Sofa Sideline – It’s Party Time; Pre-Show Ramblings…
Well as everyone is surely aware, the Winston Cup Series Awards Banquet is
being held this week in New York City. The televised broadcast will begin at
8:00 p.m. Eastern, Friday on TNT.
I started to do a rundown of the top ten; but changed my mind. Basically it’s
been a strange season, with a lot of different winners, and many of the top
drivers sitting with a bunch of DNF’s or at least lousy finishes for the year.
The list includes the Champion – Tony Stewart. My prediction for the year was
on target, but with a somewhat shaky start at the Daytona 500, one had to wonder
if he’d ever make it. But, because many others had similar problems, it all
worked out.
Matt Kenseth – a prime example. Five wins, yet plagued by some bad finishes
and a couple of engine failures and you wind up eighth in points. This driver
was never given the credit due, and for me personally, I’m mulling over the
possibility of this guy winding up first next season. He may be my 2003
prediction…
Some guys finished well basically because their cars held together and they
finished period. Alas, that "consistency thing going on; examples, Rusty
and Mark Martin. Martin was a little more prominent in his season, a little more
aggressive, well (here come the letters) actually a lot more aggressive. Also,
the bizarre parade lap accident at Talladega; it was just very odd. Rusty,
hardly noticed him till the last couple of races when he was trying like heck to
keep the streak of wins going.
So we go to the banquet with some of the "young guns" taking center
stage. It’ll be interesting to hear them speak. We may see some reasonably
eloquent speeches made – at least as opposed to other years. I’ll bet Ryan, Kurt
and Jimmie are not as nervous; with the prewritten stuff not sounding so stiff
and formal. They are much more relaxed and seem more suited to being in front of
a large audience.
It’s pretty much the way it is in this new day and age of NASCAR Winston Cup.
It’s not just capability, its marketability. I’m all for growing the sport, but
not at the expense of the guys who are just drivers. Their passion runs as deep
as anyone’s; just the ability to express it to the "public" may be
someone skewed.
Everyone thinks Tony’s going to blow it as Champion. Just exactly how is that
going to happen? I agree that he’s liable to say something that will make the
higher-ups in the corporate world of NASCAR raise their eyebrows. I don’t know
about anyone else, but I’m hoping that will happen. It brings a little life into
the show; we all remember the Hutchens Device. Tony will be fine, and all these
reporters who think otherwise really all to get off their duff for once and get
into the real world. It’s really stuck in my mind that racing is not about the
reporters, but about the drivers and fans….silly me, I guess.
I read an article this week where a reporter was complaining that they
weren’t invited along with Tony to the White House. Call me naïve, but I
actually think it’s kind of neat that the President is meeting the Champion
without a lot of rhetoric and stupid questions being thrown out…just
congratulations being extended.
Don’t get me wrong; there are many reporters who I consider tops in their
field; they do their job, they do it well and get excited about what they are
doing – Lee Spencer comes to mind. She’s always chasing someone down and trying
to get the scoop on the story. She pays attention to what’s going on; she
actually seems like she likes what she’s doing.
I have a problem with those few individuals who never seem to get out of
their chairs. Again, maybe I just don’t know, or haven’t been in that
"scene" long enough to know. If’ I’m in the media center when
qualifying is going on and there’s practice, I can’t seem to just sit inside and
wait for stats and be somewhat oblivious to the world outside that room. Any
claim to know how a fan feels or even some of these drivers; it’s just not
possible coming from that posture.
Other Stuff:
I spent a few weeks working with the ARCA series this past season; currently
doing some things with one of the drivers, so it was exciting to see Shelby
Howard on ABC’s 20/20 last Friday night. Shelby’s a pretty shy kid for the most
part, but came off well on TV and the piece was nicely done except for one flaw,
that caused concern. When Champion Frank Kimmel was being asked about Howard, in
the background, very clearly, one could see Eric Martin – the driver who was
killed during practice at the Charlotte race this past October. Someone who had
knowledge of the series should have been asked to look at it prior to the
broadcast. I was stunned, and I didn’t know him nearly as well as many others,
so I can only imagine how friends and cohorts felt. It was a mistake that
probably didn’t need to have happened – at least in my opinion.
That’s it for now.