Fan Interaction Good for the Sport

Let me follow up on my first post in which I stated that Davey Allison was and still is my favorite NASCAR driver. My first NASCAR race that I ever attended was at Pocono Raceway back in 1992. I was 10 years old at the time and had no other knowledge of NASCAR other than I watched it on tv sometimes and played with 1:64 scale diecasts. My aunt and uncle were the first to introduce me to a race weekend vacation and I have been hooked ever since. As a 10 year old what locked me in for life? Was it getting a drivers autograph...or getting to shake hands and talk to a driver? Was it the cars and all the bright pagentry that surrounded a race weekend? Was it the sound of loud stock cars and the smell of burning fuel and rubber that got me hooked? The answer to all of those would be NO. What hooked me and caused my favorite driver to be Davey Allison was a simple wave from a man in a Texaco Havoline uniform as he passed by the stands in the fan viewing area just outside the garage. A simple wave you ask? Yes that was all it took...for this guy to take time to wave to what I of course thought at the time was me...I mean cmon a driver just waved to me? It was that interaction with myself as a young boy, all be it a very small interaction, that led me to follow Davey Allison from that day forward. What does this story show? It shows that one persons interaction with a driver being himself brings fans to the sport. Since that Pocono race I have rarely missed any events at either Pocono or Dover. Watching every other weekend on televison and counting down the weeks and days to the start of the Daytona 500 every year. In today's world there is much more opportunity for drivers to interact with fans. Whether it is through social media...facebook, twitter, myspace..or through driver websites and fan clubs.....personal appearances at your local grocery store or best buy. These are the opportunities for the sport to grow and gain new fans. Muzzling drivers because they speak openly about the sport or a situation they are opinionated about does no good for the sport. Why do I like drivers like Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kevin AND Delana Harvick(can't forget who wears the firesuit!)?? They are out there in the social media to interact with fans and share there opinions. This interaction can do nothing but good things for the sport. If a driver says something negative about a situation or NASCAR do they really think we can't have our own opinions? Chances are probably 9 times out of 10 that some of us have had the same thought before a driver even states it. On one hand NASCAR says have at it boys and be vocal about your feelings....but not unless its a feeling about NASCAR? In my opinion thats not a good road to travel down for NASCAR. One fans opinion...Remember NASCAR without "us" there is no NASCAR.

Penalties announced...WTF? NASCAR??

Well here we are days after the incident in Gateway and more confused than ever about this situation. Not everyone has agreed but a good majority thought that Carl Edwards should face some kind of penalty or probation for his actions. Announced today were those penalties and probations...Carl Edwards 60 points (owner and driver), $25,000 and on probation until the end of the year. As was stated by Robin Pemberton this point penalty basically makes up the points that Brad Keselowski lost from the accident. Here comes the interesting part.....wait for it......Brad Keselowski is placed on probation for the rest of the year as well!?! All I have to say is why NASCAR why?? This guy gets taken out at the end of the race as well as many other cars and he gets put on probation? The contact that BK had with Carl was not unlike many other bump and runs we have seen all season long....so do you now from this point forward penalize every little bump and run? The hot topic all week has been the "Boys have at it" policy....that statement would seem to me to include BK's bump and run...but certainly not the "hit" that Edwards put on Keselowski and then later admitting he did it on purpose. NASCAR in my mind has put itself in a very sticky situation on this one....telling drivers to have at it and race hard, yet penalize something so meager as a bump and run tactic with a probation period. What happened to the NASCAR of old? Then people begin to wonder why the tv ratings are falling and there are less and less folks in the grandstands. Is there any question why after this charade? One fans opinion...Remember NASCAR without "us" there is no NASCAR.

Edwards vs. BK

After watching NASCAR racing for years since I was a kid I have finally decided to start my own blog. Thanks go out to TheDalyPlanet for inspiring me to do this. This latest incident between Carl and Brad Keselowski (BK) has sparked me to finally write how I feel about the current state of the sport. Whether anyone choses to or cares how I feel is yet to be determined but at least it's out there! I have watched NASCAR since I was a 6 yr old boy...now 27 years old. This whole season has bothered me as it seems NASCAR is encouraging these kind of racing accidents to boost ratings and gain popularity. Enough is enough...when i started watching as a young boy it wasn't to see accidents like this where drivers lives were put at risk. It was to watch great close side by side racing....door to door with some of the greats. Davey Allison was my favorite driver growing up and still to this day is my favorite as I have found no other driver that has the same skill, personality, and gentlemanly attitude that he brought to the track. What BK did to Edwards on the last lap was perfectly acceptable in my book. The heavy retaliation by Edwards was certainly not. Luckily in the end BK is ok and will continue to race another day, but this has been two accidents now that have endangered the life of BK as well as other drivers on the track. When Carl Edwards first came onto the NASCAR scene I started to follow him and consider him one of the good guys. This season so far has shown I believe the true colors of Edwards to come through. Shoving BK out of the way a few times and coming out and admitting it will not make you the next Dale Earnhardt Mr. Edwards! Remember that payback is just around the corner! I'm sure there are others as well looking for your bumper at the next race! Hopefully this does not sound like a rant for my first post, but I felt that this needed to be out there. I want to see the sport expand and grow just like everyone else....but not at the expense of other drivers lives and damaged race cars.