I was wondering……….
I was wondering…….
I have sat back and looked over the past couple weeks at what I thought was wrong with racing in general, not just NASCAR but dirt racing as well.
And after many hours of pouring over past races, current results, talking to drivers, and promoters. I have a few thoughts I have been wondering about, and I want to share these with you and get your take on it…….
Over the past number of years the level of information available to the avg fan has quadrupled, I mean, years ago when I first begin following motorsports fans didn’t have a lot of information available to them. It was an occasional article in a news paper or a monthly publication like Stock Car Racing Magazine. That was it. Period.
Now days we have 2500 websites for each form of racing, and about that many for each driver an track. It’s almost information overload. The facts and stat’s available today is unbelievable. Not just on a given race, but each driver his lap times during the race, his competitors lap times along with side by side comparison.
With so many different voices out there screaming to be heard, and gain the website hits, it’s wild. Lots of them are nothing more than the same information you find on other websites, but gleaned, to contain the information about a specific driver or series and nothing more. And that is fine, but it’s overload.
It has created all these “couch crew chiefs” who think they know all there is to know about racing and set ups. Now you add Iracing on top of that and these “Arm Chair “ crew chiefs really get defensive on social media, when challenged. So much like other area’s of our life which we won’t get into here, but it almost makes the fans defend ever comment they make because all the “experts” go to bashing those who don’t agree.
And thus starts the division…. The gap widens each and every day. And there is nothing we can do. (much like other area’s of our life…but I digress)
One glaring example that always jumps out at me is a Social media page devoted to Ryan Blaney. No matter what happens in the race if he don’t win, the entire group begins bashing the pit crew, rattling off how many spots he lost on a given pitstop, or how much time he spent in the pits. Because all this information is out there on some website! God forbid you go in that room and say something different, or challenge what the “experts “ say. You will get blasted from stem to stern.
I don’t fault the fans for being passionate about a driver they like, it is good to have fans. But to have it carried to the level it is, isn’t good for the sport. It causes division, something that is killing our great country.
Its no better in dirt racing, look at what happened at the Ice Bowl at TST this season with a couple drivers who had contact, BOOM, it was Michael Page fans from central Georgia, VS all the Pierce McCarter fans from eastern Tennessee. No matter what was said it was polarizing as to which side you stood on. And if you made a general statement about it being racing, you suddenly become less of a fan because you were “blind to not see ……..’ common ground was no where to be found.
No matter the level of racing it has come to this, let something happen on the track, or off the track when it comes to lab results, and you are instantly on one side or the other, there is not common ground, there is no “agree to disagree” your either for or against.
We got to get past this. We got to get back to where there can be common ground, where both sides agree to disagree. This kind of division is going to hurt the sport, it’s ok not to see everything exactly the same. We all want our favorites to be the champion of what ever battle is there.
Yeah I am sure some of you will be quick to point out my comments on NASCAR when Larson wall banged Chase Elliott. I was upset when it happened, and everything that happened only added to it, like Larson not apologizing for the move in his victory lane interview. In my mind, I felt it was important to own your mistake, Chase Elliott has done it many times taking the blame for bone head moves he has made that affected another driver or the outcome of a race. Elliott is a very humble young man who has a lot of talent, Larson also is a very talented driver, things happen. No one but Larson will ever know what truly happened that day. So we, as fans need to move on.
But the Harvick fans want to go on and on about last year and the deal with Harvick and Elliott, and now refer to Elliott as a crybaby. I mean really? Do you think Harvick and Elliott are going to be impressed that a fan is still defending them about something that happened a year ago? Trust me they couldn’t care less. They made a pay check and they have moved on.
Some where we need to, as fans, move on and agree to disagree that not all calls goes our way. But I don’t see it happening, besides, if we all agree then it takes away the fodder for articles like this…. Yeah it would be rough but life will go on, and we as fans need to grow up and just enjoy the racing, good or bad, lets keep supporting racing no matter what form it is, and help grow the sport, it’s how we can continue to enjoy racing for many years to come.
So with that said, go to the races somewhere this weekend, and take a new fan with you. Expose a new fan to the sport we all love so much.
in response to stick and ball writer…
In response to the “gentleman” who writes for the Orlando paper, you know the one who doesn’t know squat about NASCAR? Yeah that’s him……
This guy comes out with an article saying fans should root for Bubba Wallace. He has no idea whatsoever about how drivers are picked.
First off lets address his comment about NASCAR being a niche sport. The sport of NASCAR first, has been around longer than this writer has been alive, not to mention that motorsports is the number 1 spectator sport in the world…. But I digress…
He thinks Bubba would propel NASCAR to the top of the world and draw in thousands of new fans…… .well they thought the same thing when he came into the sport, that didn’t work because Bubba’s ego got in the way.
But hey this is the same buffoon who touted Danica Patrick a few years ago, he thinks he is some kind of expert on sports, he thinks NASCAR is all redneck beer drinkers who need his great direction to know who to vote for..
What it boils down to, is the guy saw that race cars had come to town so he wanted to write a racing article, you know cause all the other REAL writers were. He has no knowledge of racing other than what he gets in a 5 min google search.
This writer seems to think it’s going to take something different to make NASCAR great again, he even got in his backhanded slaps at Trump, and making sure everyone knows Bubba is black, trying to make a racial issue of it, guess he never heard of Wendell Scott, see another writer who doesn’t do his research and its a shame, but trust me we know Bubba is black, but he is half white too why aren’t we talking about that? NASCAR Diversity that sums it up right there.
so let’s wrap this up in a nutshell …
1) NASCAR fans pick their own drivers, not a yuppie stick and ball sports writer who knows nothing about racing….
