NASCAR's Most Embarrassing Moments

The way they handled Tim Richmond's illness, easily the worst I can think of.

Concerning incidents more related to racing itself, Bruton Smith screwing over the Staley family is a pretty easy one to pick.
 
Can I vote the COT and the Chase? watching Nascag's video makes me miss those wedge templates. Those things looked like they were built to go fast.
 
One of the more embarrassing NASCAR moments are the more recent broadcasts from what was once billed a the toughest ticket in NASCAR..... Bristol Motor Speedway. Tens of thousands of empty seat speaks loudly.

Another happens every week when the PA announcer has to announce, '5 time winner, Jimmie Johnson'. No offense Double J fans but too much of some things is simply too much.

Another that hasn't happened yet but will come after the Nationwide, November 19th race @ Homestead when the new Nationwide champ is crowned.

IMO another happens every FOX race broadcast just before the green flag is waved when some guy in the booth utters a worn out catch phrase.
 
IMO another happens every FOX race broadcast just before the green flag is waved when some guy in the booth utters a worn out catch phrase.
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+1, I cringe every time they do this.
 
Go Panthers said:
+1, I cringe every time they do this.
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NA__AR's most embarrassing moment? It was the day they gave control of the operation to Brian Z. All the aforementioned examples affected NA__AR only in specific areas (PR, competition, etc.) What Brian Z. has done, and continues to do, affects NA__AR, it's fans and its members across the board.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Add to it what you want.

2008 Brickyard 400
2010 Daytona 500
2000 New Hampshire 300
The Jeremy Mayfield Saga
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The 2000 New Hampshire 300 was THE worsrt NASCAR race I have ever seen and the only one I stopped watching before it was over.

The 2001 All-Star race was pretty bad too. I know it was an exhibition race. But changing the rules takes away from the premise of racing. That ranks up there with Bud Selig declaring the MLB All-Star game a tie.
 
2008 Brickyard was a joke from start to finish.
2001 All Star race of course.
DW says his annoying catch phrase every race.
TNT's coverage of any Nascar race.
The California race where I waited till 2 AM for the race to start and it never did.
 
Brett Bodine wins at N Wilkesboro. Actually was not on the lead lap but due to a much coverd up scoring snafu the win stands. Brett is a great guy...wish he would have won a few the right way.

Randy LaJoie gets caught cheating at Daytona with a cheated up hydraulic deck lid in 1995 driving MBNA car for Bill Davis. He claimed he knew nothing about it and it was the crew cheifs deal. The trigger switch was found on the side of the clutch pedal. NASCAR courted MBNA into the sport and looked foolish. Of course we all know the other recent run in for Lajoie.

Harry Gant sweeps a month of races in the fall in the early '90s. Great for ratings as everbody tuned in too watch the streak. Later we found out Gants car had a cheated up spoiler that would lay down in the wind. On a foot note I would actually prefer more action like that than dealing with this staged Chase we are now given.

NASCAR blows up competitors engine in the garage on a chassis dyno following Twin 125s. This stunt came in the late 90's...I cant remember if it was the Morgan Mclure car or a Sabates entry....possbly someone else...I hate getting old...I cant recall all this stuff as I once could.

NASCAR trys pay per view events at Pocono in 1989 if I remember right....nothing else needs too be said.

I could go on.......
 
Stewart Fan said:
2008 Brickyard was a joke from start to finish.
2001 All Star race of course.
DW says his annoying catch phrase every race.
TNT's coverage of any Nascar race.
The California race where I waited till 2 AM for the race to start and it never did.
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I finally had to mute the TV after about an hour into speedweeks coverage when DW said "down here" for the 389th time in referring to the location of Daytona. When they are at Michigan they never say "up here" so what is his point? A few years ago he ran the word "sporty" into the ground in the same amount of time.
 
Camp65 said:
I finally had to mute the TV after about an hour into speedweeks coverage when DW said "down here" for the 389th time in referring to the location of Daytona. When they are at Michigan they never say "up here" so what is his point? A few years ago he ran the word "sporty" into the ground in the same amount of time.
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I know personally I will say down there for lots of stuff I've never heard anyone say up there...unless its a Southern thing:confused:
 
The constant pimping of Jr. is some of the most embarrassing crap of the past few years.
 
Camp65 said:
I finally had to mute the TV after about an hour into speedweeks coverage when DW said "down here" for the 389th time in referring to the location of Daytona. When they are at Michigan they never say "up here" so what is his point? A few years ago he ran the word "sporty" into the ground in the same amount of time.
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What about the word "scoach", his new word?
 
