Race Weekend Central

Voices From the Heartland: The Writing on the Wall at Nashville… & the Art of Writing Pure BS

Hey ya’ll, did you catch last week’s episode of Voices? I can still hear Nashville (and Dover) Superspeedway’s Director of Communications, Gary Camp, in my head.

“We’re moving forward like normal,” Camp said, when I asked him to address many fans’ fears of the speedway closing down. “We’re planning for events in 2012 and trying to do anything we can to get butts in the seats and get more fans to come and see races here at Nashville Superspeedway. We are not alone in this softness in attendance, it has affected all NASCAR tracks, so we are just working hard to get people out here and are optimistic that 2012 will be an improvement on 2011 and we’ll get this ship turned around and headed in the right direction.”

Liar! OK, maybe that is a little harsh. I ‘spose they are planning for some kind of events at Nashville, but Camp damn sure knew it wasn’t going to be NASCAR, as yesterday’s announcement of (essentially) Nashville’s closing clearly demonstrates.

“Nashville is a tremendous market filled with passionate race fans,” said VP and General Manager of Nashville Superspeedway, Cliff Hawks in announcing the track will not seek any NASCAR events beyond this season. “We have some extremely dedicated and talented employees who have made this track a great destination, but the reality is, after 10 years of effort, we have to face the fact that without a Sprint Cup race and/or a significant change in the operating model for other events, we simply cannot continue.”

With that, this track will suddenly cease to exist on NASCAR’s schedule. Denis McGlynn, President & CEO of Dover Motorsports, (owners of Nashville) took his own shot at urinating down your back as well.

“We deeply appreciate all the hard work that our employees have put into making Nashville Superspeedway such a remarkable facility, and Cliff Hawks will remain to assist us with transition issues,” said McGlynn. “We have also had years of unrelenting support from state, county and local officials, and from the racing community – from racing fans and drivers to sponsors, team owners and various sanctioning bodies. We are, however, at a juncture where we must evaluate all of our options for this track, including its possible sale.”

I don’t know about you, but I hate being lied to. Dover Motorsports has now closed three tracks (Memphis, St. Louis and Nashville) in the last three years. Personally, I’d be more OK with it if they had been forthright about their intentions all along (and don’t tell me they didn’t know).

I understand that “it’s nothing personal, just business,” but as I’m sure most fans would agree, it’s never good when you piss down my back and tell me it’s raining! Add Dover to the list of tracks that I will never visit! Heck, I’m so mad, I’d rather go to an ISC-owned track. Now that’s mad right there!

I just hope Carl Edwards heeds the advice I gave him last week about his latest Nashville Trophy guitar. Did I call that one or what?!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hat for some of the stupidest NASCAR related BS I’ve ever heard since the National Association of Minority Race Fans (NAMRF) stopped flapping their lips. This one comes courtesy off a news blurb, direct from Jayski.

“Accidents caused by aggressive driving rise notably, in West Virginia, five days after a NASCAR race is shown on TV. That’s the finding of a new study that explored whether the televised spectacle of aggressive, crash-filled racing shaped the day-to-day motoring habits of West Virginians. The state is fertile ground for such a study, the researchers observed, because it has more NASCAR fans, per capita, than any other. And it has no NASCAR tracks, the study said, so TV is how most people take in races.

“The study looked at all aggressive-driving accidents (a category used by the state’s Division of Highways) from 2003 through 2006… nearly 29,000 in all. Poor road conditions and rain predicted such accidents, unsurprisingly. But 156 televised NASCAR races also had a detectable effect. Accidents actually dropped the day of a race, possibly because people were glued to the TV. But days that followed NASCAR events by five days had 23.59 aggressive accidents, on average, compared to 19.40 for other days.”

Editor’s Note: For more, see
The Wall Street Journal or the study at wiley.com.

So let me get this straight. NASCAR fans wait a full five days AFTER a race to drive aggressively? Let’s see… races are usually on Saturday or Sunday. Uh, here’s a thought; maybe there are more “aggressive driving accidents by Thursday or Friday because it’s the end of the week, when people are eager to forget their miserable workday existence and start their weekend?! Better yet, this bozo (Guy Vitalione, obviously not a race fan) thinks that “fans glued to the TV” caused fewer accidents?

Well, duh!! Not that I agree that they are watching NASCAR (check the ratings, stupid!) but there does tend to be less driving around as people are relaxing during their weekend, away from their miserable work existence. Anyone seeing a pattern here? Some people got WAY too much time on their hands!

Stay off the wall (and off the road five days after watching any NASCAR event),

Jeff Meyer

About the author

The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.

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