TALLADEGA, Ala. - Dale Earnhardt was the voice of reason in NASCAR.
But six years since the death of Senior, the garage is still yearning for that voice. NASCAR desperately needs a driver who will stand up to the competition department.
As powerful a force as Earnhardt was on the race track, his accomplishments off of it were equally impressive. Despite his eighth-grade education, Earnhardt possessed a combination of common sense and street smarts that placed him ahead of those with more formal training.
He was the greatest spin doctor the sport ever had. Earnhardt could channel former NASCAR head Billy France and deliver the Daytona message with such authority, his audience seldom realized they were being fed the party line. It wasn't a soft sell, but the argument was presented in such a way the point just seeped in. And if it was good enough for Big E — a seven-time Winston Cup champion — then it was good enough for everyone else.
When Earnhardt died in 2001, Junior, Kelley, Kerry Dale and Taylor lost their father, Teresa lost her husband, Martha lost her son and Richard Childress (and others) lost their best friend. But NASCAR lost much more than an icon. The garage lost its voice. As much as Senior did to promote the sport, he was also able to raise the concerns of the competitors to NASCAR president Mike Helton — and Helton would listen. Earnhardt, more than anyone, could get results.
Over the last six years, the voice of the garage has been silenced. Drivers, owners and crew chiefs issue their complaints to the sanctioning body, but does anyone hear what the competitors are saying?
It's time for NASCAR's champions to step up — without fear of censorship or penalty — and that starts with Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
"I think that inside the garage area people have talked to Jeff, or thought that Jeff would be the guy to have the voice for the drivers," current Nextel Cup champ Jimmie Johnson said. "I wasn't around to see what effect Earnhardt had. I know that Jeff doesn't want to be Dale; he wants to be himself and do things his own way. I know he doesn't want to be in this position to be the voice of the drivers, but he almost has this responsibility that's developing for him and he has the right approach on how to handle NASCAR and how to handle drivers and how to present things the right way.
"Jeff is at that spot in his career — and he's so well spoken and comes from a fair place when he's speaking about those things — that people are listening. I think that role is developing for him whether he wants it or not."
Until Stewart spoke up last week, no other driver had been as vocal as the two-time champ. And the die-hard fans that had missed Earnhardt's rage against the machine ate it up. As much as NASCAR hates to admit it, titles buy credibility. But the competition department has grown so stout over the past few years Smoke was silenced days after the words were spoken.
Gordon raised the point Friday at Talladega that "there's nothing wrong with giving your opinion" and acknowledged Stewart is "passionate about racing," but "I do think his comments have affected (the integrity) in some way. I would imagine that the conversations he had early (Friday) morning (with NASCAR officials) were a reminder of that."
After the Aaron's 499, Gordon added the delivery of the opinion is what matters when addressing the sanctioning body.
"I always try to go about saying things to NASCAR as gingerly as I can to try to get my point across," Gordon said. "But not put anything down or take away from anything or anybody."
Even before Gordon surpassed Earnhardt's 76-win mark for sixth on the all-time win list, he spoke up in the driver's meeting Sunday at Talladega. He had hoped to broach the subject in the trailer but didn't have the opportunity. So, in front of his peers — and the NASCAR community — he raised concern of the Busch race being "out of control" with excessive bump-drafting and crashes. Gordon didn't want the same antics playing out in stock car racing's premiere series.
NASCAR president Mike Helton called Gordon's remarks "very valid" and said the officials would "monitor" the action. But added smugly, "we cannot police every car's bumper at Daytona and Talladega."
Why not?
No wonder Gordon felt compelled "to say something." Gordon added he wasn't attempting to set an example.
"I don't know if that made a difference or not. But (Sunday) was one of the best days," Gordon said.
"I wasn't surprised by the reaction from NASCAR saying we've got to police. It's going to be an ongoing battle we're going to have as drivers and competitors with NASCAR. How do we manage that? You want them to make the call to force us into a box, but then you don't want them to make a judgment call. You want to be able to police it as a driver, but your mindset is not capable of doing that out there on the racetrack. We're certainly not thinking rational."
Earnhardt is not replaceable, but it's time for Gordon to become the spokesman for the garage. He's not "The Kid" that crashed the good ol' boys sport in 1992 with peach fuzz over his lip and a right foot more familiar with the gas pedal than the brake.
Four — and soon to be five — championships later, Gordon has earned the respect of the fans, his peers and NASCAR. He must use his authority to help steer NASCAR through the lagging attendance and flat TV ratings to a place where the sport can grow to its potential.
