Race Week

NASCAR devotion

To some, the scene might have been touching.
For a true NASCAR fan, it was simply a sign of devotion or even a rite of passage.
For well over an hour Friday afternoon, a young boy stood in the rain just outside the driver compound at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Dressed in the expensive attire of his dashing hero, the fan clutched a pen, a pad and a camera.
He waited, pleaded, chased, and then waited some more. The mini-drama alternated between noble and tragic, but it was definitely impressive.
The goal of this rain-drenched devotee to the stock car lords was basic. He simply wanted to soak in some NASCAR magic from his man. You know, feed the racing fever.
Of course, landing an autograph from the iconic Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is comparable to a Holy Grail quest. Just a wave or smile from a mid-level driver or apprentice would have been fine on this day.
Sadly, this little episode ended in disappointment if not heartbreak. And that seems to happen far too often.
NASCAR fans, no matter the age, are incredible. They will brave weather extremes, traffic jams, high prices and even swarms of locusts to support their sport and its stars.
Certainly, the drivers face demands on their time from owners, sponsors, media and family Yet, one wonders if the drivers really understand how much a simple gesture of recognition would mean to the average fan.
Before the days of ESPN and soap-opera style glamour, stars such as Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett would spend hours with their followers. Once the bond was formed, it could never be broken.
Even as recently as five years ago, fans still had the opportunity to at least get close to the heroes. Now that ticket to starland usually comes with a hefty price or a corporate connection. There are various reasons, including safety, why the disconnect grows larger by the day.
Drivers cannot be expected to always stop and greet fans, especially just before a tense qualifying session. However, a little smile for the camera or a quick scribble on a sheet of paper while zooming by on a golf cart can create a lifetime memory for somes.
And heck, just imagine how much it would mean if a driver made a surprise visit on a chartered bus full of NASCAR fans. Want devotion? Check out the bus lot someday.
Any gesture sure would have made one young lad happy Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Here’s an idea for NASCAR officials worried about lackluster attendance and television ratings.
Let’s declare a year of the fan. And make a sign, as simple as distributing free souvenirs to every ticket buyer, to the folks who actually fuel the sport.
agregory@bristolnews.com (276) 669-2181.

Bristol Boys

Bristol Boys
For too many years, it seemed the leadership of NASCAR had no interest in the rich tradition of stock car racing.
Faced with two years of lackluster interest, NASCAR chairman Brian France dared to salute the core fans of the sport during a couple of speeches earlier this year.
Yes, France did say core and not cor-poration.
If NASCAR officials really want to get a read on their followers, they should spend a couple nights in the campgrounds at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Forget the luxury-filled rolling palaces, seek out the wild-eyed southern boys in the fold-up tents who are listening to Hank Williams, Jr. or Robert Earl Keen. These guys arrived in town last week and have braved the 30-degree nights in style
That’s your core fan, not some fancy businessman who watches the race from the suites and only knows the name of about three drivers.
Since the glory days of Curtis Turner and Fireball Roberts, NASCAR has been built by blue-collar guys who work all week in a factory, farm or garage.
They save their money, pool their funds with buddies, and head out to the track for a great escape.
Yeah, the weekend warriors might get a little wild at times but they truly love the sport and will make great sacrifices to fuel their passion.
From rule changes to look-a-like cars, NASCAR has become too polished and citified. Who cares which driver is the cutest.
Racing, dating back to the time when ol’ Ben Hur ruled the track, has been a simple game for the masses.
Whether it be through lowered ticket and concession prices or more compelling racing, the core fan and the traditions of his sport need to be embraced before it’s too late.

