NASCAR's Forgotten Inanimate Objects Come to Life on Twitter

NASCAR has always had a reputation for being accessible.

Drivers and fans interact with one another on a weekly basis, which leads to more autograph signings in one weekend than most sports stars do in an entire season. With social media sites such as Twitter, fans can really see the personalities of their heroes come to life.

Kevin and DeLana Harvick are self-admitting Twitter addicts. For instance, DeLana “tweeted” earlier today that the Harvicks’ dog was being custom-fitted for a doggie wheelchair.

Twitter brings out the beauty of the down-to-earth nature of NASCAR—the biggest celebrities of the sport have normal lives, just like you and I.

Yet Twitter’s biggest new stars of NASCAR are not the usual suspects. Some of the most popular NASCAR-related Twitter accounts belong to the forgotten inanimate objects of the sport.

A NASCAR fan with a good sense of humor created an account for “The Orange Cone,” which is the cone that signifies the entrance to pit road at the race tracks. The Twitter handle @TheOrangeCone has nearly 10,000 followers, while @TheYellowLugNut continues to make strides towards 1,000 loyal fans. You’ll gain more, @TheYellowLugNut.

After all, who doesn’t want to follow the daily stories of an object that claims to be “getting screwed left and right on weekends"?

Even the walls of the race tracks are receiving attention on Twitter. @TheSAFERBarrier calls attention to the beating that he takes on a weekly basis, and subsequently tweets to the drivers in order to file his complaints. 

One of the most popular Twitter accounts from this category is @TheMiniChad, who is the cardboard likeness of Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus.

Earlier, @TheMiniChad tweeted, “For a moment I thought I was going to get to stand in for @kaseykahne (he's at jury duty)—but they told me to go back to my office.” It seems all-too cheesy, but after reading enough of @TheMiniChad’s posts, the reader begins to feel sorry for the little guy for not taking Kasey Kahne’s place on the NASCAR media tour. 

Stock Car Steel and Aluminum and SRI, two companies that supply the NASCAR teams, must have noticed this trend and wanted to have fun as well.

@SteelyDannySCSA is a stick figure cut out of raw sheet metal. He personifies the metal products of a NASCAR race car while enjoying various oils as his cocktails of choice and metal grinding products for “personal gratification,” whatever that might mean.

The personality of NASCAR is a beautiful thing—something that few sports offer on such a deep level. Before Twitter, these inanimate characters were dying to come out of their shells, and now, they too have a voice.