Every year during the silly NASCAR season, there's a shuffle of sponsors, crew members and drivers. However, one thing always stayed the same: the biggest names and the biggest teams.
Then Mark Martin left Roush Fenway Racing for Ginn Racing (now Dale Earnhardt, Inc.). Kurt Busch also left Roush for Penske, and of course, NASCAR's most popular driver decided to depart from the only home he'd ever known. Now we know that another big star, Tony Stewart, will do the same.
When Dale Jr. announced he would be driving for a different team in 2008, for the first time since he started racing, Jr. Nation had a disturbance in the force. They became divided. Half the fans said that no matter where Earnhardt, Jr. went or what he drove, they would stay loyal fans. The other half didn't appreciate that he would no longer be driving for his father's company and quickly jumped ship.
Now a year later, another big name in NASCAR has announced he will be driving for a new team in 2009. Tony Stewart will co-own and drive for Stewart Haas Racing and leave behind Joe Gibbs Racing and the Home Depot car.
Will Stewart's fans react the same way that Jr. Nation did?
Both Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart are in the same boat: they now have a new identity, new numbers and new sponsors. Jr. Nation went from one 8 to two and from a sea of Budweiser red to an army of blue and green.
The Stewart faithful will transform from Home Depot orange to Office Depot/Old Spice red and silver; from 20 to 14.
The common message conveyed from Stewart fans is why he would want to leave a competitive team for one that's barely on the map, but not once have we heard that fans would not follow Stewart to his new team or call him a traitor as happened with Earnhardt Jr.
Instead, Stewart's move could bring back fans that turned away when he switched from Chevrolet to Toyota this year. Now he's coming back to the bow tie and back could come the fans. It's not uncommon for fans to abandon drivers over their choice of manufacturer. When Mark Martin left Roush and Ford for Chevrolet, some fans said "Sorry Mark, but I'm a Ford guy."
Of course we all know about the Toyota factor when it comes to cheers and jeers. Stewart may now become (more) popular because of "ditching" the foreign manufacturer.
Which makes me wonder: when drivers shuffle from team to team, do the fans care more about rooting for the driver or for the car/team?
If you call yourself a fan of so-and-so driver, then no matter what career moves the driver makes, you follow and continue to cheer. All you care about his the man behind the wheel.
Or do you prefer one manufacturer over another and pull for that batch of drivers? You're just a car guy or gal.
And lastly, who doesn't love the paint schemes? Is one better than the rest and that's what catches your eye?
So, let's open the floor to Stewart fans about his '09 plans and all fans about what they really root for on Sunday afternoons.
14 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Janet Johnson 11 months ago
I'd like to know on what the author based her comment that "Half the fans said that no matter where Earnhardt, Jr. went or what he drove, they would stay loyal fans. The other half didn't appreciate that he would no longer be driving for his father's company and quickly jumped ship." None of the Junior fans that I know felt (feel) that way.
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Bill Lawton 11 months ago
The stands here at Texas went from Red to Green in the couple days it took them to get through the lines to purchase new duds.
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Dave Harris 11 months ago
I'm a driver guy. Still not a fan of Kurt Busch even with his switch from Rousch to Penske.
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Richard Williams 11 months ago
I'm a Tony Stewart fan and will continue to be. Sure he had success with Mr. Gibbs and I,m sure he will find a new driver. Personally if I was in the peek of my career and owned a race team I would want to drive the car. Congradulations Tony on your venture and all us fans wish you the best of luck in the 2009 season.
Rich (Easton PA)
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Jean Bergge 11 months ago
I agree with Janet...who said half of JR nation jumped ship. Have they looked around the stands at the races...the sea of red is now a sea of green. JR may have lost a few fans because he became a teammate of Jeff Gordon, but most of we JR fans are driver fans and have accepted that what makes JR happy, makes us happy! Go JR!
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Wendy Harrison-Green 11 months ago
I am a Tony fan. Okay, I will miss Big Orange, and it will take a little while to get used to not looking for it. But Wherever Tony goes, I follow. I followed when JGR changed from Pontiac to Chevy and then to Toyota. I dont care what car he drives, or even who he drives for. Its Tony I am a fan of. GO TONY!!!