NASCAR History

No sport has a more colorful history than NASCAR.
There are wild, and mostly true, tales of ruffian drivers, fearsome tracks and thrill-packed finishes.
Sadly, few current stock car racing fans know or seem to care about the early chapters of this success story.
Brownie King of Johnson City, Tn. was one of those pioneers who relied more on instincts and guts than money and style.
The saga of King and his 1950’s era running mates is far more compelling than today’s soap-opera storylines.
According to many motorsports insiders, Virginia’s Curtis Turner may have been the greatest raw talent in NASCAR history.
“I guarantee you that Curtis would be on top if he raced in the Sprint Cup series today,’’ King said. “Curtis could be like a Jeff Gordon or someone like that.”
King said the stories of Turner’s uncanny car-control were true. And the dynamic personality of Turner was just as impressive.
“I’ve never seen anybody that could drive into a corner harder than Curtis. He had no fear at all,” King said.
“I’ll never forget one day at Darlington around 1956. I had the usual prerace butterflies everybody gets for that track, then I looked over and saw Curtis and Joe Weatherly. They were setting on a bunch of tires, just eating chicken legs and joking around. ...NASCAR just seemed more fun back then.”
How many fans, who claim to live and breathe NASCAR, recognize Turner’s name or remember that there used to be weekly racing at Bristol Motor Speedway
It’s no wonder so many former drivers and old-guard fans are bitter about the direction of their once-beloved sport.
“I wish some of the guys today had to drive the cars we had back then,” said King, the 1962 track at champion at BMS. “We didn’t have power steering or any of safety features they have now.
“Our cars didn’t handle worth a hoot. You had to be strong to fight that steering wheel for 200 laps.”
That’s real racing, folks. Not which driver is the cutest or has the most flashy paint television commercial.
NASCAR is still a wonderful sport. Too many fans are just missing out on the complete picture.

Busch League

Racers like Kyle Busch were once adored.
The Las Vegas native is fun to watch, brutally honest and dedicated.
Just consider how the 22-year-old celebrated his historic victory in a Toyota Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch spent the past two days testing with his Super Late Model team at Hickory Motor Speedway, and is scheduled to be at Martinsville Speedway Wednesday for a Craftsman Truck Series test.
There were no quick trips to the Bahamas, elaborate photo shoots, or parties with celebrities.
Much like a modern-day Bobby Allison, Busch is consumed by speed and it shows by his success in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions.
Yet the boos kept coming.
It’s odd that Tony Stewart is praised as a fearless maverick when he rips NASCAR or Goodyear, yet Busch is labeled as a crybaby when he refers to some of the same issues.
What’s the difference here? Could it be delivery, appearance or experience.
Like him or not, Busch is here to stay and his future seems limitless.
Busch had no business tangling with the much-slower car driven by Dale Jarrett in Sunday’s race, but that late-race fracas was one of the few exciting moments of the day.
If nothing else, Jeff Gordon fans can be pleased. The NASCAR family now has another whipping boy,.
Watch for another Busch bash this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“After the Race,” a Novel by TriCities.com

After the race: You won’t believe it anyway

I met Roy/Rory the Red Bull rep at Bonnaroo and called him Rory for three days. So when I got a random e-mail from some guy after the festival named Roy I was like, “Who the heck,” and then was like “Uh. Yeah. Ok.”

But, I like the name “Rory” better, so for the purpose of this story, let’s call him Rory.

So we walk from suite 108 to 180, which doesn’t seem like that big of a deal until we’ve walked around the track—again—and up some stairs and end up in the nose bleed section of the suites where the lights flickered and the security (for whatever reason) is ultra tight. Maybe it was because we were on the wrong side of the track (quite literally).

So here’s where Brent takes over the story for a while.

The easiest way to describe the Red Bull suite is to envision a shady dance club: dimly lit and lots of young dudes. Apparently Red Bull is totally operated by a bunch of 30 year-old ex frat boys. Somehow, that seems appropriate.

Don’t get me wrong, the people at Red Bull were incredibly cool. Rory/Roy and his posse took care of us, probably because Candice was the only girl to visit the suite all night…whatever. Apparently, the race ended while we were up there but thanks to the generosity of the boys at Red Bull, I don’t think Candice or I even noticed.

Candice back.

So Rory joins us and we take off to show him what a “real suite” looks like. So when we get back to the News Channel 11, TriCities.com and Bristol Herald Courier suites, everyone looks just about right.

