A Jeff Gordon story – Sometimes the little things mean the most
A few times a year, I’m privileged to be able to go to a NASCAR race as part of the media. It’s a unique experience that allows me to be a small part of something that has an enormous impact on so many. What may surprise you is that it is often the little things that make it a special experience.
One of the most enjoyable aspects is the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. During several conversations with one of the women who helped prepare our food at the media center, she talked about being a lifelong NASCAR fan and proudly told me, “I’m a huge Dale Jr. fan but my Dad likes Kasey Kahne. Can you believe that?” The look on her face was priceless.
The young man who stood watch at the door to the media center told me how he begged a friend to switch assignments with him so that he could work the race at Darlington.
My favorite moment was shared with a photographer at Darlington Raceway who has been working the NASCAR circuit for over 30 years. I was surprised to hear he drove all the way from Canada to cover the Darlington race. He was accompanied by his daughter.
He began talking about how it was in the “old days’’ when drivers like David Pearson and Richard Petty would spend hours signing autographs for their fans. “I don’t know why,” he said “but they had such an appreciation for the fans, especially the kids. You don’t see that much anymore.”
But then he related a story about his daughter. She has been his constant companion since she was old enough to travel with him. “She grew up in NASCAR,” he told me.
When his daughter was a small girl, she had a Jeff Gordon Pepsi trading card and desperately wanted it autographed. When the opportunity arose, they approached Gordon who was surrounded by fans. It was beginning to rain but they were determined to wait. When Gordon saw the girl, he politely told the rest of the crowd; “children first.”
“Gordon took the card from her, placed it face down on his pants leg, covered it with his hand so it wouldn’t get wet, and told us to follow him to his hauler. He signed the card and spent several minutes talking with my daughter and me.”
The photographer’s eyes were glistening as he looked at me and said, “Signing autographs, that’s business. But this, (he pantomimed covering up the card on his leg), this was from the heart.”
You never know who you will meet at a NASCAR race. It could be a famous driver, a celebrity, or just the guy next door. But, one thing is certain; you’ll come home with some stories to tell.
Darlington – Matt Kenseth Understands
Matt Kenseth is a man of history. Rarely have we seen anyone more excited than Matt Kenseth for winning Darlington’s Southern 500. In my youth, this was one of the sacred crowns of the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit until the powers that be decided that the old track was not worthy of two races a few years ago. The track is tough and it takes a special talent to win at the egg-shaped track, but few had as much fun winning a race here than Matt Kenseth.
When I was growing up in West Virginia, with no coverage except from the Roanoke, Virginia , radio stations or Southern MotorRacing weekly newspaper, Daytona, Atlanta, Charlotte, Rockingham, Bristol, and Darlington was all there was to have a big win in NASCAR’s top series. Well, maybe not Bristol, but you get the idea. Those old tracks with so much history behind them began to be forgotten in the sport, which really is criminal. Did Boston raze Fenway Park? Did Chicago tear down Wrigley Field? No, but in NASCAR’s world, it was time to move on and expand the series to places like Kansas, Chicago, and even Phoenix and California. Rockingham and others were closed while Atlanta and Darlington lost one of their two races. It was almost like the powers that be decided that history didn’t matter. The reasons given were attendance and the lack of the lack of things that big corporations wanted—suites, major highways, and who knows what else. But for those that grew up in the sport, those of us who grew up with Rockingham, Darlington, and even North Wilkesboro, the Southern 500 was special. Matt Kenseth is one of us.
Kenseth said it. He had never been more excited to win a race. The Southern 500 was the one he always wanted to win. It was special. Never mind that it’s put on the schedule on a weekend that is less favorable than most races—not Labor Day, but a weekend where we are always concerned with family and not racing. It was set up to fail. Who is going to go to a race that falls on one of the most sacred weekends of the year where we honor our mothers? Well, the folks at Darlington were at least given a chance to try. Rockingham was just closed for the reasons above. North Wilkesboro was sold and Atlanta was just given a crumb to exist. Labor Day went to Atlanta and the second Darlington date went away. It’s a business decision we were told. Nothing more. As attendance went down and the fan base eroded, the question was why?
