Veteran motorsports writer Gordon Kirby recently offered up an interesting column on the future of NASCAR recently. A key point:
Whether fender-bashing and fighting are good or bad for NASCAR the fact is they’re not going to go away because they’re essential elements of stock car racing and will continue to be for many years to come.
It’s equally true that NASCAR cannot escape the image of itself that exists in the popular culture. It’s considered a farm boy’s sport populated by beer and whisky drinkers. NASCAR’s garage area may be filled these days with plenty of open-minded, highly-motivated crewmen, car builders and engineers, but for many people NASCAR means ‘redneck’. It’s a steadfast image for much of America that NASCAR cannot separate itself from no matter how hard it tries.
And dare I say that some of NASCAR’s most renowned TV commentators such as Fox’s Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds only perpetuate that image. In contrast, ESPN’s Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree do an excellent job providing great information and insight.
Jarrett and Petree do the sport proud and if NASCAR is to thrive in the future I believe it needs to listen more to serious pros like them and less to the marketing mavens and bureaucrats who have helped push the ship off-course in recent years.