We pull up a few chairs and some of the higher ups take notice, saunter over and another cup is resting in our hands. Next thing I know I’m staring up the rungs of a yellow ladder with Brent, Rory and some other shady character.

We’re headed to the roof.

It was great. We sat up there, watched the crews break down and the transporter trucks drive off. I think everyone sat there in silence for about 10 minutes until someone commented about their fear of heights.

We established that we all shared that phobia and climbed down from the roof pretty quickly. Back to the suite—only this time, it was empty when we got there.

Brent again.

After seeing the track from its highest point, we figured it was finally time to make our decent back to the tricities.com camp. Unintentionally, we made the trip back from the track unnecessarily complicated. If you thought we could find our way back easily because of our week of experience walking between the track and our campsite, you would be wrong.

Instead of following the remaining stragglers who were wandering out of the track, we took our own route. Candice had the idea to scale a chain link fence to beat the crowd. Before we could celebrate successfully making it to the other side, we were both sliding down a very steep and long hill. As it turns out, the fence (surprise, surprise) stood as a barrier between the walk way to the track and a ravine.

The slide goes down as an experience that seemed fun at the time but leaves you hurting in the morning. However, to see Candice, still in her black dress from the video interviews in the track, flawlessly hop a fence and slide down a gravel hill was well worth a few cuts and scrapes.

Once we reached the bottom of the hill it occurred to both of us that what we thought was a brilliant shortcut turned out to leave us incredibly lost. With no clue which direction to go to get back to our campsite, we figured we might as well seek out some company.

From Candice:

So we head through the sea of RVs, only these seem a little different, a little quieter, and with a little less flare. A nice older couple flags us down, inquires as to whether we are lost and offers some refreshment.

We visit a bit, and realize this duo has worked on the crews of racers from Richard Petty to I really can’t remember. They share some insight into who they like and who they don’t. And, an interesting fact: David Stremme always comes to get his own grub and supplies during most races unlike his more-popular counterparts who send staffers.

Interesting.

However; after this brief stop we realize we’ve got to get back to the campsite.

“I know what to do,” I tell Brent, and run towards a bounty of golf carts.

“Hey can we hitch a ride,” I ask. “Sure,” the guy says, “Hop on.”

Only, something about this doesn’t seem right. For one, we’re going in the wrong direction. For two, this golf-cart driver is laughing hysterically.

Back to Brent:

By the time the golf cart finally stops, I’ve totally lost my sense of direction. All I can really tell is that we’re parked near the entrance to a campground or parking lot located on a steep hill overlooking the speedway.

Our location doesn’t look the slightest bit familiar. Since I’ve scoured around most of the campsites near us during of the week, this is not a good sign.

The driver tells us, “they’ve called all the golf carts back in.” Before we can figure out exactly where we are, he is gone without us. I’m still not sure who “they” is or why this mysterious they suddenly felt compelled to pull all the golf carts off the road in the middle of the night.

The whole ordeal seemed very suspicious; I think our driver had the sinister intention of leaving us lost and stranded the second he picked us up.

Despite Golf Cart Man’s best efforts, order was soon restored. Another group of fans gave us a ride back towards the track and on to our campsite. Their goodwill was typical of all the NASCAR fans I met during the week who were all super generous and enthusiastic about helping us out (Golf Cart Man being the one exception).

It was surprisingly calm when we finally made it back to the tricities.com compound. Lights were already out at many of the RVs around us with the few remaining tailgates on their last breath.

Finding things so quite made me realize that 1) I had no idea what time it was 2) it was most likely much later than I expected. Figuring that knowing now would do nothing to help the way I was sure to feel in the morning, I headed for my tent without looking at a clock.

It’s a good thing for that tent, too. The traffic heading towards the Interstate was still at a crawl when I finally called it a night. It’s a safe bet daylight would have greeted my drive back to Kingsport.