2)There are lots of things wrong in NASCAR but Bubba isn’t going to fix any of them and a win at Daytona sure won’t fix anything, Bubba and his ego have seen to that already…
3) Wallace should keep his mouth shut and just go racing, and stick and ball writers should stick to stick and ball sports….
“thedr”
what happens now NASCAR?
Some days you’re the bug, some you’re the windshield on days like today Bubba Wallace is the “Ass”
So many things wrong with what happened its hard to find where to start, but lets play the part of Captain Obvious” Larsen didn’t hit him, yeah he took him up the track toward the wall I agree, but that don’t give Bubba the right to dive down the track and Turn Larsen, the way he did. #2 you don’t drive down the track and turn into a fellow driver just because you’re mad. Now if NASCAR was smart, Bubba’s car would be going back to th R&D center with NASCAR and he better hope that they can prove his steering was broken BEFORE the crash.
#3 Now again, just because your mad don’t give you the right to lay hands on another driver, which Bubba did more than once we will say.
I understand being mad, I get that part. But the moves afterwards are totally uncalled for, and lets add in the fact that he was NOT called to the NASCAR hauler after the ordeal……sure makes it smell of favoritism.
Lets say for the sake of conversation that it has been someone else, oh say Ricky Stenhouse, who was in Bubba’s shoes, NASCAR would of been screaming on the radio for Stenhouse to get to the NASCAR Hauler ASAP. but today there was no words like that being said…..and that is sad. Really sad that it clearly shows different treatment among the drivers depending on who does what. Nothing sends a crooked signal like a crooked message does. Period.
Wallace challenged larson over and over, push after push trying to get a response from Larson, knowing it would be Larson who got the short end of the stick and got penalties from it. BUT Not Bubba….. Oh no that won’t happen, especially when Bubba went “Full Victim” in the TV interview, saying “ I don’t lift”
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!! It is come time for a reckoning for Bubba Wallace and his antic’s.. He has gotten away with enough, it’s time to drop the hammer on his way of thinking. If NASCAR don’t, maybe it’s time for team owners to do so, and snap him back into a more normal way of thinking.
But the true test comes in the next few days as NASCAR looks at the video, I want to see how many different ways they can see what he don’t and justify it.
How much longer can NASCAR afford to let Bubba get away with this type of actions? How long do they let it go on?
This week will tell the tale…. Lets see how it works out….
Memories…..
I am going to publish a few articles I have written in the past to see how they hold up to the test of time, this one was from 2017 let me know in the comments below what you think..
Doc
Fans …….
I have NEVER EVER claimed to be an expert on racing, but I have about 50 years around it. I know lots of people in the sport, and fans of the sport.
I recently posted a comment on Facebook giving NASCAR an grade, and I caught hell over it. One person asked “if you hate NASCAR so much, why do you waste your time watching it?” well let me answer this……..
I have been a fan of NASCAR since the 60’s, I got in trouble all thru school for drawing race cars, I related everything I done to racing in one way or another. As I got older it became a way of life for me. And in a way it still is.
I was a fan when legends of the sports were driving, drivers like Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Jody Ridley, and these men knew racing, they could work on their own cars, an most did.
Races were speed contest of 500 miles. It was a battle, of making a car race for 500 miles, and a driver who could pilot it that far. It was more than just who led a lap, or who racedd good for 30 or 40 laps, it was the total package.
Slowly but surely NASCAR went thru changes, and as the times changed, so did racing, and I went right along with it, because the ideal of the sport stayed the same. It was about who had the total package, and how problems were dealt with during the race, how to overcome the issues that arose.
Then came the era of Brian France, the sport had thrived under his father, and it had grown to be the #1 spectator sport in the world. And Brian felt he needed to make his own mark on the sport, he wanted to shake things up, so out came the “Car of Tomorrow” rule changes, as the car lost it’s identity, and drivers were held in check by the rule “Actions detrimental to auto racing” the sport started to loose its mark. It lost its appeal, but the true fans, the one’s who had made the sport what it was at the time, stood by, hoping the fad would pass.
But, it didn’t, in fact it got worse. By making the cars all the same with only decals being the identity, the sport again stumbled. Drivers were not happy, and when they voiced concerns they were hit with fines and penalties. This action, truly changed the sport. It robbed the sport of the individuality that made the sport what it was. And the spiral downward began .
The powers that be, made it known that drivers could speak their mind all they wanted to, as long as it didn’t criticize the management. Management ruled with an iron fist. Didn’t take that long to backfire, the fans started to lose interest, and attendance numbers bore this out. NASCAR soon seen the writing on the wall, and began making changes wholesale, bringing in aero packages, to “improve” the show they were giving the fans. Adding more and more frills to the sport with driver introductions, required media day attendance. The list goes on and on, as the powers that be caved in to the money, and the businesses that were standing in line to get on board, but instead of staying with” the one who brung ya” format of racing, NASCAR felt it was mandatory to give the sponsors what they wanted, sponsors who jumped on board because of the product, the product of side by side racing. Slowly that product went away. It became a sport of money, money and more money. Those who had the money made the rules, sort of like the inmates running the asylum. And again, the fans left in droves.
BUT NASCAR knew what was needed, they had conducted polls, they had done research, I personally don’t know where they done all this BUT they said they did… no one ever asked me… but I digress…..
