December 14, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

The single biggest reward of being a NASCAR writer is the feedback I receive from readers.

It doesn't matter whether the comments are positive or negative, supportive or critical. It's just reassuring to know that people read my work and care enough to respond.

Typically, readers who agree with a particular column send a short (though still very much appreciated) comment like, "You go girl!" or "Bravo!"

The negative feedback tends to be a little more, um, colorful, involving insults and suggestions which can't be shared in polite company.

But every now and then I've been lucky enough to pen a column which seems to transcend the ordinary and resonate with readers on a deeper level.

Such was the case in 2005, for example, when I wrote a piece for Insider Racing News entitled, "Our National Anthem Deserves Better," in which I criticized the unseemly way the anthem is often performed during pre-race ceremonies.

That article prompted a tremendous outpouring of impassioned email messages from military veterans, policemen, and regular NASCAR fans who shared my sentiments.

It's not that my opinion was all that new or earth-shattering.

I simply put into writing what so many of you already felt.

Apparently this was the case again last week when I shared my thoughts about the Cup Series awards banquet, and how its shortcomings were symptomatic of the greater concerns with the state of NASCAR in general.

That column, entitled, "NASCAR's Humdrum Award's Ceremony Symptom of Bigger Illness," also hit a nerve with many of you, based on the heartfelt emails you sent me in response.

So this week I am turning my column over to you the readers and sharing a sampling of those emails with a larger audience than just myself. While I will not be commenting on the individual messages, I am sure you will notice certain themes (and names) which they have in common. Clearly there is a lot of unrest out there, particularly among the sport's long-time fans.


>>  Email #1:   O My God girl!!!! Where did you get the "balls" to write the truth about "Baby Brian France" and HIS traveling circus!! It was and is the best piece I have read on the subject of NASCAR in a long time. Keep up the great work and keep writing the truth as we all see it and maybe the handlers of "Baby Brian" will get the message before he and his "advisors" ruin a good thing that his grandfather started. -- B.M.

>>  Email #2:   Great article on the Nextel Cup Series Award Ceremony. Tracks no longer selling out and TV ratings down? Most would say, "What have we done wrong?" Not Brian and the gang. They look at is as, "What more can we change?"

Hey, just because his name is France doesn't make him what his grandfather was. I really think that he is using NASCAR as a stepping stone to other things. Hasn't he mentioned wanting to own a football or baseball team?

As for the awards ceremony, they need to stop trying to make that silk purse! We don't want to see fancy clothes, listen to bad comedy, or hear lousy music. And why is going to NYC such a big deal? They don't care if the racers are there. They don't even want a track! Next year have it in the garage area at Daytona. They can just be sitting around on tires or tool boxes, talking about the season, and picking up their checks. And if we're lucky a good old fight would breakout!" -- D.H.

>>  Email #3:   "Homogenized" is the perfect term to describe what NASCAR has become. It is the reason that I barely watched the Chase, after being the guy who wouldn't dream of missing a lap a few years ago.

It's boring. Jimmie Johnson is boring and so is the racing. Please email your column to Helton and baby France. They have taken a great thing and turned it into a plastic, sterile, boring, and uneventful sport that is losing fans by the thousands. They have turned the drivers into corporate, politically correct robots. I am glad I am not the only one who sees it and is disgusted by it. -- N.H.

>>  Email #4:   I have been a NASCAR fan since the 60's. I still think it is the best racing around. However, I do agree with the discussion that their lack of direction is disturbing.

They haven't learned that the new fans of today are "fickle". They love to be a part of "what is currently in", but when something else hot comes along, they change. Unlike us old fans, the new ones have no loyalty … The banquet was a good example of catering to the TV gods.

Jay Mohr was completely irrelevant and only served to interrupt the flow of the ceremony. Luckily I recorded the ceremony and could fast-forward past both Mohr and Jewel. Also, in an attempt to "be the same" as the other awards shows, the format, length, and speech length were all predetermined ... Keep up the good work. I seem to agree with almost all of your comments. -- B.H.

>>  Email #5:   You've really hit the nail on the head - too homogenized, too bland, all about the cars, not about the drivers ... and it won't stop until either Brian France vacates the position or the sport disintegrates. Unfortunately, I would be on the latter if I were a betting person.

As far as the awards show itself goes, Jay Mohr stunk, and I don't even know what Jewel was singing - only that it seemed to take 20 minutes ... the only reason my wife and I watched it was a "final fix", if you will. But at least it didn't last as long as it used to. -- (No name provided)

>>  Email #6:   A good article that sums (up) the way I feel about the NASCAR awards ceremony. I don't so much mind them all getting decked out in their finery and spending a week in NYC, but somebody please shred Jay Mohr's invitation next year. I'm not sure who has the pull to keep him on but it was painful to watch - he kept making inane remarks that he was obviously the only one who thought was humor. Every time they panned to the audience there was just a bunch of blank faces - probably wondering when the funny parts were going to come (they never did in my opinion).

I also didn't get the reason behind having Jewel on, other than a bit of eye candy but really not necessary. I started going to races with my Dad when I was about 12 and though I hate to have to admit it that was over 40 years ago. I keep trying but find myself losing interest ... It's time to take the politics and political correctness out of racing and get back to the basics. -- (No name provided).

>>  Email #7:   NASCAR doesn't get it -- they don't even have a clue as to what their fan base is now … The current crop of new fans seem to only attend races that they can get comp tickets from their employers ... Other than at the race track, when was the last time you heard any conversation in public about NASCAR? Remember when it was the water cooler buzz? -- M.R.

>>  Email #8:   Problem with NASCAR? There's no perceived risk anymore … You can say all you want about the Brian France campaign to hack off the race base, but the allure of racing boils down to drivers doing what we all wish we could do at the stop light when somebody pulls up beside us in a hot rod.

Risking our necks to blow the joker next to you off the road. NASCAR fed that car-nut need in us for many years, drivers with nerves of steel like Pearson, Yarborough and Petty drove at breakneck speeds, knowing that even a flat tire could in all likelihood end their career or their lives. Petty would be 4 laps ahead of everyone else and it was still a spectacle.

You know what I mean? Now these spoiled brats jump out and throw their helmets, swear, extend their middle fingers and then hop into the ambulance and then go looking for a camera to cry into. They're more likely to be injured in the golf cart that takes them to their RV.

There's no more suspense, no dangers, no risk. Too expensive to spend that kind of dough to see that. That's the drop in ratings. NASCAR fans don't watch racing to see drivers crash, they watch to see the best win and avoid the danger. I used to take my family to Charlotte religiously every year for the 600. The last time, I was musically assaulted by some rock band who was so loud I couldn't even make out the music.

For a little more than that travel package costs I can take my gang to Disney … I do have to thank NASCAR for helping me return to my dirt track, late model roots. At least they're still racing. -- B.


Agree or disagree? Let me know!

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.