Cyber Monday meets NASCAR: The year of the Tweet
NASCAR drivers were once thought of as elusive figures. Heroes who were more likely to be seen instead of heard; behind pit walls, in the garage or through the television screen. [media-credit name=”twitter.com” align=”alignright” width=”150″]
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But, just as the good ‘ole days of dirt tracking, the Intimidator and the King, pre-COT days and when rubbing was racing and no one complained about it, times of drivers being out reach are gone. Now, drivers are too accessible, at times too open and honest. Yet, it’s not a bad thing, it’s what we’ve all longed for, but my, how times have changed.
With another Thanksgiving again gone, Black Friday happily behind us, we’ve reached what’s become known as Cyber Monday. However, shopping is the furthest thing from mind. NASCAR has changed all beliefs when it came to cyberspace with a 2012 for the digital ages.
The advantages and disadvantages of social networking, specifically Twitter, are well known. The ways in which NASCAR drivers, teams, the media and fans use the tool to connect and offer behind the scenes and up to the minute information, has exploded over the last year.
No longer is it that drivers are only available on the weekends and for a price. Everything is now at the tip of our fingertips. In 2012 NASCAR and Twitter became both synonymous and media worthy. Drivers are now taking their feuds and frustrations to the Internet, a place they’ll last forever.
Brad Keselowski will be remembered not just for his first career Sprint Cup Series championship, but the way he changed NASCAR’s use of Twitter – just look at how many were waiting to see not what Keselowski said on TV after winning the championship, but his first tweets.
And he ended the year doing the same thing he started it with: tweeting a picture from inside his racecar. In February it was during a red flag in the Daytona 500. He simply blew up Twitter in doing so because only here can you see drivers sharing that type of access
LeBron James certainly can’t tweet a picture of himself dunking during an NBA Finals game. What if Ben Roethlisberger tried to snap a shot of the end zone celebration of the Steelers after they scored a touchdown? Keselowski showed drivers – and NASCAR – that this is the new age and it’s time to get onboard and have fun with it.
Twitter handles are now on rear bumpers and driver firesuits. In March, Kenny Wallace tweeted from Phoenix about his sponsorships woes with RAB Racing, claiming that he was watching wealthy fathers come to his hauler to try and get their kids a ride.
Wallace continued to tweet and tweet, upsetting his team owner. But Wallace claimed, he wasn’t embarrassed to ask for help. Throughout the season he continued to send updates about his racing status and how fans could help.
That was just the tip of the iceberg though. Drivers seemed unafraid to tweet this year, so long as they didn’t criticize NASCAR, they’d be OK. As such, they’d turn their attention towards each other. The climax coming when the Twitter war between Kevin Harvick and Cope sisters Angela and Amber, broke out.
At New Hampshire in July Harvick was leading when the lapped and considerably slower Amber Cope found herself in front of him. It slowed Harvick down enough that Keselowski cruised by for the win and afterwards Harvick let Cope know that she shouldn’t be racing. Except, it didn’t end there.
Both Harvick and the Cope twins took to Twitter for weeks and traded barbs. After a while, Harvick stopped responding but the Copes continued to criticize Harvick and the fans who were criticizing them. Taking it a step further, the two seemed to use all attention as good attention. They created a website where fans could donate money in order to help them race in October at Charlotte, writing on the site “to put your money where your mouth is.”
The idea was to help raise money to “even the playing field,” in order to get an upgrade in tires, motors or perhaps a test session before the race. Angela Cope did race in Charlotte, but it lasted only one lap.
For the ugliness that Twitter can bring out in everyone, there have been plenty of lite moments in 2012. Jimmie Johnson used his page to show his quest for a sixth championship, hashtagging six-pack after many tweets. Keselowski may have been the one to gain much attention for his Twitter use, but Johnson’s was just as big.
After every race weekend he’d give away his hat in a contest. He even became quite the cameraman, uploading pictures from the garage, the airplane and everywhere in between. The artsy aspect of his photos were what made them popular.
Johnson’s teammate Jeff Gordon turned into a prolific Twitter user this season. A quick study in Twitter ways, he was soon engaging fans and sharing his disappointment with how his season was progressing. Gordon’s two children, Leo and Ella, constantly make an appearance through pictures posted by both himself and wife Ingrid, seemingly growing up right online.
Delana and Kevin Harvick did the same with new son Keelan. He was introduced to the world via Twitter, before making an appearance on pit road in front of the cameras. Now the Harvick’s can’t resist showing pictures of Keelan, after initially hesitating on the idea of sharing him with the world.
