Backseat Blonde - A Toast to a Season about Racing, Not Changes (Hopefully)

January 3, 2005

A Toast to a Season about Racing, Not Changes
(Hopefully)
By Allison Wagda

Welcome fellow race fans to 2005, the year of Rusty’s
Last Call and Mark Martin’s Final Stand. Also on the
agenda…a few new starry-eyed rookies will hop off the
bus and onto the circuit hoping to avoid being run over.

Those will certainly be interesting sidebars for fans to
follow from Daytona until we are once again lulled to sleep during yet another New
York-style banquet in December, but with any luck the 2005 season headlines will
rightfully be dominated by a group of stellar prime-time players, each with his own
distinct personality and enough inner demons to stir the gascan, fluff a few feathers
and create many a misguided metaphors for sleepless commentators across the ’
Net.

What fun this could be! Seriously. We can only hope NASCAR’s new car packages,
qualifying rules, race schedules etc. don’t screw it all up and distract us from the
action on the track.

Our very own Gillette Young Guns have long entered manhood and have seized
center stage. (Question: do they get to graduate at some point from the Young Gun
Academy, or are they ‘forever young guns’ or even simply ‘young guns at heart’ now
that a couple are pushing past 30?)

Young gun or gunslinger, we have quite a crop of stars to enjoy this year and for
several this could be the beginning of a pivotal time in their careers. At least 15
drivers in 2005 could be in serious contention for the Flee to the AT&T or whatever
the Chase will be called after the telecom dust hits the pavement. Those who
succeed will become legends to be celebrated for the ages…those who don’t will
likely be reduced to mere footnotes in NASCAR history books.

But as these guys enhance their racing resumes on the track, we may start to see a
new entrepreneurial trend emerge among our brightest stars - that boldest of bold
moves - going independent.

NASCAR has become so competitive even established drivers have to either
produce the wins or fall victim of the ever younger, ever more marketable drivers
waiting in the wings. As our favorite superstars make more and more money, look for
this new generation to start shifting gears to the business side of racing, either out of
a desire for independence or a need for self-preservation.

Several of today’s most prominent teams were started by drivers. Richard Childress
drove for himself for years, then stepped out of his own ride in 1981 at age 36 and
filled it with Dale Earnhardt.

Dale Earnhardt formed DEI in 1980 in his late 20s, fielding his first Cup team in 1998
(Steve Park), although he raced primarily for Richard Childress Racing until his
death.

Rick Hendrick was in his early 30s when he started All-Star Motorsports (later
Hendrick Motorsports), and Roger Penske was 29 when he founded Penske
Motorsports in 1966 and made a name for himself in multiple racing series’ as both
a driver and owner.

The first serious indication of a possible new independent movement in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup ranks is Robby Gordon.

Gordon, 36, was let go from his ride at RCR at the end of the season and has said
he plans to run on his own this year. Single car teams have not fared well in
NASCAR’s top series in recent history, and Robby’s solo foray may be born of
necessity rather than a desire to become NASCAR’s latest solitary man.

But he is the sort of driver who could prove conventional wisdom wrong. His internal
motivation combined with significant talent could result in success. And heck, he
won’t be so quick to run over other cars if he has to pay his own bills (personally, I
think Robby is often a villain of convenience, but someone has to fill that role.)

I suspect several of the top drivers will be watching the Robby Gordon experiment
closely. Sure, “everyone” says a two, or even three, car team these days is mandatory
to compete, but some of that could be teams planting a little seed of doubt to keep
their top moneymakers firmly tethered within their own garage. Some of these drivers
are their own franchises, meaning if Tony Stewart or Dale Jr. walked away to go solo,
their current corporation would face a major financial crisis.

So, let’s say Gordon breaks the top 15 this season. It could conceivably start a
domino effect among certain drivers looking for a little autonomy. These guys are rich
(very, very rich), and in high demand even in a weak sponsorship market.

A couple of drivers already double dip by owning Busch teams on the side. Dale
Earnhardt Jr. partnered with stepmother and DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt on Martin
Truex’s championship Busch team. But would Junior abandon his father’s legacy to
pursue racing on his own?

Heck if I know. My speculation is just that, speculation. But I get the impression
Junior really wants to win, and as far as I know (again, limited knowledge) he doesn’t
hold any ownership of DEI at the time. If they can’t produce a title, it is conceivable he
could, at the very least, go elsewhere. My impression of DEI right now is a bit chaotic,
so I think things could get mighty interesting over there.

Kevin Harvick is another Cup driver with a full-time Busch team. If Harvick does not
make the Chase in 2005, he’s another potential solo artist.

Jeff Gordon co-owns Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Lowe's ride with Rick Hendrick,
however I believe Gordon will end his career with Hendrick.

For many of us, 2004 was a racing season filled with frustration, fury, confusion and
tragedy. 2005, even heavily laden with all the uber-cheesy commercialism and WWE-
style drama, has all the markings of a great season. The Chase isn’t going
anywhere despite a lack of acceptance from fans, so ignore it if you don’t like it. Go to
Darlington if you can and try to save the Lady in Black. Make your opinions known to
NASCAR and their sponsors.

But let’s honor our NASCAR vets as they exit gracefully, gently haze the rookies as
they work to earn our admiration, and cheer our stars as they offer up their best in the
name of racing. And have a little fun this year. I’ll drink to that.

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