NASCAR had a gushing wound in the sport, instead of taking a stand and doing what was needed, by bringing back the type of racing that made the sport so great, NASCAR decided that they would just throw on a few bandaids, with spoilers, or airfoils, or restrictor plates, and the fans left in droves again…….
NASCAR seen that changes had to be made, the TV camera’s were showing empty stands, folks were seeing the sport decline, so, NASCAR decided that they couldn’t have that, they had to do something! Action was needed and in a hurry! So, knee jerk reaction, if the stands are empty take them out! Here was a sport, on a downward spiral, in need of help, BUT instead of making all those empty seats full agian, but giving away tickets to charities, or Veterans NASCAR took them out! They could of cut prices in half and filled the seats, and STILL been making money, but that didn’t fit the “models” that the “polls” and “research” had shown. Never once did the brass at NASCAR walk thru the stands and ask the fans who paid their hard earned money what THEY wanted. Why? Cause to NASCAR that didn’t matter, they already had those fans money, didn’t need to please them. And THAT is the problem that NASCAR didn’t address. Instead they chose to mess with the format, change the rules again. And again……
All this happened over a 15 year period. Yes NASCAR has been in steady decline, for 15 years look back at attendance numbers over this time frame. According to Sportswatchmedia.com ratings have dropped 20% each year over the last 3 years! That’s down 60% over a 3 year time span, but NASCAR don’t have a problem.
The time has come for the brass at NASCAR to make a change, leadership has faltered, and changes need to be made or NASCAR will continue its downward spiral, if they want to know how to fix it…. I got the solution. It’s really easy, but for NASCAR brass, it’s a novel concept they will never see…..
You want fans in the stands? Here is how you get them.
- Think of the fans first.
- Get rid of the current car go back to stock sheet metal,
- Cut cost of racing by going to hard tires, and 9:1 engines.
- Drop prices of seats
- Get fans back by showing you care about what they want, get in the stands and ask them
- If you have cheating, take the wins
- Stop trying to clean up the history of the sport it is what it is, moonshiners made this sport embrace it don’t hide it.
- Let the fans know they matter without the fans there is no racing
- Take the muzzle off the drivers let them say what they want!
- Give the sport back to the people who made it great the fans.
I admit I may not have all the answers, I am not a corporate lacky who knows all the ins and outs of business, but I do know what fans want. I know what the sport needs to get fans back in the stands and it isn’t the direction they are going now…. When you constantly overlook the history of the sport, and try to reinvent it, you will destroy the sport. The history is the basis of the sport, and the way they have tried to sanitize it is one of the nails in the coffin. But so many think that the sport is evolving, and that this is just a rough patch, and that the fans today want this version they are promoting. While this may have some truth to it, what about the millions of fans who have supported it thru the years?
Can NASCAR afford to ignore the core fans while they attract a new era of fans?
Why can’t they find a middle ground, to please BOTH sides of the fence? Because the way it is now, it looks like NASCAR don’t care about the very crowd that made them what they are….
This is just my view, my humble opinion, good or bad, I call it like I see it.
Has USAC stepped in poop?……….
With the races USAC sanctioned in Fla back in February and the tire test that followed it makes you wonder, here is the statement posted by USAC this week.
USAC CONCLUDES OCALA TIRE ANALYSIS
Speedway, Indiana (March 31, 2022)………Officials of the United States Auto Club released information on Thursday, March 31, relating to extensive tire analysis following the testing of tire samples following a USAC National Sprint Car event in Ocala, Florida in February.
Routine post-race tire samples were taken by USAC officials, following all protocols in securing samples and submitting for lab analysis. The initial testing resulted in all four samples, from four unique race teams, being returned as “not meeting the benchmark,” which is a measurement versus the original manufacturing date code of the tire samples taken. Additionally, those traits found to have not met the manufacturer benchmark were not those typically found in tires which have proven to be altered from the manufacturer specification for the purpose of competitive advantage.
The analysis of the original results not meeting the benchmark, as well as having an atypical pattern of all samples failing the benchmark in an identical manner, resulted in USAC requesting extensive additional testing and analysis being completed to verify initial testing results.
Tire samples which failed the original test, along with the original benchmark samples, were sent to three prominent testing labs, including the original testing lab, for further analysis. While the known failed sample again failed at the original testing lab, this same tire sample was tested during the same time window at two additional labs and both labs deemed the samples as not altered from the factory specifications.
After receiving guidance from the two alternative testing labs that these samples met benchmarks, specific instruction was given to both labs to retest in an attempt to identify a specific chemical trait that was prominent in both the initial failed test and retest by the original lab. With the specific chemical trait as their guide, both alternative labs reported they could not find this chemical trait that prompted the original failed test.
Additionally, based on the professional opinions of the two additional testing facilities, the tire samples presented were not deemed to be chemically-altered from the manufacturer benchmark. A third-party executive professional compounder from one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers reviewed all results and concurred with the end analysis.
USAC takes any alteration of specified tires as an attempt to gain an unfair advantage and a serious rule violation. Penalties associated with treating tires to gain an advantage are severe, including a first offense of a six-race suspension and a $2500 fine in addition to lost purse money and points. Based on the unprecedented four initial failed tests, USAC spent considerable time and resources to assure a fair review and due process was completed to protect the integrity of the series, competition officials and teams competing for the Sprint Car National Championship.
