December 21, 2001

I was just wonderin’ the other day, after I’d seen some numbers about Earnhardt’s margin of victory for the Most Popular Driver, if he wouldn’t have won even without Bill Elliott’s gentlemanly withdrawal from the contest.

Surely I’ll get the standard fare of hate mail and denial from the Elliott fans, but let’s be honest here, we all know about the “stuffing” that they don’t want to admit. We know, for example, that they hand out stickers and flyers advertising “Vote for Bill” slogans. We know that they even take out ads in the Dawsonville newspaper soliciting votes. Okay, so what. They claim it’s just their loyalty, and any other fan club is allowed to do the same if they choose. True enough, and I don’t take issue with that.

However, I do question whether or not Bill’s withdrawal and subsequent endorsement of Dale Earnhardt would draw the same dedication and volume of votes as in past years. Would Elliott fans who, in years past, paid for twenty five 79-cent phone calls have the same devotion in voting for Dale Earnhardt? Not likely. They might vote once or twice out of allegiance to their favorite driver’s wishes, but it’s not likely that they would stuff with the same enthusiasm as if their own driver were going to, once again, be the recipient of the honor.

With this wonderin’ in mind, I did a tiny bit of research, and what I found was exactly what I’d expected. The numbers speak the truth, and here is what they say. Last year, Bill Elliott earned an estimated 108,700 votes. Given that his fan club has roughly 20,000 members, that’s just a little more than five votes each. Let’s say they DID vote as much for Dale as they did last year for Bill. That would give nearly 109,000 votes to Earnhardt. Interestingly enough, this year Dale Earnhardt won with just under 221,000 votes, more than double what Elliott fans voted last year, and likely much, much more than they contributed this year.

So what? Why bring this up now? Why go out of my way to bring light to the fact that Earnhrdt would have won even without Elliott’s withdrawal? Perhaps it’s because of the ugliness experienced from Elliott fans; the email I’ve received emphatic that the NMPA should put an asterisk after Dale’s win for Most Popular, “..only because Bill withdrew his name.” Nobody has been so bold as to use the word “resentful”, but it seems to be there between the lines of so many letters. One of my favorite letters reads, “Speaking of Bill, you and the rest of Earnhardt’s fans should be kissing Bill's butt for taking his name off the Most Popular Driver ballott. Dale didn’t stand a chance with him on there.”

Certainly I’m not saying that ALL Elliott fans behave this way, but I have to wonder why someone like Bill Elliott draws these kinds of fans, and why they seem to be the most vocal of the group. Fans wrote how offended they were at Teresa’s acceptance speech on behalf of her deceased husband, stating, “Teresa was attempting to insult Bill Elliott...it was a slap in the face.” I think that was the same fan that suggested the campaign to name Dale as the “Most Hated Driver”. Yes, really.

I’m not so crass as to even consider that Bill took his name out to save face, I know he did it with every intention of goodness and friendship. What I AM saying, though, is that if you’re an Elliott fan with a chip on your shoulder and feeling a bit righteous as if the award was simply gifted to Dale, get over it already. I wonder if Bill knows his fans write such things as, “If Bill Elliott had stayed in the contest, his fans would have kicked butt as usual, and we would have been spared Teresa's childish display of spite and envy.” Maybe that’s it right there. Maybe it’s all about the fans winning, and it has nothing at all to do with Bill. Sad, isn’t it?

Dale Earnhardt IS the most popular driver, and the numbers prove that point. Even if Bill hadn’t so graciously withdrawn his name, Dale still would have won -- no asterisk necessary. As Teresa said, “He worked for it, he paid for it, he was sure of it, he was proud of it, and he enjoyed it.”

You can contact Carol at.. Insider Racing News