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NASCAR Needs Second Coming of the Intimidator - But Would It Want Him?
1/30/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)
When Humpy Wheeler speaks NASCAR should listen! Last week at the annual media tour Wheeler said, "We need to go back to the banjos and get rid of the violins. This is not a fancy sport. It's sweaty guys with big hands getting out there and banging each other around while the All-American fan has a good time." A few years ago in an article at NASCAR.com by writer Marty Smith, Humpy commented, "There's not a working man's driver out there in Cup racing." Maybe what this sport needs right here and right now is the second coming of the Intimidator. A working class hero that came up to the sport the hard way and is not afraid to speak his mind! But would the modern day NASCAR have accepted the real Intimidator or did Dale Earnhardt come along at the perfect time…a time that has passed us by.
Modern Day Working Class Heroes
The closest we have to that working class hero coming to the sport in the last few years are Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer. Both guys were just racing on the local level when NASCAR teams discovered them. These guys were not involved in some multimillion-dollar driver development deal and Hamlin was close to leaving the sport because the money almost ran out. But while both drivers are terrific additions to the sport neither guy has that certain something that the Intimidator had nor should we demand them to be like Dale. It is also unfair to compare drivers that have only been around the sport for a few years to a legend or to expect them to carry the torch for the workingman in this sport. So while these guys both came from those local racer roots they have not connected with the fans to become the workingman's driver that Humpy Wheeler says the sport needs.
Would NASCAR Welcome the Intimidator Now?
Change is inevitable in any industry and perhaps those glory days of NASCAR being gone are not all a bad thing. Today's drivers are set for life after a few years at the Cup level. Back in the day if a guy didn't win enough money on Sunday he might struggle to get back to the track the next week. Nowadays drivers are afraid to speak up, especially early in their careers, because the risk and reward are out of balance. The atmosphere within the sport is not conducive to making waves. After all running 35th will make you a millionaire! It takes more corporate money to make it happen and those sponsors do not want a loud mouth representing their brand. Its sad to even think that one of the sports most electric personalities might not make it to the big time in the sport now. The gap between what the average driver and average fan makes in a year has grown. Perhaps the Intimidator came along at just the right time in NASCAR's history and would not be welcome in today's NASCAR.
Smoke Factor
The closest we have to a workingman's racer among the big stars in the sport is Tony Stewart. Millions of dollars and championships have not changed Tony Stewart at all. Look at all the grief Smoke gets for speaking his mind like Dale did back in the day. Is it worth trying to be the spokesperson for the regular guys? Perhaps the huge amounts of money in the sport change these guys and make them more distant from the fans today. But like him or hate him you won't find another champion in the sport like Tony Stewart again in this day and age. Maybe when the new drivers see the crap that Smoke puts up with for being himself they decide it just isn't worth the hassle!
Marketing the Sport Not Our Heroes
Race promoters made lots of money over the years playing up the rivalries and bigger than life stars of the sport. Nowadays NASCAR wants to market each of their drivers as if they are those bigger than life stars. Maybe having thirty-five huge stars is what NASCAR thinks they need to keep raising the bar of their popularity. But to the old time NASCAR fan the good guy versus bad guy theme played quite well. Who do we have to play the bad guy any more? These guys all seem to hold hands and sing Kumbaya together every week when the fans might prefer them having a Battle Royale in the infield! Nowadays the marketing machine tries to make these guys bigger than life heroes for the fans to adore. If it has the NASCAR logo on it they want fans to drool over it. Back in the day heroes were made on the track by the racers not by image-makers in the marketing world. The local short trackers were bigger than life heroes as well as the NASCAR guys! But NASCAR is not the only sport or institution that has changed. We sell our Presidential candidates like we sell our toilet paper!
Conclusion
"It's gone from a bunch of mechanics building their own stuff to a bunch of rich people, and me one last poor guy," quipped ARCA driver Darrell Basham last season. It is very rare even at your local short track to see some working class stiff at the late model stockcar level. Those guys are still racing but usually down in the lower cost street stocks or four cylinder classes. The days of a working class hero coming to NASCAR with a car he built in the barn and a dream are long gone. Perhaps in some ways that is a good thing because the balance of competition is much better than the old days. But having a working class driver the fans could either love or hate would be a boost to the sport. It's just too bad that driver might not be welcome in today's NASCAR!
Your Chance to Sound Off
Tonight on QUICK CHANGE Mike Harper, Lori Munro and myself will talk about the following topic on the show. This is your chance to SOUND OFF and have your opinions discussed on the show. Tune into RaceTalkRadio tonight at 9pm ET.
NASCAR NEEDS ANOTHER INTIMIDATOR
On Monday night during DOIN' DONUTS Monte Dutton mentioned to Lori and Dennis that the sport has slipped away from the common fan. Does the sport need the second coming of the Intimidator to vault it back to being popular with the common man? If Dale came along nowadays would anyone take notice?
Send your comments to dennis@racetalkradio.com and the best comments will be used on the show in a special FAN'S SOUND OFF feature.
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