Results from all completed National Sprint Car events are upheld, and all parties remain in good standing going forward to this Saturday’s event at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, where stringent ongoing testing will continue to ensure fair competition. In the event of a similar test result with the same abnormal chemicals detected, the same measures will be followed to confirm those results are accurate.
To assure full transparency of the process that USAC underwent to complete the entire analysis, a team owner meeting will be held on Monday, April 4, at 3:00pm Eastern at the USAC office in Speedway, Indiana. Licensed USAC National Sprint Car series team owners are invited.
Now to fully understand how all this happens I have looked up “how a Mass Spectrometer “ works. If you want you can read the technical mumbo jumbo here how it works
Ok now you have read that, (yeah right) lets break it down, when tires are made, they are date stamped, each batch of tires with this stamp is put thru a test by a mass spectrometer device, and a standard is set, this set of data is listed as a benchmark. When labs test tires the maker of the tire provides the data for that date code, and that is what the labs go by when comparing sample to benchmark to see if it conforms. Generally it is not a chemical analysis type test.
So with that said, I have a few questions regarding this whole fiasco.
First, what labs were used for initial testing? That is something that would be important to keep everyone on the same page, and make things transparent.
Second, what are the other labs, listed in the above post? I mean if it was my tire being tested, I would want to know who was responsible for the testing, and how reliable they are.
Third, it was mentioned there was a chemical found, that normally wasn’t something that was used for tire tampering, so what is it? And why wasn’t it found in the other test?
Forth, are the labs all using the same testing procedure? And they all using the same benchmark?
These questions all create more drama, than should be there. But they are valid questions, how do racers trust the series or tracks if the lab the tracks and series use to test tires is found to be at fault? Is there bad blood between the labs?
I mean look at the crate racing division, look at the rebuilders who are involved in that, and the issues created when one rebuilder tears down another rebuilders work. Some say it’s not fair while rebuilders are scared that the “tricks” they use to gain an advantage over other rebuilders will be discovered.
But the facts remain the same, in order for tire testing to be legitimate then there has to be transparency in all testing, and labs have to be testing apples to apples, not using different standards to get different results.
And we have got to have the names of the labs doing the testing made public, not hidden to prevent racers from questioning the lab.
Now we are going to have racers all over the place screaming that they got shafted, back when they got nailed for tires not passing, or they scream about what got the tire dq’ed. “I only washed my tires in Purple Power, or Simple Green”. Well Soapy water was not used to doctor up tires, it was used for it’s intended purpose, to clean! It is a cleaning agent diluted by water.
Or the ones who say it’s the chemicals the tracks use in the water truck to water the track, or the ones who say it’s the chemicals on the ground that the car rolls through in the pits. The limited/minimal amount of contact a tire has with contaminated dirt, simple green, antifreeze spill, etc. will not allow chemical permeation into the tire at a level anywhere near what soaking or rolling tires for 24 to 36 hours will that lots of the tire prep stuff requires.
But at the end of the day, with all the information that isn’t being released it causes more drama than it fixes.
Series, and tracks who use testing need to make it known, who is doing the testing, and what kind of testing is being done. Is it just a comparative test, which means comparing it to a manufacturer provided benchmark, to determine if it matches or don’t, or is it a chemical analysis of the tire sample, where they actually do a break down of what chemicals are in the tire, not just does it match the benchmark. All the testing I know of today in racing is the first kind, a comparative type test, matching it against a benchmark. Its less expensive, and quicker to do. Which gives the series or tracks what they want, fast results, and a lower cost.
Now is this what racers want? I guess that depends on which side of the fence your standing on.
300 shows….
Last week I done my 300th show on Performance Motorsports Network, what a mile stone for me and the show. I want to share it with the readers here who follow me, so you can hear us all just being us… great guest, great friends and great times,
Now go listen to the show, share it with everyone you know, and please leave a comment on the show!!
Here is the link https://rumble.com/vxih2n-the-mitch-walker-show-300.html
enjoy and as always… C-ya@racetrack!
Just a few random thoughts……..
Just a few thoughts……..
I have addressed this on my show, The Mitch Walker Show on Performance Motorsports Network a few times. And I think it’s time to address it again, you know the old saying “ the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. So with that here are my thoughts, keep in mind it’s my view, my opinion, if you agree cool, if you don’t that is your right.
NASCAR has lost it’s way. It has also lost lots of the very fans who made the sport what it is today. But the problem is they don’t care, oh sure they tell you they do, hell Steve Phelps even said in an interview they have a 25,000 member fan council! AND he said they listen to the fans……. He is a funny man.
So many times I have heard folks say that “NASCAR died when Dale Sr died” well I do not agree with that, it was in trouble long before that. But lets look at what has caused the biggest downfalls and issues.
Management … yep that is the first issue, the brass, or powers that be, have no idea what it takes to please the fans and create new ones. I mean how many times have you seen any of the brass of NASCAR walking thru the stands talking to fans? I know lots of successful local race track promoters who spend lots of time talking to the fans, sitting in the stands hearing what the fans have to say. But do you see NASCAR doing that? Nope you don’t .. I mean they got a “fan council” 25,000 members strong….. yeah right.
Product….. the cars, first when they created the COT, or Car of Tomorrow, to fix all that ailed NASCAR a few years back it was a HUGE failure. BUT NASCAR had invested tons of money in it and did not want to see that money roll down the drain. So what do they do? Put a bandaid on it… they worked for 3 years trying one thing after another, the rule book grew by volumes and it took a lawyer to read it. Then when that didn’t work either, there was a brainstorm from then leader Brian France, and he was an expert ! Don’t believe him? Just ask him he will tell you….. he decided that we needed a format change and out comes the Chase series or 2 heats and a feature as I call it.
