S
smack500
Guest
Rocker Crow among the growing NASCAR faithful
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive October 8, 2002
3:16 PM EDT (1916 GMT)
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- In the corner of Sheryl Crow's posh tour bus hangs a sleek, cherry red leather jacket, the word "Bud" emblazoned across the front in stark-white, cursive lettering.
She's a proud Bud girl who adores America's most-revered Bud man.
"I'm sort of a groupie, I'll admit it," she said through a face-wide grin, sitting upright in perfect posture on a black leather couch.
In an hour, the rock diva will take the stage for a pre-race mini-concert at Talladega Superspeedway in front of some 140,000 screaming fans. She plans to make her allegiance known to every last one of them.
"It's funny," she continued. "When you're a 'rock star,' or whatever, you don't really get to be on that side of it. I just consider myself a big groupie to NASCAR, and to the Earnhardts."
Crow is a unique, refreshing blend of rock goddess and starry-eyed fan.
As an artist, she's in a powerful position. On any given night, she influences thousands of people to sing her own words back to her in unison. Fans worldwide lean on her words for inspiration.
Crow, meanwhile, uses NASCAR racing in a similar manner. When she's in the NASCAR infield, she's just like everyone else -- inspired by the personalities of NASCAR. Who they are, what they stand for and what they do.
"I got introduced to it, really, by way of just by being introduced to the culture of it and just really started to get into it," Crow said. "I just really enjoyed the stories of the guys and knowing about them.
"It's a real good, clean sport that just really reminds me where I'm from in Southern Missouri, just how it relates to the fans."
Crow's interest in NASCAR was peaked by her brother, Steve, whose Sunday ritual was not unlike many Americans: turn the tube to NASCAR and misplace the remote.
"I used to get really mad at him for hoarding the TV and watching these cars go 'round in circles," Crow said, laughing. "Now, Chris (tour manager) and I laugh all the time about how our Sundays are all about being on the bus, watching NASCAR."
Now an admitted fanatic, Crow has performed at a handful of NASCAR events and is slated to play at the Winston Cup Series banquet in New York City on Dec. 6th.
But the most obvious example of her newfound interest in the sport is her newest video, "Steve McQueen." The video's star? You guessed it, Junior.
"It's been really fun. He's a great guy. He's very inspiring to me and my family," Crow said. "I think the Earnhardts in general are just very inspiring. They're just good people, fun-loving but serious at the same time, a real close knit family, which is sort of like my family.
"When he came out and did the video, his whole camp embraced me, which was great. He didn't have to do that video. I told him, I really think (he's) the modern day Steve McQueen, that great, sort of mysterious American hero."
Crow and Earnhardt, Jr., have become quite friendly this year. At Talladega, Junior escorted her into the raucous infield party. During the ride, Crow, a bona fide mega star who's accustomed to screaming fans, was taken aback at the response to Junior.
Credit: Autostock
"Oh yeah, people really look up to him," she said. "We went out in the infield last night, and we're in Earnhardt (Sr.) country, but people have really made him their own -- the adopted son.
"The other thing that's interesting to me, particularly as far as Dale, Jr. is concerned, he just has a lot of humility. You can tell he's really about the racing. I consider myself to be really about the music, and so I don't get too wound up in the whole 'fame' thing. I think that's how he is."
After the "Steve McQueen" video shoot wrapped, Earnhardt hung around the set until 2 a.m., drinking cold Budweiser and talking music, racing and fame. During that interaction, their bond tightened considerably.
"He reminds me a lot of my little brother, who, for me, is my favorite person to hang out with," Crow said. "So watching him and my little brother interact, I felt like I was sort of getting to be in on a real racing moment. That was a lot of fun."
By now, the stage beckons. Time to slip on that jacket and go rock the house.
"It's hard for me not to show my partiality to the Earnhardt camp, so of course I've got to bust out my Dale Earnhardt Jr., jacket on national TV," she said. "I've gotten a lot of play out of that bad boy."
