BRISTOL: JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THEM RACIN’ DEALS

How about Bristol? That’s just what the doctor ordered. Winston Cup
racing this year has been…boring, to say the least. But add a little controversy to the
formula, and everybody starts talking. Heck, I even saw a clip of the last-lap
"tap" on CNN!

Race fans are crying about Earnhardt’s love tap on Labonte’s bumper.
You think NASCAR’s gonna open up that goose to see how it makes the golden eggs? No way.

And if he was ever "gone," Earnhardt is definitely back.
He hasn’t been booed that loudly in who knows how long. Since his big wreck at Talladega
in ’96, he’s been less than intimidating…almost a good guy, getting more cheers than
just about any other driver out there.

If this were professional wrestling, what we saw Saturday night
would be called a "heel turn." That’s when a ‘face (short for babyface, a good
guy) turns into a bad guy. As a ‘face, Earnhardt wasn’t too successful on the track. But
he’s gotten most of his wins as a heel. And admittedly, when he’s a heel, the races are
exciting.

Perhaps my comparison of stock car racing to professional wrestling
disturbs some people. The fact is, they’re both forms of show business. In almost every
drivers’ meeting I’ve been to at a Winston Cup race, they remind the drivers that
"this is show business."

And it’s true. Who in their right mind would pay a couple of hundred
bucks to sit and watch cars go around and around, playing follow the leader, for three
hours? Maybe a few racing "purists" would, but I daresay there aren’t
many…certainly not enough to support the sport financially.

So racing has to be entertaining to survive. Yeah, Winston Cup and
Busch Grand National TV ratings and attendance figures have skyrocketed in the last couple
of years, but at what price? (Aside: but their ratings are only about half of what
professional wrestling garners every Monday night). I’d guess that most of the growth is
from new people, which is good. Or is it?

If a whole lot of new people tune in to a race for the first time,
and see what amounts to a bunch of cars going in circles, are they going to tune in the
next time? If there’s no entertainment value, then probably not. But give them a race like
the one at Bristol Saturday night, and chances are you’ve created a lifetime racing fan.