A soft rain woke all of us much earlier than we would have preferred. The second wave of traffic, this time from people who had stayed the night and were now heading home, once again clogged the roads leaving the track.

A quick game of croquet golf was organized to kill some time and further put off the chore of breaking down camp.

I must note that the rest of the tricities.com team refers to croquet as “Carney golf.” However, I’m proud of my surname and, though I am aware of the stigma popular culture has attached to it, I won’t demean all us Carney’s (both of profession and name) by using this term.

ANWAY, after Brant, the husband of former Racing Rookie Lindy, completed his wire-to-wire domination of our croquet game, it was finally time to head home.

I will always remember my fist race week as an extremely fun and eye-opening experience that will forever change how I think about everything from the sports landscape in America to the validity of the “no shirt, no shoes, no service” rule.

Thankfully, there is no time to get too sentimental. After all, the 2008 Food City 500 is only 201 days away.

It’s Edwards!!!

Carl Edwards wins the Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway, fending off Kasey Kahne to the last, who led almost twice as many laps as Edwards during the race. Edwards ran a fine tail end of the race.

Behind Kahne, Bowyer maintained his hold on third position, Stewart earned his hard-fought fourth, and Dale Jr. hung on for fifth.

Wow. There may not have been a neck-and-neck face-off down to the wire, or a photo finish, but suffice it to say that a young man attending his first race—that would be me—was amazed by the skill Carl Edwards exhibited on the track tonight. I think what struck me was that Kasey Kahne had a boost of confidence going into this one after his win last night in the Food City 250, and he led this race for 305 laps, while Edwards only led for the last 182.

And as for the TriCities.com golden boy, Dave Stremme ... he worked his way one more position down into 14th. Definitely nothing to sneeze at in a field like this.

The rain held off, by the way, and it’s a balmy cloudy summer night in Bristol. Now, the silence seems almost deafening on the track. Where have all the cars gone? I almost ask myself ...

I’ve just realized Carl Edwards back-flipped out of his car. Talk about excited ... speaking of excited ... I’m quite ready for the after-party at the campsite ... brats on the grill and a relaxing sit as I watch the traffic inch-worm along Volunteer Pkwy. Might as well make myself comfortable there I suppose ... traffic will be bumper-to-bumper for quite some time!

Thanks for reading along and sharing in the excitement of this year’s Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway.

For all of us at TriCities.com, have a great night and a lovely rest of your weekend!

Cheers,
Steves

Down to the Last 10 … This is What it’s All About

Edwards has this one pretty well in hand. It will take a miracle for Kahne to catch him, with Edwards lapping more and more drivers and putting more cars in between himself and the No. 9 car. Tony Stewart now into the top five as he passes Jr. and now Busch, putting him in fourth position, now eyeing Bowyer.

With five laps to go Edwards has put two cars behind him and in front of Kahne. It’s academic at this point ...

With 20 Laps to Go, It’s the Same Five Guys

Edwards, Kahne, Bowyer, Busch, and Earnhardt ...

Edwards and Kahne are way out in front of the pack and Edwards himself is holding off last night’s winner in fine fashion. Kahne just can’t seem to negotiate this guy. Bowyer’s pretty well ahead of Busch but even more behind Kahne ... less than 20 laps left now in the Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway ...

Oh yeah, and Stremme ... 15th. [Shrug.] Not bad, I guess.

Five Cars Cause Caution at Lap 452

Ricky Rudd’s Snickers 88 has caused a five-car brush that has the track at caution once again on lap 452. This may settle yet another issue that had arisen for Kasey Kahne, as A.J. Allmendinger’s car, a lap behind the pack, had come between Kahne and leader Carl Edwards.

Jeff Gordon’s back panel has also flown clean off and is behind cleared from the track before they’re back up to speed here ...

At 450, They Are …

With 50 laps to go from the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, it’s still Carl Edwards out in front and holding off Kasey Kahne ...

Clint Bowyer’s been holding fast in third now for awhile ... he’s followed by Kurt Busch and Dale Jr. Bobby Labonte is back to eighth position now ...