NASCAR Nation (17 page)

One of Johnson's biggest fans is Armstrong, who had nothing but praise for the driver's run. In fact, after the Armstrong interview aired, Johnson called him for advice about how to keep his streak alive. The cyclist's guidance, from one long-enduring champion to another: stay hungry. Keep doing more. Even if you're just as good from one year to the next, your competition will be better, and more people will be gunning for you. Know your own limitations and restrictions, but don't allow yourself to be mentally or physically complacent. Wise advice, don't you think?

Jimmie Johnson came from humble beginnings. He was not a “ticketed superstar” for whom great things were predicted. Early in his career, he was just another
driver looking for a chance to succeed. Jeff Gordon spotted Johnson's talent and got him a ride, but he made his own success.

Like Gordon, he's a California kid. Johnson is one of the most humble athletes ever to achieve success at the highest levels in sport. He's down to earth and never gets carried away with himself. Yet he's one of the least appreciated champions in the sport. Fans respect how he handles himself and who he is, and tries to be.

You could compare Johnson to tennis star Pete Sampras – a champion with no marital problems, one who doesn't make the headlines for trouble with the law or having a reputation for staying out drinking. Johnson once told me he was a little bit of a class clown growing up in El Cajon, in southern California, but he learned to play by the rules. He is by no means an outsider in NASCAR, having succeeded at the highest levels, but maybe he lacks that “bad-boy” attitude that resonates with some fans.

By contrast, you've got Tony Stewart who, in 2011, enjoyed the greatest comeback in the history of the Chase. He hadn't won a race all year prior to the Chase and then won five out of ten events to overtake Carl Edwards in the last race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Stewart had already won two championships, but 2011 was his first as an owner-driver. Some people call him polarizing: he's charitable but
also brash, with a tendency to “tell it like it is.” He won't back down, either in a conversation or on the race track. Is he more relatable to NASCAR fans? Depends on whom you ask.

When it comes to finding heroes in NASCAR, you don't have to look far – and I mean that quite literally. The heroic drivers who keep fans tuning in week after week could just as easily be your neighbors; in fact they very well may be. NASCAR is a different kind of sport, one in which the players are real Americans. I don't weigh 300 pounds, I can't get out on a field and tackle goliath-like men, and I can't hit a 93-mile-per-hour fast ball – but I can drive. Our country's car culture is what makes NASCAR the real American sport. The car is the great equalizer. It gives every driver a chance. Whether fans are in the car, on their way to work, getting their license for the first time, or just being a kid riding around in go karts, they can connect to the sport. It's more than just a fantasy; it's something you do every day.

Fans can relate to racing, yet at the same time, they may not want to find themselves going close to 180 miles per hour on a curving speedway for hundreds of miles with forty-two other cars surrounding them. They respect the skill that it takes to be part of the sport, but they let someone else take the risks. They can relate to it and understand it at a basic level, and they admire NASCAR drivers for going beyond it.

Being able to relate to the sport and the drivers is what makes NASCAR everyone's sport. We would be losing something by making the sport less amicable toward female drivers and fans, or making it a sport that solely targets younger people. I'd like to believe that no matter how much change the sport sees, it will always remain the NASCAR that it has been for decades. It is my hope that Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and all the other all-American tough guys who embody the image of the NASCAR star driver will never lose their place on the track, even if the time has come for them to start sharing it with new and diverse faces.

If this chapter is about heroes and NASCAR, there are some drivers who cannot go unmentioned, drivers who have made the sport what it is today. That list starts with Richard Petty, who is the most successful NASCAR driver in history. He has seven Daytona 500 victories and seven NASCAR premier series titles to his name and saw his glory days in the 1960s and 1970s. And there's Dale Earnhardt, of course – one of NASCAR's greatest heroes. Having won seventy-six races in his time and seven NASCAR premier series titles, there's no telling what he could have done if he stayed on the track. The Waltrip brothers and the Earnhardt family have racing in their blood; those families, like many NASCAR families, seem to have sports hero genes. Still more, there's
Bobby Allison who was an aggressive driver who conquered all at three Daytona 500s, his brother Donnie Allison, who picked up two wins at Talladega, and his son, Davey Allison, who won his first NASCAR premier series race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1987 and came away with the Rookie of the Year Award that same year.

We've mentioned Cale Yarborough, but he did a lot more than brawl during his time in NASCAR. He won the Daytona 500 four times and took home three NASCAR Sprint premier series championships
in a row
. A.J. Foyt is another race car driver for the history books. He raced everything from dirt-track to sports cars. He wasn't only a four-time winner of the Indy 500; he also sped into Victory Lane at the Daytona 500.

And it's hard to say NASCAR without hearing the name Jeff Gordon. A child prodigy, Gordon started racing when he was five. He's got trophies from nearly every NASCAR race – from the Coca-Cola 600 to the Daytona 500.