Tracks…. NASCAR heard from someone’s ex wife’s brothers cousin, that fans liked mile and a half tracks.. so BOOM lets do some mile and a half tracks to fire up the fans.. yeah that didn’t work either. So since they couldn’t sell seats anymore because of the crappy product, NASCAR’s answer was to remove seats! That way it looked like fans were coming! They could go back to saying races were sold out again! Greeat Idea…. Not so much.
And they the fearless leader “Brainless Brian France” gets pulled over and he couldn’t buy his way out of it. So he checks into rehab, and vanishes from public view. When all else fails hide your mistakes…… then in comes new blood in the tower on high.
Enter “Mr Woke” Steve Phelps, he comes from the NFL where he worked for 14 years and he brings his woke views to NASCAR. Oh yeah he comes from Vermont. A real hot bed of NASCAR racing. Mr Phelps put up a good front, even telling the fans that “ we have gotten away from the core group of fans who made NASCAR what it is, and we won’t do that again.” well that didn’t last long. As soon as he said that in walks in the “New and Improved and Woke “ NASCAR! Out comes the Diversity programs, as if NASCAR didn’t have enough money raising drivers up the ladder instead of talent, now we got to be diverse! Now we got to have a “balance” with race, and gender. Gone are the days of skill and talent getting you into NASCAR, now you have to be a minority, or female AND bring lots of money with you. And you too can soar to the top of the charts, at least as far as media exposure goes.
NASCAR decides that the Rebel Flag was racist, then allows Black Lives Matters to sponsor a car! But not just any car oh no, it’s the great Bubba Wallace car! Then when that drew the ire of the core group of fans, they create the Pull Rope fiasco! And bring in the FBI! Yeah can’t get more woke than this.. BUT if you dare challenge this view, your labeled as a racist, clearly no one in the Ivory Towers of Daytona, own a dictionary! But let me look it up for ya Mr Phelps.
Racism
noun
- The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
- Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
- The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against other people because they are of a different race or ethnicity.
Please note it does NOT mention a color, it says race. So with that being said Mr Phelps, just so you know, a person can be a racist no matter what color they are.
And all of this brings us to 2022, where NASCAR is going to be saved by the woke way of thinking and a spec race car. Gone are the days of racing innovation, gone are the days of ingenuity and strategy that has led to some of the best racing ever, but alas those days are gone. NASCAR is more concerned with being “woke” and not offending anyone.
Notice that now all advertisements for NASCAR have Bubba Wallace, dead in the middle of it? They guy runs 25-35th each week with an occasional good run on a super speedway where a blind hog could win if in the right spot. BUT NASCAR see’s him as a cash cow, who will draw in new fans, the same ones who tuned in during the first race with BLM on Bubba’s car, the same ones who tuned out soon as they saw cars going in circles over and over. The same one’s who said there was no talent in NASCAR it was just going in circles…… BUT the Core group of fans who have watched for years still were watching, even though they didn’t agree with some of the things NASCAR was doing they still watched, why? Because they love the sport.
Brian France once tried to push the Core Group of fans out, in favor of the “wine and Cheese “ Crowd because the Core Group didn’t have a high enough median income! France wanted fans who made lots of money, so they could pay the prices that NASCAR was charging for the jacked up admissions. BUT alas that didn’t work either. But the Core Group of fans were still watching……. NASCAR refused to see this. They had to come up with something more. Something that would attract new fans, so they created “events” instead of races to help draw fans.
Mr Phelps is reaching down toward the bottom of the barrel, to find new fans, and he is doing it by himself, and getting no results, he has found that the tactics he used in the NFL don’t work here in NASCAR, because race fans don’t want to see stick and ball sports on the track, they want to see racing! How hard is that to understand?
So as I get ready to try once again to watch a race with Spec cars on a spec mile and a half track, I wonder inside if NASCAR will ever recover, will they ever wake up? Or will they just push the real core group of fans who made the sport and for years planned family events and vacations around NASCAR, farther and farther away.?
As I said, this is MY opinion, my views, you don’t have to agree. But if you do, share this with your friends who feel like you do, and maybe just maybe, Mr Phelps will listen, if nothing else maybe he will call me and offer to be a guest on The Mitch Walker Show. Yeah I know I got jokes…. Have a great day and C-ya @theraces.
Dale Singleton … he done it his way.
Dale Singleton
A man who truly done it his way.
1955-1985
1955 saw lots of interesting things happen, gas was .23 cents per gallon, the average home cost $10,950.00 and a brand new black and white TV cost $99.00. It was an exciting time in America.
New laws came out requiring seat belts in all cars, the first can soft drink Coke-Cola was unveiled. Elvis Presley , Bill Haley and the Comets, Chuck Berry and The Platters, were hitting the scene of Rock and Roll music. The Disneyland resort and theme park, located in Anaheim, California, opened its doors in July, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s restaurant. And Dwight D. Eisenhower was President.
But in a small Northwest Georgia town of Dalton, a baby was born named Dale Singleton. It didn’t seem to be a huge event to anyone other than the Singleton Family, but a few years later it would. As one of the greatest privateer racers begin to make his mark on the world of racing.
