The View from Here: The Business of NASCAR

I am too young to remember the good old days where NASCAR was filled with bright drivers who had even brighter personalities such as Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty. These drivers’ personalities, loud voices, and rivalries brought so many fans into the sport and helped build NASCAR into what it is today. Today Richard Petty is still ever present in the sport and Darrell Waltrip is in the broadcast booth running his mouth just as fast as he ever ran his car on the track. Instead of growing up during this past era, I grew up watching today’s NASCAR, where listening to the drivers speak is about as much fun as listening to nails scratching across a chalkboard. Today’s drivers are discouraged from publicly discussing their opinions, engaging in heated rivalries, or saying or doing anything that might not appease NASCAR or a corporate sponsor. Do any of us really think that drivers such as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin are boring people with no color or flair? I certainly don’t. I believe that NASCAR, the France family, and the influence of corporate sponsors have turned the drivers into talking bobble heads.

After this past Sunday’s race, I had to listen to Carl Edwards thank “all of the good people” at Office Depot and Ford before he gave an honest, yet very brief response towards his feelings about his second place chase standing. I understand that sponsorship dollars are what drive the business of NASCAR; however, when the drivers are forced to plug the sponsor in every interview to the point of ad nauseam, it simply becomes too much for me. This brief interview with Carl Edwards lasted about thirty seconds. The first fifteen seconds were solely devoted to Edwards plugging his sponsors, leaving the other half to actually talking racing. I believe that the great power that corporate sponsors have in the sport will prevent interviews like this one from ceasing anytime soon. I find this unfortunate and believe that interviews like these tend to dehumanize the driver. Instead of being viewed as opinionated human beings, they are viewed as corporate figureheads.

However, NASCAR can and should relax its policies to let drivers speak their minds regardless of whether they are being critical of NASCAR. When an opinionated driver like Tony Stewart complains about the quality of Goodyear tires, or when Kyle Busch has a gripe about the car of tomorrow (car of today), I believe NASCAR should not punish them. Instead the France family and the other powers that be in NASCAR should listen to them. NASCAR is not a perfectly run organization, and the fans know this. However, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL are also not perfectly run organizations. The difference is that these other professional sports leagues, especially the NBA, listen to their athletes in an order to improve their league and sport. As a fan of all of these sports, I am accepting that nothing is perfect. NASCAR needs to stop unsuccessfully trying to portray an image of perfection to their fans and start viewing their drivers as valuable resources who can help improve the organization and the sport of auto racing. The powers that be need to understand that when a driver like Tony Stewart voices a controversial opinion, he does so because he cares about the sport and is trying to improve it. And that’s the view from here. SP

Last but certainly not least, NASCAR needs to embrace the rivalries between their drivers. The fierce competition between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch that was displayed both on and off the track this season has been highly entertaining. Instead of telling drivers to work out their issues, NASCAR should take a page from the NBA. The NBA capitalized on the Shaq and Kobe feud and turned it into a soap opera. I know that I’m not the only person who remembers the high drama of the Bad Boys of the Detroit Pistons roughing up Michael Jordan during the late 80’s and early 90’s. If NASCAR would let rivalries like the one between Edwards and Busch mature, I believe they could capitalize on them to and draw greater television ratings. I beg of you NASCAR, to please let the drivers show their personalities.
And that’s the view from here.

SWP