This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the NASCAR season. While I will never be confused with a fan of the sport, I cannot deny the impact it has, especially in our area. Those who believe racing is a “southern” sport need only drive by Midvale Speedway on any given weekend and see the stands full of spectators. The sport of racing, whether it be stock cars or dirt bikes, has had an explosion in popularity throughout America. Tracks of all sizes and levels of competition across the country are experiencing a boom in participants and spectators. Of course this is attributable to the growth of NASCAR into main stream America. Oddly enough though the old guard of the sport believe this is hurting their sport.
 
   The sport of NASCAR was born out of the days of moonshiners racing through the back country roads avoiding the “man” while trying to get their illegal booty to the distributors. The sport saw its first boom in popularity in the years immediately following World War II. At the time the sport was a regional one with differing rules based on what track you might be at on a given weekend. Enter Bill France Sr., who decided to get all of these regional tracks together to create some semblance of organization and consistency. France, who operated a beach course in Daytona, Florida, created the sanctioning body for the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR. In February 1948 the first NASCAR-sanctioned race was held on the Daytona beach course. The rest is history, or as Mr. France might say, in the rear view mirror.
 
   France turned control of the sport over to his son, Bill France Jr., in 1972. France Jr., was responsible for bringing the sport out of the south and making it a nationwide event. France Jr., was also integral in opening NASCAR to television. The 1979 Daytona 500 was the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live in its entirety. The race was a classic but what gained the most notoriety was the           post-race fight between Cale Yarborough and Bobby and Donnie Allison. When Yarborough was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame current day CEO Brian France, Bill Jr.'s son, thanked Yarborough for throwing the punch which made all of their careers. That rough-and-tumble image along with the sports marriage with RJ Reynolds Tobacco proved to be just what the American sports fan craved.
 
   How popular was it? By the mid-80's Fortune 500 companies were lined up not just to sponsor NASCAR but individual racing teams. The sport even survived the passing of the torch when drivers like Richard Petty, the Allison’s and Yarborough retired only to be replaced by Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt. This new era of driver was cut from the same cloth; rough, rowdy and talented. The sport may have branched out into places like California, New York and Michigan but these boys were still good-ole-boys who had no problem trading paint and putting someone in the wall. The sport would continue to be very strong through the 90's bringing in new blood in the likes of Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte. Things were good as NASCAR had found its corner of the sports world and became as popular in certain areas of the country as football or baseball.
 
   The new millennium brought NASCAR right to the front of the pack. With the appointment of Mike Helton as CEO television became an integral part of NASCAR. Just before the appointment of Helton, NASCAR had signed a consolidated package with Fox Sports and NBC Sports to cover the entire season. Mainstream had been achieved, NASCAR was no longer a regional sport of outlaws, it was now part of the American Sporting landscape.
 
   Many believe this is when the problems began. It had nothing to do with popularity, the sport continued to grow at a staggering rate. Television showed increases as high as 80% in viewership and sponsors were lined up trying to get their name and logo on any one of the cars. As has happened with all other sports when they become married to the media NASCAR had to notice in return for this popularity they had ceded some control of the sport. In June 2003 NASCAR announced it was ending its 33-year partnership with RJ Reynolds and cell-phone magnate Nextel would be the new series sponsor. Many believed it was television pushing to get the tobacco giant, who was dealing with its own problems in Washington answering questions about the relationship to tobacco and cancer, removed to create a more family friendly product. Winston, Copenhagen, Skoal all had been with the sport in those tough early years but they would not be around to see the “golden age”. They would not be the only casualty.
 
   Later in 2003 Helton, the first CEO not from the France family, was replaced by the aforementioned Brian France. Since, the changes have been numerous. Tracks that were part of the original circuit were being replaced with locations in Miami, Las Vegas and Kansas City. In 2004 “The Chase” was introduced. No longer was it about winning races in some fans eyes, it was now about surviving and getting points. In 2001 some had their hair on the back of their necks stand when the German-owned Daimler Chrysler announced it would be bringing back its Dodge name-plate to the series. That hair lept off those necks when in 2006 Toyota was allowed to bring their cars in to the series. 2007 saw the debt-riddled Nextel replaced by Sprint as the main series sponsor along with the divorce with Anheuser Busch as the main sponsor for the junior series NASCAR operated. The beer company was replaced, by all things, insurance mogul Nationwide.
 
   The cars and drivers have changed too. The new breed, “Young Guns” as they were branded, were not as rough and rowdy as their predecessors. These guys were good-looking, well spoken and perfect to promote the Fortune 500 sponsors that now make up the sport. When these new guys do get a little frisky NASCAR is quick to step in and get everyone back in line. The call for safety, Fox, NBC and ESPN were certainly not going to have another Earnhardt incident, led to a safer car, “The Car of Tomorrow”. To someone who is not very well educated in this sport I have a hard time calling it racing when everyone is driving the same machine. I thought part of this was guys making their own cars in their garages and taking them to the tracks to see how they compare with others. On this same theme, how do you call something racing when they put something on your car, a restrictor plate, which wont allow you to go fast? Isn’t racing about knowing when to go fast and when not to?
 
   So in the end you cant argue with the fact that NASCAR is now a mainstream sport here in America. I think the question to ask is should it be? While I know change is inevitable, it seems change when corporate America, including the media monsters like ESPN, Fox, NBC and the like, can be wide spread and contorting. When you think back to those regional tracks in the late 40's seeing what their sport has become one would think they would be wondering what has happened. The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote “For money, you would sell your soul”. While I am sure the modern day family of NASCAR would tell you that this is part of growing the sport, those men who created this phenomenon will tell you the pre-pubescent version doesn’t recognize its grown sibling. Maybe NASCAR needs another one of those Yarborough punches, this time to save their careers.
 
-Roger