Earnhardt would expect nothing less.
But six years since the death of Senior, the garage is still yearning for that voice. NASCAR desperately needs a driver who will stand up to the competition department.
As powerful a force as Earnhardt was on the race track, his accomplishments off of it were equally impressive. Despite his eighth-grade education, Earnhardt possessed a combination of common sense and street smarts that placed him ahead of those with more formal training.
He was the greatest spin doctor the sport ever had. Earnhardt could channel former NASCAR head Billy France and deliver the Daytona message with such authority, his audience seldom realized they were being fed the party line. It wasn't a soft sell, but the argument was presented in such a way the point just seeped in. And if it was good enough for Big E — a seven-time Winston Cup champion — then it was good enough for everyone else.
When Earnhardt died in 2001, Junior, Kelley, Kerry Dale and Taylor lost their father, Teresa lost her husband, Martha lost her son and Richard Childress (and others) lost their best friend. But NASCAR lost much more than an icon. The garage lost its voice. As much as Senior did to promote the sport, he was also able to raise the concerns of the competitors to NASCAR president Mike Helton — and Helton would listen. Earnhardt, more than anyone, could get results.
Over the last six years, the voice of the garage has been silenced. Drivers, owners and crew chiefs issue their complaints to the sanctioning body, but does anyone hear what the competitors are saying?
It's time for NASCAR's champions to step up — without fear of censorship or penalty — and that starts with Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
"I think that inside the garage area people have talked to Jeff, or thought that Jeff would be the guy to have the voice for the drivers," current Nextel Cup champ Jimmie Johnson said. "I wasn't around to see what effect Earnhardt had. I know that Jeff doesn't want to be Dale; he wants to be himself and do things his own way. I know he doesn't want to be in this position to be the voice of the drivers, but he almost has this responsibility that's developing for him and he has the right approach on how to handle NASCAR and how to handle drivers and how to present things the right way.
"Jeff is at that spot in his career — and he's so well spoken and comes from a fair place when he's speaking about those things — that people are listening. I think that role is developing for him whether he wants it or not."
Until Stewart spoke up last week, no other driver had been as vocal as the two-time champ. And the die-hard fans that had missed Earnhardt's rage against the machine ate it up. As much as NASCAR hates to admit it, titles buy credibility. But the competition department has grown so stout over the past few years Smoke was silenced days after the words were spoken.
Gordon raised the point Friday at Talladega that "there's nothing wrong with giving your opinion" and acknowledged Stewart is "passionate about racing," but "I do think his comments have affected (the integrity) in some way. I would imagine that the conversations he had early (Friday) morning (with NASCAR officials) were a reminder of that."
After the Aaron's 499, Gordon added the delivery of the opinion is what matters when addressing the sanctioning body.
"I always try to go about saying things to NASCAR as gingerly as I can to try to get my point across," Gordon said. "But not put anything down or take away from anything or anybody."
Even before Gordon surpassed Earnhardt's 76-win mark for sixth on the all-time win list, he spoke up in the driver's meeting Sunday at Talladega. He had hoped to broach the subject in the trailer but didn't have the opportunity. So, in front of his peers — and the NASCAR community — he raised concern of the Busch race being "out of control" with excessive bump-drafting and crashes. Gordon didn't want the same antics playing out in stock car racing's premiere series.
NASCAR president Mike Helton called Gordon's remarks "very valid" and said the officials would "monitor" the action. But added smugly, "we cannot police every car's bumper at Daytona and Talladega."
Why not?
No wonder Gordon felt compelled "to say something." Gordon added he wasn't attempting to set an example.
"I don't know if that made a difference or not. But (Sunday) was one of the best days," Gordon said.
"I wasn't surprised by the reaction from NASCAR saying we've got to police. It's going to be an ongoing battle we're going to have as drivers and competitors with NASCAR. How do we manage that? You want them to make the call to force us into a box, but then you don't want them to make a judgment call. You want to be able to police it as a driver, but your mindset is not capable of doing that out there on the racetrack. We're certainly not thinking rational."
Earnhardt is not replaceable, but it's time for Gordon to become the spokesman for the garage. He's not "The Kid" that crashed the good ol' boys sport in 1992 with peach fuzz over his lip and a right foot more familiar with the gas pedal than the brake.
Four — and soon to be five — championships later, Gordon has earned the respect of the fans, his peers and NASCAR. He must use his authority to help steer NASCAR through the lagging attendance and flat TV ratings to a place where the sport can grow to its potential.
Earnhardt would expect nothing less.
( Including yours.)
