his second series title in 2005, but other familiar faces were noticeably missing. Most conspicuous was the absence of Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the year-end awards ceremony in New York City. Neither driver cracked the top 10.
Come writers and critics, who prophesy with your pen/And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again/And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin/And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'/For the loser now will be later to win/Yes, the times they are a-changin'.
Two years later, at the end of the 2007 season, things seemed to be back to normal, if anything in NASCAR can be considered normal.
Gordon once again made a gracious speech at the Waldorf as he accepted his second-place trophy. Jimmie Johnson was the Sprint Cup Series champion, for the second consecutive year. Earnhardt was still AWOL from the top 12, but the announcement that he was moving to a new team in 2008 had fans excited about his future prospects.
Kyle Busch finished the season fifth in driver standings. Carl Edwards was ninth.
Still, there was a nagging feeling that things were in a state of flux. Flamboyant post-victory habits – Kyle Busch's bow, Carl Edwards' back flips – were replacing classic victory laps and making burnouts seem sedate. While Edwards had always seemed to go out of his way to maintain a "good guy" image, Busch couldn't seem to find a black hat big or menacing enough to satisfy him.
But there were a few more Kyle Busch T-shirts turning up in the grandstands, a little less vitriol when he was introduced to the crowd before the start of a race. Affable Edwards had always been popular, but Busch's fan base was starting to grow. Folks like to back a winner.
He that gets hurt will be he who has stalled/There's a battle outside and it's ragin'/It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls/For the times they are a-changin'
Now, in 2008, change has decided to stop dropping hints, and to drop kick us instead. The full-blown battle between Busch and Edwards, 1-2 in the series standings, has been exactly the kick in the keester fans have needed to get our competitive batteries rejuvenated.
These two may not be the drivers some of us would have chosen, but so what? If we hold on to the familiarity of the past too tightly, we run the risk of turning into that guy who proudly claims he "hasn't watched a race since Cale Yarborough retired." That's just sad. Think of all he's missed.
Any sailor worth his salt will tell you that it is impossible to change the direction of the wind. The best we can do is to adjust the canvas and steer a course toward wherever that wind might take us. Better grab a personal flotation device while you're at it. This year’s Chase promises to be an eventful sail.
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.
