Jul 24, 06:35 PM
Dale Jr. isn’t going to have Bud ON the car, either; and other strange NASCAR phenomena
Posted by Cheryl Walker under Racing ArticleIn the relatively short time that I have been writing NASCAR columns, the landscape of the world of NASCAR has changed in many different ways.
When I had just been bitten by the racing bug, Tony Stewart hadn’t yet won his first Cup race at Richmond, Dale Earnhardt was still a threat to a rear bumper, and Jerry Nadeau was switching from the No. 9 Cartoon Network Ford to the No. 36 M&M’s Pontiac. Rockingham was still on the schedule, no races were south of the border, and most tracks had concrete walls all the way around. Rusty Wallace, Jimmy Spencer, and D.W. were still doing their talking on the track, and Allen Bestwick was skillfully reigning in the zaniness of his three professional drivers on INC on Monday nights. I watched John Kernan five nights a week on RPM2nite not only to get all of my racing news dabbled with well-timed humor, but to check out the wild ties he liked to wear.
Following a triumphant victory, the winning driver jumped up on his roof and leaped up and down in pure joy. He was able to shower his teammates with sweet liquids quite thoroughly from that vantage point, and it made for terrific photographs.
Mike Helton was freshly installed as the President of NASCAR, and he took up more space than he does presently. Dr. Jerry Punch was a familiar face and voice during races. Shortly after I began watching every race, TNN began broadcasting them, and ‘NASCAR Thunder’ stores opened around the country. Dr. Punch has come back around again, but TNN and the ‘Thunder’ stores are all gone.
When I started watching the qualifying with as much interest as the races, it was quite simple to figure out the line up. Now there are guaranteed spots for some, and occasionally even if you get the pole position you can still end up not racing and going home.
Now I must deal with the concept of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a new car with a new sponsor. This particular driver has been so associated with the fire engine red color and No. 8 on his door, that a commercial was made a while back mocking the whole thing. I can still recall with clarity in the ad Jr. at the podium, grinning slyly, and saying, “… I’m going to stick with ‘8’”. In the dollar stores that I love to cruise through, even if you can’t find anything else NASCAR-related, you can usually still find a red No. 8 Pez candy dispenser, or a Budweiser No. 8 deck of cards. Now even those items will be historical mementos, not present-day memorabilia.
I have not even mentioned the COT, or all the debates about pre-race drug and alcohol screenings. Or hip-hop music, reinvented rock classics like ‘Born to be Wild’, and the presence of such characters as Ricky Rackman and Rutledge Wood on pre-race shows. It boggles the brain.
I am not complaining, I am just expressing that sometimes it is hard to keep up. All of this is in a world of racing, after all. I just need to learn to follow faster.
-
caw Says:
Jul 25, 08:41 AMWhy Frank it just happened. Mother Nature was why it didn’t work out though. Remember Boris Said at the Pepsi 400?
-
John Says:
Jul 25, 11:16 AMIsn’t it referred to as “the provisional pole” until qualifying is over? And since qualifying wasn’t completed…Boris did not, technically speaking, get the pole.
It did suck though, I like Boris and would like to see him win a nascar race.
-
caw Says:
Jul 25, 11:30 AMTrue, John.
I still stand by my position though that good cars have to go home now, and somehow that doesn’t make sense to me.
-
tony s Says:
Jul 25, 07:32 PMall money. you forgot to mention that foreign junk on the track.i know they are U.S. made, but look where the money goes.not right.
-
Gary Says:
Jul 29, 07:51 PMTell us tony, “Where does the money go?”
You obviously DON’T have a clue so I’ll tell you where it goes. It goes to MY neighbors here in AMERICA who make Toyota engines. It goes to hardworking AMERICANS who build those cars in Alabama and Kentucky and Ohio. Americans who pay taxes and whose son’s and daughters and fathers and husbands are fighting and dieing in the middle east.
THAT’s where the money is going. I just don’t see why you would have a problem with that.Or is it the stock market you have a problem with.Maybe you are indicating that you don’t like capitalism and the tens of thousands of Americans who own stock in Toyota and Honda and reap the rewards of profits from those companies.
The only other thing I can think of is that someone in your family is one of those millionare CEO’s who throw half million dollar “sweet 16” parties for their spoiled little girls and if they didn’t sell enough cars this year they couldn’t get their toilette plated in gold.
You’d HAVE to be related to one of these CEO’s to really give a hoot about which one of THEM profited of your purchase!
-
Pat Payne Says:
Jul 30, 02:35 PMHi i have to agree with alot of you .Im a Jr. fan and i think that if your a true fan you will stay with Dale Jr. no matter what he drives but i was really hoping to see the red # 8 on the track.but im staying by him 100%.and to the person that likes Tony #20 i like him too and i think every driver if they are gonna get fined need to get fined alike . Pat Payne
Commercial breakdown, driver focus, and links related to the USG Sheetrock 400 Commercial breakdown, driver focus, and links related to the Allstate 400 race
Jul 25, 08:37 AM
You stated “even if you get the pole position you can still end up not racing and going home.” Please explain the scenario under which this can happen. If you win the pole you are obviously the fastest of the go or go home cars. Your time may be disallowed, of course this also means you didn’t win the pole.