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive October 8, 2002
3:16 PM EDT (1916 GMT)
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- In the corner of Sheryl Crow's posh tour bus hangs a sleek, cherry red leather jacket, the word "Bud" emblazoned across the front in stark-white, cursive lettering.
She's a proud Bud girl who adores America's most-revered Bud man.
"I'm sort of a groupie, I'll admit it," she said through a face-wide grin, sitting upright in perfect posture on a black leather couch.
In an hour, the rock diva will take the stage for a pre-race mini-concert at Talladega Superspeedway in front of some 140,000 screaming fans. She plans to make her allegiance known to every last one of them.
"It's funny," she continued. "When you're a 'rock star,' or whatever, you don't really get to be on that side of it. I just consider myself a big groupie to NASCAR, and to the Earnhardts."
Crow is a unique, refreshing blend of rock goddess and starry-eyed fan.
As an artist, she's in a powerful position. On any given night, she influences thousands of people to sing her own words back to her in unison. Fans worldwide lean on her words for inspiration.
Crow, meanwhile, uses NASCAR racing in a similar manner. When she's in the NASCAR infield, she's just like everyone else -- inspired by the personalities of NASCAR. Who they are, what they stand for and what they do.
"I got introduced to it, really, by way of just by being introduced to the culture of it and just really started to get into it," Crow said. "I just really enjoyed the stories of the guys and knowing about them.
"It's a real good, clean sport that just really reminds me where I'm from in Southern Missouri, just how it relates to the fans."
Crow's interest in NASCAR was peaked by her brother, Steve, whose Sunday ritual was not unlike many Americans: turn the tube to NASCAR and misplace the remote.
"I used to get really mad at him for hoarding the TV and watching these cars go 'round in circles," Crow said, laughing. "Now, Chris (tour manager) and I laugh all the time about how our Sundays are all about being on the bus, watching NASCAR."
Now an admitted fanatic, Crow has performed at a handful of NASCAR events and is slated to play at the Winston Cup Series banquet in New York City on Dec. 6th.
But the most obvious example of her newfound interest in the sport is her newest video, "Steve McQueen." The video's star? You guessed it, Junior.
"It's been really fun. He's a great guy. He's very inspiring to me and my family," Crow said. "I think the Earnhardts in general are just very inspiring. They're just good people, fun-loving but serious at the same time, a real close knit family, which is sort of like my family.
"When he came out and did the video, his whole camp embraced me, which was great. He didn't have to do that video. I told him, I really think (he's) the modern day Steve McQueen, that great, sort of mysterious American hero."
Crow and Earnhardt, Jr., have become quite friendly this year. At Talladega, Junior escorted her into the raucous infield party. During the ride, Crow, a bona fide mega star who's accustomed to screaming fans, was taken aback at the response to Junior.
Credit: Autostock
"Oh yeah, people really look up to him," she said. "We went out in the infield last night, and we're in Earnhardt (Sr.) country, but people have really made him their own -- the adopted son.
"The other thing that's interesting to me, particularly as far as Dale, Jr. is concerned, he just has a lot of humility. You can tell he's really about the racing. I consider myself to be really about the music, and so I don't get too wound up in the whole 'fame' thing. I think that's how he is."
After the "Steve McQueen" video shoot wrapped, Earnhardt hung around the set until 2 a.m., drinking cold Budweiser and talking music, racing and fame. During that interaction, their bond tightened considerably.
"He reminds me a lot of my little brother, who, for me, is my favorite person to hang out with," Crow said. "So watching him and my little brother interact, I felt like I was sort of getting to be in on a real racing moment. That was a lot of fun."
By now, the stage beckons. Time to slip on that jacket and go rock the house.
"It's hard for me not to show my partiality to the Earnhardt camp, so of course I've got to bust out my Dale Earnhardt Jr., jacket on national TV," she said. "I've gotten a lot of play out of that bad boy."