Tonight, on the podium, a great stock car driver who is credited with the formation of The Chase, stood up and said this was the highlight of his career. Remember, this is a career that includes two Daytona 500 championships and many other wins. Maybe someone should listen. Of course, history means nothing when money is at stake, but the folks in Boston and Chicago could care less about that. They still operate Wrigley and Fenway because they are special. Why NASCAR doesn’t get that is beyond me. That’s the difference between a sport that understands tradition and fan loyalty. Matt Kenseth understands.
NASCAR Is Turning Racing Into Welfare On A Race Track
NASCAR is that one sport we have in America that has just as many pros as it has cons, but the cons unfortunately outweigh the pros. What it is going to take for NASCAR to grow a pair and make the right calls? What is it going to take for NASCAR to realize that their stupidity doesn’t bring more fans to the track? As a journalist, I’ve become increasingly frustrated making articles like these and seeing no action from Brian France. I tried very hard not to make this article, but my anger has taken control of me on this one. Brian France has taken action, but action that damages the reputation of the sport further.
It all started in 2004 when France took over as CEO and Chairman in NASCAR and created the Chase for the Cup. The goal for France was to create more “Game 7 moments” in the sport. NASCAR is a sport, but it’s not a sport like basketball, hockey, or football. Playoffs and auto racing just does not mix. The original Chase started with just 10 drivers and any drivers within 400 points of the leaders, but that never came close to happening. The closest to get to the -400 point margin was Jamie McMurray in 2004, who was 431 points behind then points leader Jeff Gordon.
As a result, France decided just to make the Chase a 12 man championship in 2007 with the addition of a seed system. The driver with the most wins would start the Chase with the points lead. And each win earned you 10 bonus points. For example, Jimmie Johnson had 6 wins coming into the Chase compared to Jeff Gordon’s four, so Johnson had a 20 point advantage entering the Chase in 2007. How unjust is this system? Jeff Gordon would have entered the final ten races with a 312 point advantage over Tony Stewart, but instead found himself trailing. Jimmie Johnson would have started the final ten races in 4th and back 410 points.
The system stayed the same until 2011 when France added the wildcard. The top-10 automatically get in, but the final two Chase drivers are determined by who has the most wins out of 11-20. France’s version of NASCAR is like one big government program that just doesn’t and will never work. NASCAR everybody to have a shot at winning the race. That is not a sport. That is welfare going 200 mph.
NASCAR should do the right thing and get the hell out of the way and let the teams do what they have to do to ensure success. Like in real life, the people who accept welfare from the federal government will never make it to the top. Therefore, teams like Front Row Motorsports and Tommy Baldwin Racing will always suck until NASCAR stops treating them like they are a bunch of imbeciles who can’t do things on their own. If you want a shot in NASCAR, you’re going to have to prove to me that you can race. As a result, the Drive for Diversity program needs to go. If you are Vietnamese and can really drive a race car, you’ll get the shot. You’re not going to race in the big leagues for me just because you are from another country or province.
And what about the inconsistency? NASCAR has been more familiar with that term in recent years and it’s well deserved. Brian France went on Fox News stating that Denny Hamlin was fined for criticizing the racing product, but you can always criticize NASCAR’s decisions. That has not always been the case and France knows that. In fact, it blew up in his face once again at Talladega. Ryan Newman CLEARLY criticized NASCAR’s decision to continue on with the race, but criticized NASCAR’s inability to keep the cars on the ground which CLEARLY implies the racing product. Therefore, Ryan Newman should have been fined under France’s explanation, but he was not.
