He said, she said: the NASCAR of old

August 2, 2:15 PMDale Earnhardt Jr. ExaminerLindsey Marks

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A true NASCAR fan (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

http://www.thatsracin.com/113/story/14630.html

Earnhardt lived up to tough reputation By Tom Higgins, ThatsRacin.com

He Said: Mr. Higgins begins by describing two of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s most horrific wrecks: the first being the 1997 Daytona 500 when he flipped down the backstretch and the second when he flipped at Talladega in 1996. Mr. Higgins goes on to describe Sr.’s wreck at Pocono in 1982 when he shattered his knee. An injury he hid from the public in order to be able to race the rest of the season. Mr. Higgins ended his article saying, “His memory and the legend of his toughness will live on as long as automobiles are run in races.”

She Said: While searching for an article to use in this story I was expecting another article slamming Dale Jr. for something, or another writer trying to ‘diagnose’ the reason for Junior’s troubles. I was pleasantly surprised to find this exceptional article. Needless to say it was a breath of fresh air, but it did remind me of what I miss about the NASCAR of old.

Ever since the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 I have felt that the entire sport of NASCAR has changed. Growing up, I felt like Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a superhero. Off the track, he was proof that anyone can make their dreams come true if they work hard enough. He was the voice of the sport and people listened to his opinions and truly took them into consideration. He was a role model. On the track, he proved he was a superhero by pushing his “stock car” to the limit. He intimidated the other drivers and showed everyone who was boss. When he died that magical feeling of the sport died with him.

Now here we are eight years later… and oh how things have changed. NASCAR itself is battling serious financial woes, a drug scandal and empty grandstands. While struggling to keep fans in the stands, the sport has taken a strange turn and the new generation of fans has altered NASCAR in a way that disappoints me.

Gone are the Earnhardt days of ‘rubbin is racin’, NASCAR will penalize you for aggressive driving. Gone are the Earnhardt days of winning streaks, fans don’t want domination these days, it’s ‘boring’. Long gone are the days of NASCAR the sport, now it is NASCAR the business with sponsor-filled Victory Lane speeches, start-and-park drivers running five laps and making fifty grand and team mergers happening so quickly no one can even keep up. Gone are the days of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and with him went a lot of the great things that made our sport special.

The fans of old looked at NASCAR as an enjoyable pastime. A weekly family ritual with everyone gathered around the television (or the radio) cheering for their favorite driver but still respecting all of the other heroes on the track. Now, fans look at NASCAR as an investment that is not paying off. They boo drivers who they used to love because he is not making it into Victory Lane as often as they would like. They complain about a lack of competition in the sport but then they complain just as loudly when someone gets rough and a car ends up in the catchfence potentially endangering the fans who should already understand the dangers of a sport like this. The worst throw beer cans and garbage onto the track after their not-so-favorite driver wins a race.

If Dale Earnhardt was here to see the state of the sport right now my guess is he would be truly disappointed. He poured his heart and soul into this sport and gave his life for it because it is what he truly loved. He instilled his love for racing into his children and now his own son is being crucified by the fans of this sport because he is not living up to their expectations.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. did not allow other people to set expectations for him. He made his own rules and he raced the way he wanted, to hell with those who tried to stop him. I hope that Dale Earnhardt Jr. can realize that he does not owe anyone anything. As long as he is going out there every weekend and doing what he loves to do then that is what matters. His daddy lived his life that way and he should to. The fans who understand that will stand behind him and cheer for him because they understand what this sport truly is.

Thank you Mr. Higgins for writing your article and for reminding me what NASCAR used to be when the Intimidator was around to raise hell if it started going sour. He truly is a Legend and unfortunately this sport will never be the same.
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