Cyberspace has become a way for NASCAR fans to see their drivers as human. Not just the superstars and heroes they idolize and cheer so hard for on the weekends. But it’s also become a place that NASCAR is continually trying to take advantage of, getting involved with and hoping to reach out to new fans.
How far that will go, only time will tell. For as much as it was embraced in 2012 and with how much came from it – breaking news, etc. – how it affects the sport next year or years to come will be the bigger story. There are already rules for drivers using Twitter, Keselowski might have gained NASCAR some attention through his behind the wheel tweeting, but he didn’t get off easy with it.
It was a fun and memorable season, one made more so by the way in which we enjoyed it. There was the experiment of the NASCAR hashtag page, as well as tweets on TV during the summer months when TNT read fan and driver comments on air. ESPN then had the “tweet your seat” feature for fans. Even commercials were made about using Twitter.
As we move forward and get ready to begin a new year, it is with the hope that things will get bigger and better. Cyberspace isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; it’s only going to become more a part of things. NASCAR has already shown great interest in being right there with it.
But it will mean nothing if the opportunity lying ahead isn’t met with optimism and preparation. That being to continue to grow the current fan base and their access while reaching out and bringing in new fans and new media attention.
So, tweet on drivers, teams, media and fans. Who knew that cyberspace would be so much fun?
A few other memorable NASCAR tweets from 2012:
- Mark Martin putting “Epic Swag” above the door of the No. 55 after his account was hacked and Twitter named was changed to that.
- Kenny Wallace vs. Ryan Truex on sponsorship and money. Wallace was taken out of his car at Texas and Truex was put in because he had a sponsor, Wallace claimed he bought the ride.
- Elliott Sadler’s numerous tweets after Indianapolis, when he was black-flagged from the lead when NASCAR declared he jumped the restart.
- Denny Hamlin calling his shot before New Hampshire. Then making good on it.
- Anything Clint Bowyer tweeted
CLAUSON, EAST, HAGEN TOP DECEMBER 7 “NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 23, 2012 DICK JORDAN CLAUSON, EAST, HAGEN TOP DECEMBER 7 “NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS” JOHNSON, MENZIES, LOVELL & DeJONG TOP TORC HONOREES The “Night of Champions” USAC National Awards Dinner is scheduled for Friday night, December 7, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind. Champions of USAC’s 2012 racing series will be honored during the gala evening. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind. has locked up his third consecutive USAC National Drivers Championship and among his championship awards are a scholarship from INDYCAR. Clauson also secured USAC’s 2012 AMSOIL National Sprint Car title. Bobby East of Brownsburg, Ind. will be celebrated as USAC’s Traxxas Silver Crown and Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. emerged as the 2012 Mopar National Midget Car Champion. Ricky Johnson of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Bryce Menzies of Las Vegas, Nev., Brad Lovell of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Mitchell DeJong of Temecula, Calif. will be honored as 2012 USAC TRAXXAS TORC Off-Road Truck Champions presented by AMSOIL. Johnson claimed the Pro 4x4 title, while Menzies won the Pro 2WD crown, Lovell is the Pro Light 2WD titlist and DeJong won the inaugural Pro Buggy championship.. The affair will be held again this year in conjunction with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS), which will be held December 6-8 at the Indiana Convention Center, located just one block south of the banquet facility. In addition to the various series championship awards, numerous other performance awards are part of the ceremonies as well as special recognition awards. USAC’s Mopar .25 Midget “Generation Next” Champions will also be featured at the banquet, which gets under way with a cocktail hour at 6 pm and dinner to follow at 7. Reservations for this special evening are being accepted until November 30 by Nikki Wilke at the USAC headquarters at nikki@usacracing.com or by calling 317-247-5151 (Ext. 214). Tickets for the banquet are priced at $60 each. Emcees for the affair are renowned broadcasters Jim Tretow and Pat Sullivan. The Indiana Roof Ballroom is located at 140 W. Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis.
Chasing My Dreams
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[/media-credit]Dreams.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Little dreams, big dreams. Some dreams include finding happiness in life or dreaming to make yourself a better person. A year ago, I wasn’t dreaming and I had no straight path to success. A year later, I can say my path success is more direct. NASCAR has been a passion of mine since I was seven and writing has been a passion of mine since I was in second grade. I never thought of combining the two until this year and putting my two passions together created endless possibilities.
