Greetings, NASCAR community of Bleacher Report. Some of you may know the Slipstream as a F1 and open-wheel-only editorial, but to celebrate the first year of the Slipstream, I have decided to give the world of NASCAR a try.
I was actually inspired by the not so April Fools Day joke that was passed around about GM and Chrysler being ordered to abandon NASCAR by the end of this year. But this is not a political rant because you can get that from any talking head on TV.
What I try to bring to motor sports is a different, somewhat cynical or realist view of the current situation, be it on the track or off.
The Slipstream comments on all forms of motor sport and if you read any of my previous articles, I do not hold back in regards to my views either. I enjoy the series, and have attended several races. I will say this though, I do not hate NASCAR, I just hate what it is becoming.
So thank you in advance for trying me out and please feel free to give me feedback. I appreciate and enjoy all views, both good and bad.
With the 2009 season well under way it seems fitting that I take this lone view while NASCAR competes in the Lone Star State of Texas.
Over the past decade or so, this series has taken many shapes and assumed many forms. Even before the death of Dale Sr, the sport was seen as being in a state of constant flux.
The rapid expansion of the 90s with the birth of the West coast agenda to the Built-It-Yourself cookie cutter tracks that sprung up across the country gave NASCAR renewed vigor.
This rapid expansion brought a rise in prices and an attempt to raise the image of NASCAR's fan base from one of a perceived simple minded bunch of yokels, to the latte sipping crowd of Main Street 2.0.
This approach became set in stone after the 2001 Daytona 500 where a legend and some say a form of the sport died on the high banks in Florida.
The 2002 season brought a fresh slate and an end to the mourning over the standard bearer of the sport. Names like Johnson, Khane, and Edwards replaced those of Elliot, Labonte, and Jarrett.
Along with this passing of the torch came the corporate perversion that now holds the integrity of a sport that holds it's roots in rum running and fender to fender racing, hostage.
The influx of corporate money started to drive not just advertising, but it seemed that those in the announce booth could not help themselves from playing races up like they were the film serials of the 1940s.
Would Driver A (a member of the Young Guns) who is hated by the fans win another race..or will Driver B (who is also a member of the Old Guard) be able to beat him? Stay tuned next week race fans...
This kind of broadcasting soaked it's way into what used to be Speedvision, now known as the SPEED channel. If you could choke a network with one form of programing they managed to prove it can be done, because for every Targa Newfoundland or MotoGP race I see, there must be five shows devoted to NASCAR.
Driver personalities gave birth to broadcast personalities. Broadcast personalities gave birth to gimmicks such as the Hollywood Hotel, Crank it Up!, and of course, Digger.
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