Hot 20 over the past 10 – Kenseth is hot but NASCAR is not as Kansas hosts this Sunday

Earlier today, I happened to read an article by John Dick outlining what he thinks is a cause for NASCAR’s lower attendance and dropping television audiences. Primarily, the article pointed out that the problem might have something to do with a fan base consisting of predominately gun loving white older Republican rural males of faith from the south or Midwest. Basically, it was pointing out that the demographics that make up the heart and soul of the sport no longer represents a majority of what is America. In short, you can build it but most really could not care less. Talk about having it hail on one’s field of dreams.

It is hard to deny that some folks are not well represented among the most successful in NASCAR. Add up all the wins by Latinos, blacks, and women in 65 years of Cup competition and you have fewer victories than Matt Kenseth alone has claimed this season. However, how important is it to have role models or favorites who have similarities to those you might find at a family reunion?

As a kid I followed Cale Yarborough and as an adult the man I watched was Dale Earnhardt. As the damn chilly winds of today reminds me, it is some distance from the Carolinas to Alberta, Canada. These boys loved working on cars but, as my father can attest, my mechanical ability isn’t worth spit. A lot of good ole boys love to hunt, but I do not. I doubt I would have ever had a chance to hang with these guys even if I lived just down the road from them.

The reason I came to love NASCAR had nothing to due with a shared heritage and everything to do with the spectacle that I saw at Daytona, at Talladega, at Charlotte, and even at Bristol. I tune in Australian Football for the same reason. It is just fun to watch, and if you watch such things long enough you actually come to know enough to become a fan. Economics might be keeping some away from the tracks, but for them to not watch from their living rooms can only be blamed on the action no longer being fun to watch.

It does not matter what your cultural background is, your race, your gender, or who you blame for shutting down the U.S. government, the action at Talladega is something anyone who has ever been behind the wheel of a car can truly appreciate and wonder at. I can not say the same about Kansas. It takes more than just aiming a camera toward the track. Without a skilled broadcast team that can weave a narrative, to keep viewers hooked, who can turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse, the bleeding will continue.

The reason those of us who care will be watching on Sunday will be to discover if Matt Kenseth can continue his hot hand, if Jimmie Johnson can be hotter over his final ten than he was coming into the Chase, and to see if Kyle Busch can avoid the pitfalls Kansas usually tosses his way. With all the focus on that trio, I wonder if anyone has noticed how warm Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon have been as of late? I didn’t think so.

Here are our hottest 20 drivers over the past 10 races…