Would the opening of Texas be considered NASCAR embarrassing moment? That track had a multitude of problems in early years.
 
GREAT AMERICAN RACE FAN said:
Would the opening of Texas be considered NASCAR embarrassing moment? That track had a multitude of problems in early years.
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It certainly would in my book. More specifically, Eddie Gossage and the opening of Texas. Three drivers were seriously injured in the first two races (Sacks, Craven, Skinner), and when people started raising concerns that it might be because of problems with the track, Gossage comes out with t-shirts reading "shut up and drive." Gossage always pushes those limits, but when three drivers have been hurt in two races -- two of which very well could have been killed -- there is no excuse for that.
 
June 6th, 2007 - Kyle Busch's classless act of smashing the Nashville Gibson guitar trophy. I had kinda forgotten about this until listening to an interview with Sam Bass yesterday talking about what it takes to create these one of a kind trophy's. I hope this weekend, should he be lucky enough to get one, maybe two of these that he treats his winning hardware with the respect that it deserves.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
June 6th, 2007 - Kyle Busch's classless act of smashing the Nashville Gibson guitar trophy. I had kinda forgotten about this until listening to an interview with Sam Bass yesterday talking about what it takes to create these one of a kind trophy's. I hope this weekend, should he be lucky enough to get one, maybe two of these that he treats his winning hardware with the respect that it deserves.
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Well he did sign the pieces of the guitar and give them away and then paid to have a new trophy made.
 
This November when they award the NNW series championship to a guy who never won a race, never finished in the top 5 and maybe squeaked out one or two top tens.:rolleyes:
 
SST55 said:
This November when they award the NNW series championship to a guy who never won a race, never finished in the top 5 and maybe squeaked out one or two top tens.:rolleyes:
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Haha....good one, yeh that would be a low moment for Nascar for sure.
 
Whizzer said:
Please refresh my memory on how Bruton Smith screwed over the Staley Family.
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First, I forgot to add Bob Bahre into the mix too. He screwed them in one fell swoop, while Bruton did it over a period of 14 years. To put it simply, Bahre bought half of North Wilkesboro with the promise to Mike Staley that he would not sell any percentage to Smith. Within weeks, Bruton had part of Bahre's share, and the place was closed not a year later. Smith took the spring race away to move it to Texas, and Barhe took the fall race for a second date in Loudon. People didn't find out until the weekend of the spring race that there would be no more Wilkesboro in 1997.

In the years after, Bruton proceeded to hold the place hostage. There was plenty of interest in buying it (including Junior Johnson), and a lot of talk of having a Busch or a Truck race there, or other smaller time racing, but Bruton was content to let it stay dormant and rot away. People say he was so stubborn to spite the Staley's who prevented him from full ownership. Bahre once said that nothing would happen with the track until he and Bruton had gone to heaven or hell. Luckily, Alton McBride and Terri Parsons (widow of Benny) got him to crack last year, and leased the track with an option to buy. Don't look for forgiveness from anyone in Wilkes County though.
 
Is this information from memory, personal involvement, news articles, or some other source? Just curious.
 
Whizzer said:
Is this information from memory, personal involvement, news articles, or some other source? Just curious.
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A little bit of everything. Have a look at this: North Wilkesboro Speedway Blues - The Record

Somebody actually wrote a piece about the events surrounding NWS' closure called "When the Engines No Longer Roar" that tells the story pretty well, better than I could. I don't know how hard it is to locate though.

A lot of my father's side of the family lived in Winston-Salem when I was a kid, and we'd go over to North Wilkesboro every time we visited. I also lived in Lewisville from 1980-88, so between the mid 60s and 1996, I must have been to NWS 25-30 times, including the final spring Cup race. If I had known sooner that the fall race would the last one, I would have spent money on the trip for that instead. That track came to mean a lot to me, an since it closed, I've read plenty about it, and talked with people who are informed on the subject, and it's a real sore spot.

I'm no fan of Marty Smith's, but he wrote what I think is his best column on the abandoned North Wilkesboro about ten years ago: North Wilkesboro: A Town Decimated Without Racing

So I'm a little biased. Maybe NASCAR was outgrowing North Wilkesboro, but I think the way it went down certainly qualifies as an embarrassment. Not helping Bruton's case any, people have reported reported instances where he had people escorted out of SMI race tracks for holding up signs reading "bring back Wilkesboro," "what about North Wilkesboro" and other things.
 
The opening of Kansas Speedway. Dale Jarrett was injured in 2001 but did race the following week... and Sterling Marlin was seriously injured in 2002.
 
