Why Did NASCAR Community Embrace Bubba Watson's Masters Win?

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Yep, NASCAR seems to have a golf connection..... like it or not.


As Bubba Watson closed in on Sunday's emotional Masters victory, NASCAR drivers and others involved in the racing community tweeted their support for a golfer most of them have never met.

While Watson is good friends with Denny Hamlin and likes racing, many others in the NASCAR world don't know Watson personally. Yet they pulled for him as if they were longtime pals.

This type of bandwagon support is a regular occurrence in NASCAR. Just recently, University of Wisconsin basketball player Ben Brust received a flood of encouragement via Twitter for his performance in the NCAA Tournament – all because he's passionate about racing.

But what's behind all this? For those outside NASCAR, the
concept of rooting for an athlete because that person likes racing might seem a little odd.
After all, it's not like Washington Redskins players take to Twitter and root for Dale Earnhardt Jr. because he's a fan of the team.

Is it a sign of NASCAR being so desperate for attention that drivers will support anyone who gives the sport some love? Is it an indication of NASCAR's insecurity about being recognized as a major sport?
The answer to both of those questions is: NO.
No matter how big NASCAR has gotten, stock car racing has always retained a community feel. If you're a NASCAR fan, you're family. It's like being part of a free club, no matter which driver you like best.
Fans who drive down the highway and see a "24" sticker on the back of a car think to themselves, "Hey! There's a NASCAR fan like me!" That the person may pull for a different driver is immaterial; what's important is the person supports racing.

It's the same thing with Watson, Brust or any other high-profile athlete who openly likes racing.
Watson is friends with Hamlin and other drivers, attends NASCAR races and shows respect and appreciation for the sport. When he recently obtained a firesuit for the General Lee (which he owns), he tweeted a video expressing his enthusiasm:

Watson is clearly a NASCAR fan. Therefore, he's automatically part of the NASCAR community.
So when he was lining up to make the winning putt on Sunday, those in the racing world weren't thinking, "I'm rooting for this guy just because he acknowledges NASCAR's existence."
They were thinking: "I'm rooting for this guy because he's one of us."

In that sense, Bubba Watson's victory on Sunday was a win the entire NASCAR family could celebrate.
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With the exception of racing-forums.com that is.

Link to article.
 
I was rooting for him. That is, once the 88 was taken out of contention.

And, no that's not a joke, the 88 is a real number of a great golfer.

Anybody want to take a stab at who that was?
 
Good eye DP. Good eye. this weekends masters is the first one I have ever watched. Thanks to DTV, the boring got the FF and I got to watch the good stuff. I wish their NASCAR feed was structured the same. six windows. I like that.
 
MOEJOE said:
Good eye DP. Good eye. this weekends masters is the first one I have ever watched. Thanks to DTV, the boring got the FF and I got to watch the good stuff. I wish their NASCAR feed was structured the same. six windows. I like that.
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I agree about that special set of channels dedicated to the event. NASCAR could learn from that coverage as well as the mobile app that was dedicated to that event.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I agree about that special set of channels dedicated to the event. NASCAR could learn from that coverage as well as the mobile app that was dedicated to that event.
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Too expensive and too much bandwidth to do that for 36 races. We are lucky to get what we have and it's free.
 
Perhaps it's because both nascar and Golf are non-athletic sports that require the competitors to travel long distances only to end up in the same place.

NASCAR spurns Bubba, then NASCAR fans embrace Bubba.

NASCAR can't do anything right.

Here's a dark theory. NASCAR fans are so bored, they are always looking for something else to get excited about.
 
Matthew2470 said:
Too expensive and too much bandwidth to do that for 36 races. We are lucky to get what we have and it's free.
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Perhaps as far as DTV goes but I do pay for scanner feed through NASCAR.com. I'd like to see that be made available for my smartphone. It's there for most all of the major sports, why not NASCAR? They are just getting their feet wet when it comes to the information age. Let's see how fast they can catch up.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Perhaps as far as DTV goes but I do pay for scanner feed through NASCAR.com. I'd like to see that be made available for my smartphone. It's there for most all of the major sports, why not NASCAR? They are just getting their feet wet when it comes to the information age. Let's see how fast they can catch up.
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I want the scanner on my phone. Uncensored scanner. I would pay $50 per season for it.
 