It wasn’t until 1967 that the bug hit Dale, when his father brought home a Rupp minibike, Dale’s first motorcycle. From then on it was an obsession with Dale as he dreamed of racing his hero’s that he read about in the magazines.
In 1969 Dale entered his first racing event on a Suzuki 80 in Cleveland TN, bringing home a 5th place finish. Dale began sportsman racing on dirt tracks with moto-cross, flat tracks, and scrambles it wasn’t long before he gained recognition and became a favorite on a 100cc bike in short track events everywhere he went.
It was the beginning of a racing career, that has no equal. With a determination and passion of doing things his way, he forged ahead always looking to move up, to compete with the best, to be better, to be the best.
Early in his career Dale realized that no one done things like he liked them, and he begin with the old adage of if “you want it done right, do it yourself”. Taking on each task, with the focus of it being exactly right, each detail, Had to be completed to Dale’s exacting standards. It was “his way or the highway”. And this way of thinking is one of the driving factors that helped take him to the top. But wasn’t always easy, Dale’s father wasn’t really fond of Dale’s dreams of racing, in fact he offered to buy Dale a brand new car when Dale graduated high school if he would give up this dream of racing, and Dale told his dad, “Dad, I believe I’ll just keep on driving this little ol’ Maverick I got here and go to the short tracks on Saturday nights,” because this dream had become his life, his goal, his passion.
With C.E. Singleton’s motorcycle shop, the family make the trek to Daytona each hear watching the bikes run the road course at the Famed home of racing Daytona International Speedway, in 1972 Dale got his chance when he, and his dad built a motorcycle for sportsman amateur racing competition. Dale brought home the win, and the desire to go even faster was now deeply seated in this young man. Working with his father on this project also taught Dale to become a meticulous mechanic and to have an attention to detail that served him well throughout his racing career.
Early in his career he was chasing that extra MPH, that extra tenth of a second in a testing session, when he seized the engine on his bike testing at a remote location, undaunted he carried the bike back to his hotel room, and tore it down to fix the problem, sitting there repairing his engine in the hotel he was spotted by Taylor White who asked him what he was doing, Dale responded “I am building the engine, because I am going to go get the win tomorrow” White chuckled and gave Dale his card, “when you win call me, I will buy you a new motorcycle” . It was the beginning of a partnership that served both well.
In 1973, Singleton with sponsorship from racing enthusiast Taylor White, began racing a 250 Grand Prix bike as a novice, working his way up the ladder chasing his dream, and doing it his way over the next 3 years. In 1976 he made the move to racing professionally. In his rookie pro season, he showed that his way was working by scoring his first national points in the national road race at Loudon, New Hampshire. It was just a glimmer of what was to come from this young man from Georgia.
1977 saw Singleton make huge gains, with a string of top 10 finishes and his first podium finish at Sonoma, California, wrapping up the season with a 4th place in National Points AMA National Road Race standings.
1978 saw Singleton finish second in National Points Standings, with his first career win in National Points Series at the Loudon Classic road race. 1978 also saw Singleton venture out and begin racing abroad with the American team in the annual Anglo-American Match Races.
1979 was a magical year for Singleton, going to Daytona, and taking his first win in the Daytona 200, beating David Aldana for the win as a privateer, besting all the factory teams.
It was also the year that Elmer showed up.
Elmer was a pig, not just any pig, but a baby pig. A few years earlier during career, Singleton had been racing and traveling with another racer Jeff Purvis. When passing thru his home town of Dalton Dale almost forgot to take care of a chore his father had asked him to do, feed the pigs. Singleton’s father and a family friend has bought a few hogs to slaughter for food for the family table, and Dale was tasked with feeding them, as the two racers got ready to leave for a racing weekend Singleton suddenly stopped “ I gotta feed the pigs! “ his friend told him, “well look at you, a pig farmer” and it sort of stuck. Behind the scenes some of his friends would call him a “pig farmer”. And Dale’s dad figured why not use this to have some fun, so when Singleton won in ’79 he took Elmer to victory lane. And as history goes, Elmer became a hit, he got so much press and attention from the Media, soon promoters were paying Elmer appearance Money! Just another spoke in the wheel of Dale Singleton.
1979 saw Singleton finish a close runner up to AMA series points winner Rich Schlachter just 3 points out of the top spot.
1980 saw Singleton racing harder, and more places running second at Daytona, and winning the Pocono National, but only a 4th place AMA points finish due to him racing in Europe but still honing his skills and getting better, the passion still burning deep.
While in Europe, Elmer was a HUGE hit, with promoter begging for Singleton to bring the pig, so many times across Europe Singleton had to spend the day before the race chasing a “new” Elmer to take with him to the races, often times having to out run a mad Momma pig who wasn’t really ready to let “Elmer “ go.
1981 brought another win at Daytona, this time with a much deeper field, including Freddie Spencer, and Kenny Roberts. But the Taylor White and Beaulieu sponsored Yamaha TZ750 was not to be denied as he captured his second 200 win. The factory teams all scratching their heads as the young privateer from Dalton Ga. Put a spanking on them all.
Singleton’s passion and desire to do things his way, made him the success he was. He knew his equipment inside and out, each nut and bolt had his fingerprints on it. Each bike was prepped by Dale and using his years of knowledge and experience he put the bike together to do one thing, win. And win he did. 1981 saw him win the AMA National Road Racing Championship.
After the 1982 season Singleton retired from motorcycle racing and set his sights on NASCAR, having won the Daytona 200 twice, now he set his sights on the Daytona 500, as he begin his pursuit of racing on 4 wheels instead of 2.