Before this past NASCAR season started I had the opportunity to write about the Camping World Truck Series for a small blog. After I began writing and writing and writing, I had fallen in love with writing more than ever before. Prior to the Daytona 500, I was writing for my own site which I loved. I enjoyed the idea of writing about NASCAR and I dragged that enjoyment along for a ride. The ride ended when after years of searching and wondering I finally figured out what I enjoyed in life and might like to make a career of it once I finished school. Writing about NASCAR was what I was doing for enjoyment but I thought that one day I could make a career out of it and that’s when I began chasing my dream.
Throughout the NASCAR season I wrote articles, recaps, previews, etc. and I loved doing it so much. For a person to stick to their dream they need to have boosts or compliments from other people and that makes the person following their dream want to achieve their dream that much more. I was fortunate enough to receive compliments throughout the season about my writing and that’s what kept the fire inside me going. Writing about NASCAR wasn’t just a passion anymore; it had turned into a dream. A dream to one day be writing on the big levels and be able to be so great at it, much like Marty Smith is today.
One of the biggest compliments I received throughout the season was by Samantha Busch. I had recently gone to a Kyle Busch appearance and talked to Samantha for what felt like forever. Samantha knew who I was and knew about my dream and she even knew who I wanted to be like, Marty Smith. A day later, I wrote an article describing my encounter with Samantha and Kyle but also Marty who I had met in Charlotte back in August. Once I had written that article and put it out in the world, compliments from lots of people started rolling in.
The best complement I could have received came from the lady who had inspired me to write article, Samantha Busch. Samantha responded to a tweet with the article link and said “You’re so talented I have no doubt you’ll make it big!” That was the compliment that inspired me to keep chasing my dream and never let my dream fade away. If Samantha has faith that I can chase my dream, I should never give up on my dream.
Once the first season of writing about my passion and my dream concluded, I thought how much I would like to continue chasing my dream and keep on writing throughout my life. Being only fourteen now, I have at least four year until I can really come close to achieving my dream. Each day until I achieve my dream, I will be doing all I can to make my dream come true. An inspirational quote regarding chasing your dreams that I follow is “Keep on dreamin’ even if it breaks your heart” the quote is from a song that is sang by the Eli Young Band. That quote is what inspires me to chase my dream and I never plan on my dream breaking my heart, I won’t let it happen. Chasing my dream is what I expect to do throughout the years to come.
Kyle Busch: I’m more excited about this year being over
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[/media-credit]“I’m more excited about this year being over than anything else in my entire life.”
For Kyle Busch, the 2013 season did not go his way at he failed to win a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, a Nationwide Series race and failed to make the Chase in the Sprint Cup Series.
“I think it’s been well documented that this has been the absolute worst year of my career, bar none, whether it was racing ASA cars or late models or Legends cars or even being here in the big three, winning 20-plus races a year,” he said. “It’s a huge disappointment. You don’t — I mean, Cup races, sure, they’re hard to win.”
In the Sprint Cup Series, Busch had one win, 13 top fives and 19 top 10s, finishing 13th in points. For Busch, it’s not enough as he says he could’ve won the last few races of the season, if not for circumstance.
“The last three weeks I should have won Martinsville, I could have moved Jimmie out of the way, I could have dive bombed the two of them at Texas and probably won that one, and then Phoenix I gave away because I chose the wrong lane on a restart,” he said after the Nationwide season finale. “I can’t seem to put it all together when it matters, and you have to in this sport, otherwise you’ll be kind of shown the door.”
In 22 Nationwide Series starts, he had nine top fives and 14 top 10s – yet no wins. It marks the first time in eight years that Busch hasn’t won a single race in the series.
He ran three truck races this season for his team, scoring top fives in each while leading laps. Though once again, no win was there – ending a streak of a win in each of the last seven years.
“Should have won last night,” he said, referencing the finale for the trucks at Homestead-Miami. “I had a shot to win Atlanta, had a shot to win Texas, just nothing ever materialized, and why it’s not materializing I can’t tell you.”
When asked for what needs to change, Busch didn’t have a clear answer.
“I’ve got to start living different, I guess,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. I mean, I’ve had plenty of second place and third place finishes in my career. You know, this year I’ve had plenty of those, as well, too. I even have a sixth place from Kansas where I should have won coming out of Turn 4, ran out of gas.”
For a driver that is used to success and winning, it does play heavily on his mind, despite the positives seen in this season with the team that he owns and their venture in both the Nationwide and Truck Series.
“I don’t know if you can keep a job in this sport by finishing second and third every single week or not, but hopefully I can because I seem not to be able to get to victory lane,” he said.