Wendy (Blackpool UK)
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Chris Carden 11 months ago
Thanks Wendy...I couldn't have said it any better! GO TONY!!!
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Steve V 11 months ago
I have to agree with another comment posted here. Where did the author get that so-called "credible" information that half of Dale Jr's fans jumped ship when he left DEI? That's ridiculous. Junior is STILL the most popular driver in NASCAR. His fans are the same and have stayed loyal. In case the author isn't a big follower of NASCAR, DEI, and in particular, Junior's step-mommy are the ones who got all the jeers. No one's paying attention to Mark Martin, or Martin Truex Jr., or any number of drivers that are coming and going at DEI. They're watching Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Jr.
Joe Gibbs is certainly a classy guy, and he's definitely got himself a winner with Kyle Busch, and a winning team. Tony Stewart is a popular driver, and a great driver on top of that. Tony Stewart fans will ultimately follow him wherever he goes, even when he leaves the Gibbs team. Tony's got what it take to be a successful owner and build a successful team.
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Trevor Plummer 11 months ago
I'm a Jeremy Mayfield fan. Over the past few years, that had ment a lot of different hats for me. I do, however, like Tony Stewart. I don't care if he is in a Toyota, Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Kia, or Golf Cart. Tony knows how to race and he knows how to get the best out of the car. I will though be glad he is leaving Home Depot because I prefer Lowe's when it comes to service, price, and quality of product.On response to Janet and Jean, here in Daytona I noticed a lot of people sticking with Teresa in her choice. Some thought Dale Jr. was just leaving because of money. Most of those fans though were fans of Dale Sr.'s team, not just Jr.
On the Paint Schemes, my favorite is always that #31 AT&T car of Jeff Burton. The Orange and blue work so well together. I did like Kyle Busch's red, white, and blue paint scheme for the Brickyard 400 this year. I also look forward to his "pink" scheme at Lowe's Motor Speedway for breast cancer research.
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home depot 11 months ago
I am a recent nascar fan. I LOVE Home depot and Tony Stewart. I'm sorry that he is leaving Joe Gibbs racing but this is an opportunity of a lifetime. It is the right thing for him to do. I will always enjoy watching Tony drive and potentially beating up some one up, but Home Depot orange runs through my veins. I will support Joey when he moves up.
As for the JR. fans, I think he is even more popular now. He is not in his father's shadow. I believe most of his fans followed him over.
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Kelly Crandall 11 months ago
Yes, Jr. is still the most popular driver in NASCAR and what's with the credible information? I never said that I had sources or such, so maybe I exaggerated when I used the word "half" of his fans left. But yes, lets face it, some of his fans did not follow his move to Hendrick Motorsports because (a) they felt that he was going to the "dark side" in Hendrick Motorsports and (b) because they felt he needed to be loyal to his father and stay with the company. They also said he was greedy and did it for the money.
I'm a Jr. fan and I know how popular he is and I know that he didn't do any of the above, in fact I too blame Teresea for his departure and I do know that she gets booed and is hated. So yes, maybe I shouldn 't have said half, but I wasn't lying either. Just read any magazine or website and you would have seen the people who did "jump ship".
And Steve, I am a big follower of NASCAR, DEI and Jr. I have been since I was old enough to watch and understand the sport. I live, eat and breathe NASCAR. However, I just chose an incorrect word in this article, and I can admit that.
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Lisa Coombes 11 months ago
I have been a Tony fan since 1999 and always will be! I also have followed his World of Outlaws sprint car # 20 since 2002. At one time Tony's sprint car switched to Mopar, I was not happy but still cheered for the #20 with Danny "the Dude" driving. Was I happy with the switch back to Chevy? You bet!! I will follow Tony forever no matter what he drives!!! Go Tony!!!!
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Anita Saliba 11 months ago
Stewart will always be my favorite driver-no matter what. It's kind of a relief actually, I never did like the color orange and it looks terrible on me.
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Tsfanpc Tsfanpc 11 months ago
I pull for the man behind the wheel. And the team that helps him week in and week out. I will not abandon my driver. But I also will not abandon the team that got him 32 wins and 2 championships. Each week I will have to two teams to pull for: Tony Stewart and the 14 team and Zippy and the 20 team.
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