Will the real NASCAR please sign in?

Hello everyone

After a bit of work, this blog should now be read by a number of my very best friends. I do not plan on posting every day, but when there is something that I absolutely need to say, I will.
I promise that it will my opinion, pure and simple. No editor to muck it up either.

I have been a fan of NASCAR since the 1960s. I lived for the days when I could sit and watch Chris Economaki on Wide World of Sports. There was something that drew me to racing. Stock cars were the cars I saw every day on the streets in my hometown. I never could play sports very well due to a handicap. I remember asking my dad if I would be able to drive a race car.
He never said no.

From 1971, the year he died, until Janet and I met in the early 90s, most spring summer and fall weekends you would find me at a track. Sometimes you might find me in the pit area, if I knew someone or if I was helping Rev Pat Evans. Otherwise I would be parked in a grandstand seat.
The only break came during my time in the military, even then, if there was racing, I would find it.

The sport in general and NASCAR in particular has changed a lot in nearly 40 years. Not complaining, just stating a fact. When I came into the sport, the WWII generation was still firmly in control. You could still build an entry level car with a couple of trips to the junkyard, some rollcage tubing, a torch and hand tools. I know this because my best friend and I once built a car with the help of my next door neighbor who just so happened to be a darn good mechanic.

If you were racing in New England, you either ran NASCAR or an outlaw track. NASCAR controlled the two top series here, the NASCAR modifeds and the North Late Models. You coudl draw a line. If you were in Mass, R.I. or Ct. you were in modified country. The northern states were ruled by the late models. The two top events on the calender were the Thompson 300 for the modifeds at Thompson Ct. and the Oxford 250 for the Late models at Oxford Plains in Maine.

In 1971, I got my first taste of pit side action at Seekonk Speedway in Mass.. A social worker went out of his way to help our family. His cousin was racing a street stock there and invited me to come along. For many years I would call Seekonk, my home track. Later we would build a street stock to race there, we even had a car number and a sponsor. The car would never see the track.

Seekonk, like many New England tracks was a product of the WWII era. A first generation Italian American, Anthony Vendetti built a 1/4 mile oval on the family chicken farm on Rt 6 in Seekonk. He did so with lots of concrete and his own two hands. If you raced there, if you even attended races there, you were part of his family. In later years I had several conversations with him that I remember fondly to this day. The track continues under family ownership to this day. In fact, my nephew has raced there in recent years. With the help of his father and his sister's husband, Eric Boyko has followed his uncle's dream.

It is said that when a tree dies, the roots are the first thing to go. So it is with NASCAR. Where they once dominated the New England countryside, today their presence is limited to the two Ct ovals and NHIS. The weekly racing that they once ruled has become splintered. Many tracks have shut their gates. Those that remain, survive on a diet of limited late models and modifieds, hobby stocks, and other entry level divisions. The Late Model tour is now called the Camping World East and runs a limited number of races as a developmental tour. The Whelen Modifieds alos run a limited tour, focused on the two Ct ovals. There are a number of other tours in the region run by numerous groups. They range from the PASS and ACT Late Model tours to the 4 cyl mini mods and midgets. While the Thompson 300 remains in name, the Oxford 250 has become a part of the ACT . I have no bone to pick with any of these people. I have known many to be fine people who are devoted to their sport. It is just not NASCAR.

Now it seems that the illness has reached the upper levels of the sport. The first two generations of the France family were men of vision. Bill Sr took a bunch of bootleggers and made them respectable. Bill Jr,made them professionals and made the sport into something that attracted a wide range of interest. At one point I saw it becoming the fourth major sport in this country. I can see that I was wrong.

The current leadership has made mistakes that may not be easily repaired. Brian and his sister would rather manage their other interests than concentrate on the sport. For many years, NASCAR was seen as being free of drug abuse. The worst that could be said is that they were a bunch of hell raising good old boys. Not so today. Within the last two months, a former Nationwide series driver has been found dead in a motel room and a Cup series owner/driver has been placed on indefinite suspension for testing positive for an unnamed substance. The driver has been in discussion with NASCAR and is now taking them to court. This has rocked the motorsports world. To it's credit, NASCAR has taken the drug issue seriously. Following the rain out of the World 600, it was reported that ten people were randomly tested. While I am glad to see action, I really did not want to read this.

The sport faces many other problems. Last year's race at Indy turned into a tire failure nightmare. As you read this, eight teams are meeting to test tires. One of the biggest , most hyped changes in the sport, the COT is not helping the sport. A ban on testing has hurt teams who are trying to make it into a car which allows the good quality of racing that the series has been known for. Every week I see figures on tv ratings and attendence. It is down across the board. Not a good sign when teams are struggling to find sponsor dollars.

The final nail in NASCAR's coffin may come from the United States government. At this writing,
there are four auto companies involved in the sport. One, Chrysler is already in bankruptcy after accepting billions in aid. General Motors is following closely behind. Of the domestics, only Ford remains in private control, while Toyota, the lone import bleeds it's own red ink.
I cannot see either GM or Chrysler remaining in the sport once government takes control.
Our president is no fan of motorsports. We are not green enough for him. At a time when he is increasing mileage standards, I see little interest from this administration in helping the sport.
Cutting this funding will leave a major hole in the sport at all three of the major levels. Where will the teams find funds to compete? Will we lose at least one of the tours? Will we begin to lose tracks? Will our sport, a sport that many of us have come to know and love, fade into the carbon crazed sunset? I hope not, 40 years is a long time to waste.

Will the real NASCAR please sign in?