Sunday, February 18, 2007
NASCAR Season Opens
The NASCAR season opens today with the Daytona 500. NASCAR is a sport long near and dear to the Clarion’s heart.It used to be packed with fascinating contradictions. One holdover, but likely to change to ere long, continues to be running the biggest race of the season first. No other major American sport kicks off its season with its biggest event.
This tradition has its roots in an era when winning the Daytona 500 was as big as winning a season long points championship. Heck, winning the Southern 500 was big as winning the points championship in the day. The Winston Cup was about winning races, each and every race. They went all out to win every Sunday, but Mother's Day. In the era the Clarion was weaned on, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Daryl Waltrip won races, and it was about how many races they won, yearly and in their careers. The era at which points championship points became central was the Dale Earnhardt days.
Now NASCAR has moved on to, and through a playoff system, to an expanded playoff system. It is a whole eon back that North Wilkesborough lost its race and they decided to race at the Brickyard in Indy. In this next generation, Darlington, South Carolina loses Labor day weekend. And Rockingham, North Carolina loses its last race; instead they are racing in Kansas City, Chicago and New Hampshire. Rockingham was always the second race of the season after Daytona. It made sense after opening with a couple of weeks in Florida, the drivers wanted to get back home to North Carolina to see their families. Today, even though most teams are a still based there, no more do most drivers come from North Carolina. Not only has bootlegging faded into ancient history, but all week the headlines have been on NASCAR harshly enforcing the rules. Who even remembers the maxim, “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.”
There are far more than half a hundred other changes the Clarion could recount to you to demonstrate the relentless globalization of a once Southern phenomenon. Each one seemingly achieving another level, a Busch Race in Mexico, a switch of series sponsors from cigarette makers to cell phone networkers; this year it is the first foreign car maker, Toyota, to compete in the NASCAR’s headline racing series in fifty some years. Toyota’s trucks have been doing exceeding well in NASCAR’s equivalent to double-AA baseball, the Craftsmen Truck Series. As an ardent free trade advocate the Clarion has no problem with Toyota competing, no objection. We do think they will suck for a couple of years and that no matter when it happens it will sound exceeding weird to hear some one say, "He won that race in a Camry."
The other less noticed, but equally interesting foreign flavor coming to the series is ace Columbian driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya has one Indy 500 and seven Formula One racing wins to his credit, as a CART series title as a rookie. He will be racing the #42 car for Chip Ganassi racing. Says here he finishes higher than gravy-training loser Michael Waltrip. The gravy-training loser, Michael Waltrip, is now running his own team and driving a Toyota. No one else wanted him to drive for them. As you may know ,Waltrip has been docked a 100 points in the championship series standings. Meaningless, except for the negative publicity it has garnered Toyota, since he never finishes higher than 20th anyway. Waltrip has won a stunningly awful four times in 676 career starts. He is currently maintaining a two year streak of more Did Not Finishes than top ten finishes. Waltrip nevertheless has managed to ride his brother’s coat tails and his own goofy looks to many, many endorsement dollars above and beyond his career $32 million in racing earnings. His brother was never beloved by NASCAR nation either. He was the Jeff Gordon of his era, a disliked, upstart, usurper, stealing from the end of King Richard’s career, trying push aside Junior Johnson’s last great driver, Cale Yarborough.
The Clarion’s from the heart prediction Kevin Harvick.
The Clarion has rooted for Richard Childress Racing ever since King Richard Petty retired. Loyalty is still possible in NASCAR. (in a way in which veteran readers and associates know the Clarion has lost it in the NFL and baseball. No matter how much we still follow and enjoy those sports.)
Kevin Harvick took over driving for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) the season Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona. The Clarion was a huge Earnhardt fan. Rather than switch our loyalty to a different team, even if it was one Earnhardt’s son, Junior was driving for, we stuck with RCR guys. They were the team that lost their driver, our driver.
Harvick had the Clarion when he stuck the #29 on the side of the car. The analogy of #3 minus something was clear as day. Harvick has run moderately well since then, he made the chase last year, he has won ten cup races total. One caution RCR has not done well at restrictor plate races in recent years.