While Dale Singleton was a huge hit with the fans and he loved spending time with them every chance he got signing autographs and posing for pictures with the fans that came to cheer on the privateer who took on the big factory teams. he was still a true family man, spending time with his parents whom Dale always gave credit to them for making him what he was. Dale was a man who loved helping others, with a heart as big as the sky.
His attention to detail was unlike anyone else, he was meticulous in his approach to everything, and as he set his sights on NASCAR he begin searching for sponsors and a team to make the jump. Singleton was truly a one man band, handling all aspects of his career. His sponsor proposals were ahead of his time, he had an understanding that few had in that day. His focus on his task at hand gave him the advantage few had.
He could type, write, think outside the box, in addition to his skills on a motorcycle, making him the real deal. A total package to to speak. His drive, and focus on the task at hand made him the super star that he was, right up to the day he left this earth he was constantly striving to be better, to push himself to be the best he could be.
All the while still keeping in mind the people who helped him get to where he was. Dale Singleton was a loving man, who made sure the people around him knew how he felt. He strove to be the best he could be, and to capture the moment and take full advantage of it.
Today his office sits much as it was 34 years ago when he passed, his trophies still sit in a place of importance, his leathers still hang just as he left them when he wore them last. His filing cabinet still full of his meticulously organized files, each subject in it’s proper place, easy to find with just a glance. Dale Singleton’s legacy still kept on display but his loving brother, who’s eyes still sparkle at the mere mention of his brother, Spencer has worked to make sure his big brother’s memories live on, and by showing the world what a hell of a guy his big brother really was.
I doubt the world will ever see another Dale Singleton, “the Flying Pig Farmer” has ridden his last race, he has smiled his last smile, and hoisted his last trophy in victory lane, Elmer has grown up and gone as well, but the memories live on. The marks he set, still stand on so many levels. The achievements of a legend still ring true, and stand alone. The little guy from Dalton Georgia, who struck fear into the hearts of the big factory teams, the man who truly done it his way, may be gone, but the marks he made on this world still stand. And stand proudly, as marks that few others will ever achieve.
Dale Singleton’s memory lives on serving as a guide post for others who want take on the world, and do things differently. Gone, but never ever forgotten because some of us will never forget the life you lived and the races you won, we will never forget the legacy you left behind. You will always be a legend and myself, your brother and all of Dalton Georgia will never forget you.
I am a trophy..
A Trophy Story
By
Mitch “the dr.” Walker
Recently I got to go through the Georgia Auto Racing Hall Of Fame Museum in Dawsonville, Ga. While I was there, I was enthralled by the amount of trophies spread throughout the area, trophies from all different decades, and era’s, and all sorts of drivers.
I found myself wondering “what if these trophies could talk, what kind of story would they tell?” Well, that night when I got home,all I could think about was trophies…. I layed in bed thinking about all the trophies, and fell asleep thinking about them, and the stories they could tell…..
I begin to dream, and in my dream, I was walking thru the hall again, and one of the older bigger trophies actually spoke to me….. “let me tell you my story,” it said, so here is the story, as told to me by……. A trophy..
“My life started when I was put together by my creator, from a bunch of shiny parts,and some wood.I was then sat on a shelf in the store, and it wasn’t long till the guy who ran the dirt track down the road walked in and bought me, and a few of my trophy friends, loaded us up in his truck and down the road we went….
Once we arrived at the track we were carried in the office and lined up on a table, and name plates were placed on each of us, my plate said “Super Feature Winner” I was pretty proud of it!
We sat there all week, watching the owner and workers rushing in and out, getting ready for that weeks race, It was really busy around there and they wasn’t even racing!
Well, race day arrived and the owner loaded us all up and carried us over to the front stretch of the track, where were once again sat out for all to see, I was really proud of my shiny new name plate on my base, I didn’t know what a “super” was, or what a “feature” was but it seemed important, I knew what “Winner” was, so I was proud.
So as the night progressed we sat there and watched the race cars go round and round. And as each race finished, the promoter ran up to the table and grabbed a trophy and gave it to the winner, before long I was the only Trophy left. Soon, the loudest and fastest cars of the night were blasting around the track at breakneck speeds and sure enough soon as the race was over the promoter grabs me and hands me to the winner. People started taking pictures, over and over, the driver raised me over his head, him and a really pretty girl held me for a picture and he kissed her, then he kissed me too!
He kept saying I was his first win trophy, I got to ride in the race car back to the pit’s where even more people were taking pictures and whooping and hollering, and really throwing a huge party!
On the way home, I got to ride in the cab of the truck with the driver and his wife. His wife wasn’t real happy with him kissing that pretty girl!
But I just sat there, feeling like the center of attention, once we got home he carried me in the house and sat me on the TV. So I was out where everyone could see me again, I was starting to get used to being in the limelight, it was fun, everyone wanted to hold me, and take a picture.
Soon, I got carried out the the “shop” where a special shelf had been built just for me! I sat there overlooking the shop and the race car, it was an awesome place to sit, I could see everything as the crew got the car ready all week long, and then on Saturday, they loaded the car up and left, I was alone, but it was ok there was lots of pictures to keep me company, but I was the only trophy in the place,! I was special.!!
