NASCAR – The Times They Are a Changin’ and Brian France Completes NASCAR’s Youth Movement
By: Andy Kondratick
The Vets of this sport know what the true feeling of pleasure in a win is and realize that the money and fame will follow. The younger drivers in our sport don’t share that same thought process. They probably have felt it, but once they reach the level of greatness, they seem to forget. When you loose sight of what you once were and focus more on the here and now, change can bring bad results. Change can be a wonderful thing but it also can be the downfall to all the good things that happen in our sport, both to the drivers and the spirit of competition.
Upon hearing the news that Bill France Jr. stepped down and named his son Brian as his predecessor, I began to think that good things could only follow. I believe Brian will be able to bring more of a youthful outlook to our sport. That is something NASCAR has been lacking for quite some time now. Brian is more in tune with the current problems that face the youth of our society and sport as well as the thoughts and concerns of his veteran drivers. He will be able to recognize when things are going to happen before they actually do. I think Brian will be able to help bring a more well rounded reign to NASCAR by being able to relate to the younger drivers as well as the veteran drivers of our sport. He has grown up with all of the current veterans and is still at an age that the younger drivers will respect him for being more in tune with their thinking, versus having a father figure in Bill France Jr., which only brings head-clashing problems and disagreements. This causes them to lash out in an effort to draw attention to themselves. Kevin Harvick comes to mind along with Kurt Busch. Just like most of our parents and us, we almost always never see things eye to eye but the opinion of an older sibling always seemed to carry more weight.
The young guns need to look back and see how all the veteran drivers stuck together on one common thing. They kept each other out of trouble under the watchful eye of Big Bill. They policed themselves and had respect for one another even if they didn’t like each other. The common goal was shared by all. Today’s youth has no respect for anything but what is going on in their own little world. Most drivers don’t even see one another until they are on the track and ready to race. They don’t interact like the drivers of old.
In New Hampshire, the whole meeting between Harvick and Rudd, with Mike Helton standing near by, was a futile attempt to return to the days where drivers could police themselves and work it out. Kevin, being young, is headstrong. He is full of himself at the moment and will realize over time that no one is out to get him but rather they are there to help bring out the best in him. Right now that isn’t working but he is good enough to overcome all of it and make himself into a great veteran driver who will be able to pass on the knowledge to future young drivers in the series.
When you get younger drivers who lash out on and off the track there usually is an underlining problem somewhere and usually there are only two things to look at in this case. One, you have a high-strung driver who is driven to compete at any cost and will do anything they can to enhance their performance. The other is if they have a mental defect that needs to be nurtured much like Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Something got stuck in their mind and you can’t beat it out with a stick. Only time and interaction with others who are at the same level of competition as you can help. Imagine if a veteran driver like Dale Earnhardt took a young gun like Harvick aside and said…
“Whoa man! What in the hell are you doing? You don’t act like that. That won’t get you anywhere but outta here. You need to calm down and focus on the big goal. We are all here to do the same thing and you are really screwing it up for everybody. Now settle down and race your race. Stuff happens. This isn’t gonna be the first time and it sure as hell won’t be the last. Get over it and move on means just that. I didn’t say you had to forget it. You better not forget it. Remember it and move on.”
Shane Hmiel has the first problem I believe. Case in point would be the drug situation that faces many of America’s youth, especially those who rise to fame and riches at such an early age. He is driven to become the best of the best and has a lot of pressure to be better than the drivers he has to race against at the Busch Series level, not to mention always keeping an eye on the big prize, which is racing at the Winston Cup level. When you are young, and feeling invincible, you will do anything to please those around you and sometimes make bad decisions in the process. That does not make you a bad person, it just makes you human. Shane is taking his punishment and taking responsibility for his actions, so in my eyes he is worthy of a second chance. This is the one “mulligan” of his career and I hope our new leader Brian France will take that into account and give him the chance to redeem himself.
Darrell Waltrip made a statement on Totally NASCAR this week about NASCAR never being touched by drugs before. He claims that this sport has always been clean until the youth of today and all the problems that accompany them came to NASCAR. I find that hard to believe.
Drugs are not something new to anyone. They have long played a part in the downfall of many athletes’ careers and just because you never heard of it before doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Darrell should not even be commenting about it in my opinion. Hell, after seeing him do his version of the Icky Shuffle in victory lane, I would have handed him a specimen cup and sent it off to the lab in a rush. To claim that our sport has always been clean is just plain silly.
Tim Richmond comes to mind when I look back and think about some of the possible past drivers in NASCAR history that may have had the occasion to party down, along with a few others who were part of a NASCAR youth movement back in the 80’s when hard drugs started to be so prevalent in our society. This is yet another change that Bill France Jr. couldn’t possibly have a handle on, but Brian France will. Brian can read the younger drivers better and be able to say, “Here is a cup” and it doesn’t have Winston written on it either. Just like in the case of Shane after the Richmond race a few weeks back, which led to his unfortunate suspension and loss of his ride. I believe he made a youthful mistake and hope that one unfortunate indiscretion won’t lead to him never competing again. Just out of curiosity Brian, did you give Harvick a cup too?
Respect is the key word and everything else that I mentioned in the beginning will follow. Gentleman agreements, courtesy, respect, good sportsmanship and common sense can all happen if you have someone in control that has the drive and initiative to keep making NASCAR great. Racing back to the yellow is dangerous and can lead to a lot of non common sense moves. We don’t need that.
Brian France will be able to police the younger driver who doesn’t really understand what it means to be a gentleman yet and still needs to have clear cut rules in order to make them behave like gentlemen. He also will be able to address the concerns of the veterans and have the respect from them because they all know him. There were always too many uncertainties in the NASCAR rulebook and I think changes to that will bring back the order to this sport that it desperately needs. The younger drivers coming up will respect clear-cut restraints in order to move on in the future. Change is always inevitable but you have to embrace it and move on. Good Luck to you Brian. I look forward to seeing more changes from you and your staff.
This has been one racefan’s opinion…
Rogue Reporter Andy
September 20, 2003 -
In this world of ever-changing times, all good things must come to an end. Gone is the day of gentleman agreements, courtesy, respect, good sportsmanship and just plain general common sense when it comes to NASCAR racing. The chase for the almighty dollar and fame have overshadowed the true meaning of racing which is the pleasure and euphoria you feel when you win a race, along with all the admiration and respect from your fellow competitors that accompanies it.