Jameswnh said:
Somebody actually wrote a piece about the events surrounding NWS' closure called "When the Engines No Longer Roar" that tells the story pretty well, better than I could. I don't know how hard it is to locate though.
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When the Engines No Longer Roar: A Case Study of North Wilkesboro, NC and the North Wilkesboro Speedway - pdf web extract
 
Jameswnh said:
First, I forgot to add Bob Bahre into the mix too. He screwed them in one fell swoop, while Bruton did it over a period of 14 years. To put it simply, Bahre bought half of North Wilkesboro with the promise to Mike Staley that he would not sell any percentage to Smith. Within weeks, Bruton had part of Bahre's share, and the place was closed not a year later.
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Bruton Smith did not buy Bob Bahre' 50% holding until 2007 when SMI bought NHIS and North Wilkesboro was included in the holdings. In 1997, prior to Bahre buying out the Staley Family' 50% ownership, NASCAR was already speaking about dates being moved to higher profile venues with better accommodations for race fans. Mike Staley saw the handwriting on the wall where the future of the speedway was concerned and this vision prompted Staley to sell. He chose to sell to Bahre rather than Smith. From the beginning of the partnership there was bad blood.

Smith was the hold out when it came to permitting others to buy or lease the facility and Bahre could do nothing about it even with high profile names in the series making overtures. They pretty much agreed to disagree on everything.
 
Whizzer said:
Bruton Smith did not buy Bob Bahre' 50% holding until 2007 when SMI bought NHIS and North Wilkesboro was included in the holdings. In 1997, prior to Bahre buying out the Staley Family' 50% ownership, NASCAR was already speaking about dates being moved to higher profile venues with better accommodations for race fans. Mike Staley saw the handwriting on the wall where the future of the speedway was concerned and this vision prompted Staley to sell. He chose to sell to Bahre rather than Smith. From the beginning of the partnership there was bad blood.

Smith was the hold out when it came to permitting others to buy or lease the facility and Bahre could do nothing about it even with high profile names in the series making overtures. They pretty much agreed to disagree on everything.
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You're probably right. Bruton actually bought his initial share from Jack Combs (who partnered with Enoch Staley to build the track). I'll have to go back over some info though, because while it's clear Smith and Bahre bought their shares with the sole intention of closing the track, I could have sworn there was a time early in the process where Staley was led to believe that would not happen.

One thing that is pretty certain is Bruton had it out for Mike Staley in the end, and let his family's track rot away for 14 years. He and Wilkes County undoubtedly got the shaft as far as that goes. To my knowledge, the group led by Terri Parsons has not officially bought the track yet. Here's to hoping they will, and can do so without incident.
 
Jameswnh said:
You're probably right. Bruton actually bought his initial share from Jack Combs (who partnered with Enoch Staley to build the track). I'll have to go back over some info though, because while it's clear Smith and Bahre bought their shares with the sole intention of closing the track, I could have sworn there was a time early in the process where Staley was led to believe that would not happen.
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If there was, I was unaware of it. If anything, the scuttlebutt around Wilkesboro was based on false hope. The track owners had been approached several times by Smith but Staley made it clear long before his death he would never sell to Smith and it had nothing to do with removing the date. As soon as Smith heard Staley had died, Jack Combs was approached and negotiations begun for his share. One year later, Mike Staley sold the Staley Family' 50% share in the track to Bahre.

One thing that is pretty certain is Bruton had it out for Mike Staley in the end, and let his family's track rot away for 14 years. He and Wilkes County undoubtedly got the shaft as far as that goes. To my knowledge, the group led by Terri Parsons has not officially bought the track yet. Here's to hoping they will, and can do so without incident.
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Yes, Smith was upset with Mike Staley. Smith apparently figured once Jack sold his 50%, Mike would follow. What Smith did not count on was Mike following in his father's footsteps in regard to his distrust for Smith. Ergo, a year later, the Staley Family sold their share to Bahre.

I know in my lifetime, I have felt that way about doing business with some people but then, there are always the others as well.
In early 1980, I met a property owner sitting at a bar. I sat alongside him, bought him a beer and expressed interest in buying a commercial property he had for sale.
We spoke for twenty or thirty minutes and after some token dickering, agreed on price. HAving done some preliminary checking, I knew how much he was asking and, as expected, he refused to budge. To consummate the deal, I handed him several thousand dollars in cash to cover the ten percent deposit. We shook hands, never had any preliminary papers drawn nor did I speak to him again until 7 a.m. on the morning of the closing and there was not one question raised during the closing.

For some reason, I don't think I would have done that or any deal with Bruton Smith. ;)
 
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