Week after week the same things happened over and over, they would load up on Saturday and leave, then work on the car all week long, some time the car come home really beat up, but they worked and worked until the race car looked like new again, and off they would go every weekend to race somewhere else. Well after a few months, when they come in the shop on Sunday, I looked and they had another Trophy!!! They placed it on the shelf with me! I had a buddy! We talked about all the fun we had had at the track, and I told my new friend how things worked around “The Shop”,. Life was grand!
Over the next few years more and more trophies showed up, sometimes a new one every week would show up, and things got pretty crowded on the shelf, then a second shelf was built, and then a 3rd, pretty soon there were 5 shelves, all full of trophies, but I still had the best spot up at the top.
Then one week, the car didn’t come home, the crew didn’t show up to work on the car, the shop was quiet, …. It was lonely with no one coming out to work, and no race car to look at. I had no idea what was going on, but it didn’t feel right.
Then one day the drivers kids all came out to the shop and started boxing up all the trophies, as the tears filled their eyes, I knew something was wrong…… gone was my special place, gone was my awesome view I had had for so many years, now, I was stuffed in a box where it was dark.
It seemed like forever I sat in that box, dark and cold, when one day a man came and took all of us out of the boxes, I got special attention, because I had been the drivers first win trophy. I was boxed up and given special care, I was cleaned, and polished to my former shine, then I got to go for a ride in a car again. I was carried into a building still in my box, and I could hear men talking, talking about my driver to whom I had belonged to, I realized why I had been alone for so long, my driver had died, in a race car,…….. I was sad, really sad,….. I no longer felt special as I once had.
The one person who treasured me so much was gone….
Lots of the people in the room were crying. They talked for a long time about how special of a driver he had been and about his skills driving a race car.
Then his wife, the same one who had been mad at him for kissin the pretty lady that night got up to speak, she talked about how much he loved racing, and how special his first trophy was, she pulled me out of the box, and sat me on the table, she talked about how much I meant to him, and how proud he was of me, more so than all of his other trophies! I felt special again.!! I was thrilled, then his wife picked me up, and handed me to a man who said he was proud to accept me, and promised her that I would always have a special place there at the Hall of Fame! I had made it to the hall of fame! I was placed on my own special shelf again, where everyone could see me! Below me was all kinds of race cars, and hundreds and hundreds of other trophies!
So, now here I sit, in my place of honor, here in the Hall of Fame, as a tribute to my driver, cause I was his first.
So that is my story, of why I am here, how about you share my story with others so they know how much all of us trophies like it here, and that each of us has a story to tell, and how honored we are to be a small part of this great hall of fame… “
I suddenly awoke from my dream, and I knew I had a job to do, to share this story with everyone, so when they walk through the Hall of Fame, they understand that the trophies have stories too,
Now you know, … why there are so many trophies in the hall of fame
Credit where credit is due…
It seems the big news is, Jimmy Johnson is going to retire well I’ve never been to Jimmy Johnson fan. I think the man has the personality of a paper plate. I’ve never been impressed by anything he has said or done but you do have to give credit where credit is due. The man has played the game and he has won. He partnered with an amazing crew chief and without his crew chief he is also shown that it takes more than just a good driver to win races. But you don’t have to agree with somebody, you don’t have to like them, to acknowledge their accomplishment
Often times in today’s politically correct world, we get hung up on the “if I don’t like somebody I’m not even going to acknowledge they exist”. If you’re a true fan of racing you can’t do that. You have to be willing to acknowledge when someone does something good. Jimmy Johnson has 7 championships. Are they the same is Richard Petty’s seven? No…. Are they the same as Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s seven? No, but there still seven championships, that seven rings and seven trophies. And his name is in the record books 7 times. What more people need to focus on, you don’t like the man but you do have to admit he has won, and he has done it in a convincing style. He dominated for a pretty good period of time and everybody else was looking at his back bumper. For example, I was never ever a fan ofDale Sr. I didn’t like him, I refused to cheer for him, and yes I even cheered a few times when he hit the wall. But I’d knowledge that the man has done a lot for racing. Was he the greatest that ever lived? No, he was not but he is pretty damn good, not everybody likes the same person that’s why there’s more than one race car in a race. It’s all about acknowledgment, being willing to acknowledge those if you don’t like and give them the respect that they’re due. It doesn’t matter whether it was with daddy‘s money or with their own sweat and tears. They managed to win, their name is on the trophy, and their name is in the record book. More people need to acknowledge this I myself am guilty of not doing it.
Every race fan in the world has your favorite driver and then they have the one that they don’t like, we all have them. If you say you don’t then you’re not telling the truth. I think that’s one of the things that bothers me about some of the announcers that we have today former racers they talk about everybody like their sites, all the drivers are so good, they’re so talented well go back and look at some of the feuds they have had with these same drivers. we just need more honesty more openness and more willing to be a little more understanding in the world of racing
I am not a big fan of the coming changes in NASCAR but I’m gonna try to give it a chance and see how it works out I’ve been a fan of NASCAR for five decades, That’s a pretty long time…. Does my opinion or my view of NASCAR matter more than somebody who’s just been a fan for two or three years? No it doesn’t, but my views shouldn’t be overlooked just to capture a new fan. So if you want to play the game everybody’s got to touch the ball, meaning all of us as fans should be equally heard and represented.
As I sit here on my birthday, pondering my 60 years on this earth, and 50 years of it following some form of racing, I have seen alot, and lots I would love to see again. But as my hair has turned from sandy brown of my youth, to chrome, so does all things around me. As does racing, will we like the changes coming? No one knows, and only way to find out is to wait and see. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
C-ya@races.
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