Matthew2470 said:
I want the scanner on my phone. Uncensored scanner. I would pay $50 per season for it.
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I agree. Obviously I don't know the cost to produce and provide this service but I think enough people would pay for the service to make it profitable. I'd love to be able to walk into the track with just my phone and a couple of ear buds rather than my backpack of electronics that I carry in there now.
 
I prefer the new scanners with viewable screen and real-time GPS lap times and stats. Beats the hell out of the audio only, old school scanners.
 
BobbyFord said:
I prefer the new scanners with viewable screen and real-time GPS lap times and stats. Beats the hell out of the audio only, old school scanners.
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I saw them at the Long Beach Grand Prix 2 or 3 years before they were available at NA$$CAR events. They were called Kangaroo, I think. It was an Australian company that created the product. Sprint came on board and made it all good for NA$$CAR - and the Aussies, I am sure!
 
BobbyFord said:
I prefer the new scanners with viewable screen and real-time GPS lap times and stats. Beats the hell out of the audio only, old school scanners.
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It also rapes your wallet. They got rid of the older version, (FanView), of these and now are pushing the 'FanVision'. I hope you weren't one of the ones burned by purchasing the older model? How bad would that suck to have purchased one of those only for it to become obsolete in a few short years? Great article on that subject here. Now, you can either rent a FanVision for $59 a weekend @ the track or purchase one outright for $299. Even if you do purchase it, you still have to pay $20/race to use it @ the track. Great product and a great idea, it's just too much money IMO. Why should you have to pay a per event fee if you already purchased the equipment? I think they'd do much better if they simply developed the software into an app that was available to the masses in attendance. They could charge for the app if they wanted. Many would already have the device. Phones these days are more than capable to display anything that they can push out to that piece of equipment. I'll still hold onto my more than reliable scanners. It sucks carrying all that stuff into the track but it was all bought and paid for many years ago and only cost me money for batteries since the original investment.

If you'd like to check out the all new 'FanVision', click here. Again, great piece of equipment if you have that kind of disposable income.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
It also rapes your wallet. They got rid of the older version, (FanView), of these and now are pushing the 'FanVision'. I hope you weren't one of the ones burned by purchasing the older model? How bad would that suck to have purchased one of those only for it to become obsolete in a few short years? Great article on that subject here. Now, you can either rent a FanVision for $59 a weekend @ the track or purchase one outright for $299. Even if you do purchase it, you still have to pay $20/race to use it @ the track. Great product and a great idea, it's just too much money IMO. Why should you have to pay a per event fee if you already purchased the equipment? I think they'd do much better if they simply developed the software into an app that was available to the masses in attendance. They could charge for the app if they wanted. Many would already have the device. Phones these days are more than capable to display anything that they can push out to that piece of equipment. I'll still hold onto my more than reliable scanners. It sucks carrying all that stuff into the track but it was all bought and paid for many years ago and only cost me money for batteries since the original investment.

If you'd like to check out the all new 'FanVision', click here. Again, great piece of equipment if you have that kind of disposable income.
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The price doesn't bother me. I got my FanView when they first came out. It served me well for 5 years. We used the new FanVision at Vegas in March and I plan on buying one. Once you've used one, it makes the regular scanners seem archaic.
 
BobbyFord said:
The price doesn't bother me. I got my FanView when they first came out. It served me well for 5 years. We used the new FanVision at Vegas in March and I plan on buying one. Once you've used one, it makes the regular scanners seem archaic.
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For many, I'd guess the price doesn't bother them. Me, that's a concern. I've rented and used the old version but I can't justify sinking more money into that new equipment for all the more that it provides. My scanners are still working fine and require nothing more than a new set of batteries for me to enjoy the race.
 
There's a pylon for scoring. There has to be an app for top lap times. If not now, very soon. Screw SPRINT and their rights. Give me what everybody else has without selling their soul to a phone company.

We look like the sport that is about being smart, but we look dumb at the same time because every other sport is in the age of NOW. We are still arguing who has the right to do what.
 
NASCAR knows that many of us fans are itching to able to access more NASCAR related content via our smart phones. There are often Fan Council questionnaires where they ask if we follow races using other means than TV or radio. I suspect that as soon as Turner is out of the way the flood gates will open and we'll be able to subscribe to some really nice timing, scoring and scanner apps.
 
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