As I stated before, NASCAR should allow teams to do what they have to do to make their cars go faster. Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski shouldn’t have been fined for what happened with their cars. Kenseth had a bigger penalty than Keselowski at first, but then later had his reduced even further than Keselowski’s at their respective appeals? What’s up with that? If you are going to do that then just don’t penalize them at all. I want this sport to survive, but at this rate we are facing some major cliffs.
At 700 and counting, Gordon’s Cup career still going strong
Jeff Gordon’s never had a problem racking up impressive statistics. He’s a four-time Sprint Cup champion, has 87 career wins and 72 poles.
But Saturday night in Darlington Gordon added two equally important numbers to his racing resume. He made his 700th career start and capped it off with a third place finish, which earned him his 300th career top five.
“We’ve known for some time that this should be where it should happen,” said Gordon on Saturday night about Darlington. “I thought that was very cool. I think, looking back throughout my career, this track has been one of the best for me, a very special place. Holds so much history for this sport.
“To have the seven wins here that I have, I couldn’t think of a better place to come to and get the 700th start here. Then to go out there and have a strong performance, it felt great. I wanted the 700th to be a memorable one, and I’m glad it wasn’t like last year’s memory where we blew two left rear tires back-to-back.
“This was much better than that. Top three, that’s fantastic. I mean, we needed this kind of performance, a gutsy performance, for the points as well as to make this one memorable.”
Gordon, along with the rest of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, ran solidly in the top 15 all night. At one point they were lined up third through sixth, but Gordon was the only HMS driver who led laps. During a round of green flag pit stops he led the field for 16 circuits.
His finish leap frogged him to 12th in points, the highest he’s been this season. Putting Gordon again in contention to make another Chase and contend for another title.
“I appreciate that you still consider me being a threat for the championship and wins because lately, just trying to get top 10s has been a struggle,” Gordon noted on Friday.
“I know that this team is capable of it and I fee like I am. We won the last race at Homestead [last year]. So yeah, I think that means a lot to me. And I got reminded of this the other day and how bad I felt about it when it happened. But, when Darrell Waltrip was having one of his last good days at Dover and I was a torn-up lapped car and we met one another going into turn three and that ended his day.
“So, I remember watching Darrell and other guys run in the back in their last year or two and I think every driver at a young age says, ‘I don’t want to end my career like that. I want to go out on top.’ You either want to be able to walk away from it as a champion or winning that race or at least being competitive, if you could choose. But that’s not always the way it happens.”
Speculation has run rampant the last few seasons about when Gordon would hang up his helmet. Something he’s never seriously entertained nor given any indication of. It hasn’t been easy to ignore for Gordon as changes began to take place in both his personal and professional life.
He got remarried and has two kids. He’s in his third season of working with crew chief Alan Gustafson. And Gordon will turn 42 later this season and he’s suffered from back pain throughout his career. Right now though, Gordon’s still going strong and finding it hard to see any reason why he needs to stop driving his infamous Chevrolet.
“Along the way, guys start making more money at the end of their career not winning races they were when they were winning races,” said Gordon.
“So, it’s kind of hard to step away from that; and just the love and desire you have for getting out there and driving that car. I think Mark Martin has shown me that more than anybody. He thought he could stop away and then he realized how much he missed it and how much it meant to him to go do it.”
Martin still races in the NSCS but not on a full-time basis, something Gordon says he can appreciate because of how grueling the NASCAR season is. It burns a driver out, takes away from their family and as he noted, sometimes a driver just isn’t competitive anymore.
While Gordon has missed the Chase before, he’s never been a driver to experience great slumps. Making Gordon a driver forever grateful for the success he’s had along his 700 starts and the opportunity for what lay ahead in 2013 and the rest of his career.
“There are a lot of different ways to go about it and I’m thrilled with the way things are still continuing to go for me because I do feel like we have opportunities to win races,” he said.
“We’ve had mediocre at best results and we’re still getting close to the top 10. I’m pretty optimistic that we can get things going really well the second half of the season.”
