Voices From the Cheap Seats

_Author’s Note: This article may tick you off. I am not a monster; I am simply a man that lives in reality._

The reality of what happened on the final lap of the Nationwide race… not on the track, but in the stands is a tragedy. It is a tragedy because people got hurt.

The latest stats that I have from reliable sources, as of this writing is a total of 33 injured in all; two are in critical condition and one of them has life-threatening injuries. (As of this morning, both patients have been upgraded to stable).

My sincerest thoughts and prayers are going out to all those involved.

Danica Patrick’s historic capture of this year’s Daytona 500 pole position couldn’t have come at a better time for NASCAR. After all, we all know that when it comes to the marketplace, sex certainly sells. I mean, who among the male fan base doesn’t like a fast woman? Congratulations, Danica! Here’s to hoping you don’t become fast and loose… a seemingly recurring theme with these new Gen-6 cars.

Not to be outdone in the “selling sex” department, Michael Waltrip Racing has hired Christmas Abbot (I know, my first thought was of Holiday Monks, too…) as a full-time pit crew member for their Sprint Cup operation. Abbot stands five foot, three inches tall and tips the scales at 115 fat-free pounds.

As I start my 10th year of writing about NASCAR for Frontstretch.com, I find it even harder than in years past to get “really excited” about it just yet. Once the last race is run in November, I tend to totally shut out, or try to, anyway. That’s hard to do when your significant other is a racing nut! But I do, avoiding all things that have anything to do with NASCAR until I actually see the pretty-colored cars going around in circles again the week before the Daytona 500. Unfortunately for me, my editors seem to think I should get excited a whole week earlier than that so in order to keep them happy, here goes…

I recently read about a child who, having been told to drink his milk, said something to the effect that an “optimist saw the glass as half empty.” When his father corrected him that it was actually a pessimist, the kid replied… “Not when the glass is full of something you don’t like!”

As I promised in my last article, I will continue to expound upon some of the finer points that NASCAR could change that would help bring back some of the fans that have lost their zeal for the sport they once loved.

As fate would have it, the race at Phoenix proved to be a perfect example of some of the things that have gone wrong with the sport. Not only was the race a good example but some of the comments left by faithful readers have pretty much written this one for me.

Here are a few excerpts that I agree with.

If you haven’t read “Friday’s column”:https://frontstretch.com/ahenderson/42053/ written by my esteemed, award-winning colleague Amy Henderson, you should.

In it, Amy eloquently explains, in a much nicer and less crude way than I do, the many points that are making NASCAR just another channel to surf over on a Sunday afternoon. While I agree with Amy on almost every point, a very rare occasion indeed, I do disagree that the way to “fix” NASCAR is not simple but actually quite the opposite. To put it mildly, the fixes are no brainers; they’re just choices NASCAR simply does not have the balls to make.

If there is one thing…well actually there are many…but one of the things that just positively irks the living crap out of me is wishy-washyfulness. Maybe it’s just wishy-washyness, I dunno, but what ever you call it, I got no time for those who practice it.

Either you ARE or you ARE NOT. You’re IN or you’re OUT. She’s pregnant or she’s not…you get the idea.

Coming across this press release, I could do nothing more than shake my head and ask…WTF Dodge? Why even bother saying anything?!

A spokesman for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has announced that two different car insurance companies have expressed an interest in sponsoring NASCAR’s most popular female driver, Danica Patrick, possibly full-time by 2014. The two companies are Allstate and Progressive.

This could prove to be a huge boon for Danica, or it might prove to be a huge headache as she is currently a spokesperson for Nationwide insurance. As one might expect, any sponsorship by a rival insurance company would only be allowed at the Sprint Cup level as Nationwide currently sponsors NASCAR’s lower series.

While Nationwide doesn’t directly sponsor Danica’s car on the race track, she does do their ‘Vanishing Deductible’ commercial at the track and often takes it a step further by vanishing from contention and even behind the wall during races.

Once again, a mere 11 or so years after the first time, an Earnhardt has lit a fire under the assess of the NASCAR brass, forcing them face the pain in the name of safety.

In 2001, it took the tragic death of NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Sr., before NASCAR would mandate simple, existing safety equipment that would have saved his life. Those were the HANS device and SAFER barriers. This time, the son, again NASCAR’s most popular driver, is forcing NASCAR to back peddle when it comes to brain injury testing.

In light of Dale Jr.’s shocking announcement yesterday, there are a few observations and/or questions that I’d like to throw out there.

As I read through the “transcript”:http://www.jayski.com/news/teams/story/_/page/88-Hendrick-NASCAR-Team-News of the news conference, the first thing that caught my eye were a few statements that seemed a bit off. Well duh, you say, the man has a concussion! Yeah, that’s very funny and all, but here is what struck me as strange.

As I was out on the road this morning, I happened to hear a radio interview with current Chase leader, Brad Kesolowski, and as it progressed it set me to thinking.

In just exactly what order do I place certain characteristics when it comes to picking a favorite driver?

However, before I delve into all that, let me say one thing. I know that many reading this are going to start whining about how “members of the media shouldn’t have a favorite!” Well let me tell you…anyone who is writing about NASCAR on the Internet on sites such as this, as well as hundreds of others, HAS a favorite driver. If they claim they don’t, they are lying! The only exceptions to this rule are those few ‘media’ members that are grossly overpaid by such sites as nascar.com or network affiliated and the like. In other words, those folks who’s actual JOB it is cover it for a higher power full-time.