We be watching and rooting.
This tradition has its roots in an era when winning the Daytona 500 was as big as winning a season long points championship. Heck, winning the Southern 500 was big as winning the points championship in the day. The Winston Cup was about winning races, each and every race. They went all out to win every Sunday, but Mother's Day. In the era the Clarion was weaned on, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Daryl Waltrip won races, and it was about how many races they won, yearly and in their careers. The era at which points championship points became central was the Dale Earnhardt days.
Now NASCAR has moved on to, and through a playoff system, to an expanded playoff system. It is a whole eon back that North Wilkesborough lost its race and they decided to race at the Brickyard in Indy. In this next generation, Darlington, South Carolina loses Labor day weekend. And Rockingham, North Carolina loses its last race; instead they are racing in Kansas City, Chicago and New Hampshire. Rockingham was always the second race of the season after Daytona. It made sense after opening with a couple of weeks in Florida, the drivers wanted to get back home to North Carolina to see their families. Today, even though most teams are a still based there, no more do most drivers come from North Carolina. Not only has bootlegging faded into ancient history, but all week the headlines have been on NASCAR harshly enforcing the rules. Who even remembers the maxim, “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.”
There are far more than half a hundred other changes the Clarion could recount to you to demonstrate the relentless globalization of a once Southern phenomenon. Each one seemingly achieving another level, a Busch Race in Mexico, a switch of series sponsors from cigarette makers to cell phone networkers; this year it is the first foreign car maker, Toyota, to compete in the NASCAR’s headline racing series in fifty some years. Toyota’s trucks have been doing exceeding well in NASCAR’s equivalent to double-AA baseball, the Craftsmen Truck Series. As an ardent free trade advocate the Clarion has no problem with Toyota competing, no objection. We do think they will suck for a couple of years and that no matter when it happens it will sound exceeding weird to hear some one say, "He won that race in a Camry."
The other less noticed, but equally interesting foreign flavor coming to the series is ace Columbian driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya has one Indy 500 and seven Formula One racing wins to his credit, as a CART series title as a rookie. He will be racing the #42 car for Chip Ganassi racing. Says here he finishes higher than gravy-training loser Michael Waltrip. The gravy-training loser, Michael Waltrip, is now running his own team and driving a Toyota. No one else wanted him to drive for them. As you may know ,Waltrip has been docked a 100 points in the championship series standings. Meaningless, except for the negative publicity it has garnered Toyota, since he never finishes higher than 20th anyway. Waltrip has won a stunningly awful four times in 676 career starts. He is currently maintaining a two year streak of more Did Not Finishes than top ten finishes. Waltrip nevertheless has managed to ride his brother’s coat tails and his own goofy looks to many, many endorsement dollars above and beyond his career $32 million in racing earnings. His brother was never beloved by NASCAR nation either. He was the Jeff Gordon of his era, a disliked, upstart, usurper, stealing from the end of King Richard’s career, trying push aside Junior Johnson’s last great driver, Cale Yarborough.
The Clarion’s from the heart prediction Kevin Harvick.
The Clarion has rooted for Richard Childress Racing ever since King Richard Petty retired. Loyalty is still possible in NASCAR. (in a way in which veteran readers and associates know the Clarion has lost it in the NFL and baseball. No matter how much we still follow and enjoy those sports.)
Kevin Harvick took over driving for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) the season Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona. The Clarion was a huge Earnhardt fan. Rather than switch our loyalty to a different team, even if it was one Earnhardt’s son, Junior was driving for, we stuck with RCR guys. They were the team that lost their driver, our driver.
Harvick had the Clarion when he stuck the #29 on the side of the car. The analogy of #3 minus something was clear as day. Harvick has run moderately well since then, he made the chase last year, he has won ten cup races total. One caution RCR has not done well at restrictor plate races in recent years.
We be watching and rooting.
Labels: NASCAR, Predictions, sports
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