Friday afternoon I decided to take a trip over to NASCAR.com for a glance at the entry list for Saturday's Nationwide race in Nashville. One entry really rubbed me the wrong way. The KHI #33 entry listed Kelly Bires as the driver. Now, why is this a big deal? Well the answer is simple; its become apparent that its not longer about how well you can drive it's about what sponsors think about you.
Before I go on any further let me first say that this has nothing to do with Kelly Bires or his ability to drive a race car. The young man is a talented driver and was simply asked to get behind the wheel. One would be a fool not to jump at the chance to seize such an opportunity. This, however, has more to do with the current state of the sport and how some one's ability to drive has been replaced with his/her ability to say the sponsor's name, conduct a pit-road interview, and hold a product in a cardboard cut-out.
Last year Cale Gale split time with Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman in KHI Chevys. Gale only made a handful of starts in both the Truck Series and Nationwide Series, but he made the most of those starts capturing a pole, one top-five and four top-tens. Gale was described by most in the KHI camp as the "future of Kevin Harvick, Inc." All indications had Gale splitting time with Harvick and company in '09 and then going full time in '10; but it was the comment Delana Harvick made to Matt Yocum prior to the '08 Bristol fall race that spoke volumes for Gale's future in the sport.
Delana Harvick stated that she and Kevin loved Cale and his potential, they loved what he brought to the organization and loved his work ethic and talent, but they were having trouble selling him to sponsors. In a 30-45 second stretch Cale Gale's future in the sport went from promising to questionable. No longer was it about what he could do on the track in front of the fans it was about what he could do in the board room in front of sponsors.
This isn't a new trend in the sport. This has been going on for years. The current economic structure of the country is forcing car owners to go after guys who appeal to sponsors or can bring their own sponsorship package to the table. Quality starts have been replaced by "start and parks" and purchasing of owner points from the previous year. Circumstances like these leave guys like Cale Gale, Stephen Leicht, Danny O'Quinn and Chad McCumbee relegated to part-time or low-budget rides barely making it in the sport.
The end result is a downward spiral that the sport can't seen to overcome. Races are not very exciting, attendance is down and not many people are watching the races on TV either. NASCAR has lost touch with its core values, its roots and with its fans. Its reasons like this that NASCAR is dying a slow death.
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2 comments:
Cale seems to be a young talent who is looking for the right combo but not finding it. Of course, we don't know the real inside story either. Don't forget that Steve Grisoom and David Green won championships in a Busch car but never made it big in Cup racing while Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon won one one or two races during their tour of the AAA. Upside potential may simply not manifest itself with these guys - who knows. It is a shame that ability is measured by how you say the "Cherrios Toyota" ran great today as opposed to "our car was tight most of the today". Big Track Wonder
The image thing in the sport has killed the common bond between a driver and his fans. Putting guys in cars because of how they look or talk is a big reason why the sport sucks right now
Doug B
Georgia
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