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.