It's hard to say what makes a NASCAR hero what they are. It has a lot to do with talent, speed, and a certain confidence, but how these men got from the highway to the race track and what direction they went in to get there is difficult to say. Every story is different. I happen to think it boils down to a combination of luck, determination, and great talent. Unlike other sports, in NASCAR, that can be enough.
The drivers in NASCAR don't have to fit into a certain physical mold to participate in the sport.

Mark Martin is an excellent example of an all-American driver who is mature and experienced. In his sixth decade of life, he may be older than the rest of the pack, but he's better than the majority of the young drivers and rookies on the track. After moving 180 miles per hour for the better part of his life, he had decided, not too long ago, to slow down. Rick Hendrick had to talk him out of early retirement. There are only a limited few capable of doing what he does, and Hendrick Motorsports has really benefited from his experience.

Martin chose to go back to work with Hendrick Motorsports, which is arguably one of the best teams on the track in terms of advertising, expertise, and sponsorship. He's surprised with what he's done because he's accomplished so much this time around. Fans are impressed, too.

Although in 2012 he begins a new career with Michael Waltrip Racing, his popularity remains the same. His image as a mature male driver draws fans to him. He seems reliable and trustworthy. That's what makes him a good role model for young fans and an inspiring peer for drivers and fans alike. If a parent had to pick a sport to draw role models from, NASCAR would be the best choice. It's a sport that is driven by all-American values and that's frankly
much cleaner than other sports. The drug issues that officials encounter in NASCAR pale in comparison to other major American sports today. NASCAR drivers, for the most part, simply don't need to go down that path. In terms of performance, there are few drugs they can take that can make their car go faster or make them better drivers. In other sports, athletes go as far as they can go, then they see other athletes getting farther. When they find out the secret to their success, it's not surprising that they seek to further their careers and improve their athletic ability by taking that magic pill. It's a vice, but it's a vice that America shares with its athletes. From health supplements to pharmaceuticals to diet pills, there are millions of Americans looking for a quick fix.

The violations seen in NASCAR are either due to uppers, which drivers may take to stay more alert, or non-performance-enhancing drugs taken recreationally off the track. They include cocaine and methamphetamine, which have a decidedly negative effect on performance as well as general health. If you're using drugs to aid you in other sports, you can be a better player, but in NASCAR they can cause a crash. It's just dangerous, and it puts yourself and other drivers at risk. With safety in mind, NASCAR does and will crack down on all drug use – and nobody's going to stop them. In fact, if NASCAR officials don't stop a driver under the influence, other drivers will.

There's no tolerance for drug use among drivers. They police themselves. It's kind of like they're saying, “Hey man, don't do drugs and get out on the track with me. I'll fight you right here before you get in that car.” They're able to keep an eye on each other's behavior. Drivers know each other. Traveling with the same teams and group of people almost year-round really draws drivers together. They compete against each other, but they also work and live together. They're close and know each other's business. While they respect personal privacy and space, this is also a community. If somebody's threatening the group, their behavior needs to be checked.

NASCAR drivers can be tough and old school. They'll say, “I may be taking a risk here, but I don't like what you're doing.” Fistfights are common in NASCAR. Officials don't condone the behavior, but among drivers there's an unwritten moral code that they
will
enforce. That's why they sometimes apologize to each other if they foul up during a race and get into somebody else's way. There's a gentlemen's code about competition. It can be downright strange how they'll help each other out, even during a competition, but it's a very healthy competitive atmosphere.

American business had a similar competitive atmosphere years ago, before people became greedy and cutthroat. It used to be, “You're American, I respect what you're doing, let's work together here.” Times
may have unfortunately changed outside of NASCAR, but these drivers have maintained their sense of sportsmanship. Even the way they compete is honorable. The sportsmanship and healthy competition in NASCAR is something that everyone can learn from, not only in sports, but in American big business. These guys work with and compete against one another the way heroes do.

NASCAR drivers may be speed demons and daredevils with one very tough, aerodynamically engineered exterior, but underneath it all they are guided by strong American values. They remember their roots, and whether they're competing on the track or wearing a three-piece suit talking to sponsors, they never forget who they are. That's what makes NASCAR America's real sport. These drivers, underneath their uniforms and gear, are real Americans. They're more a part of real America than other athletes and celebrities we see on TV today. Even when they reach the top, they don't look down on the rest of America. They may be heroes to their fans, but they're not putting themselves on pedestals.

NASCAR drivers are on the track to race. They're not, however, racing away from anything. Drivers are proud of where they've come from. The culture that many celebrities adhere to involves hitting up clubs and bars, dating and dumping models, and becoming big spenders. For the most part, NASCAR drivers stay
away from that celebrity culture. They follow the rules of society – well, for the majority of the time. There is one little problem that a lot of the drivers have when it comes to following the rules. Speeding.

Gordon once told me that NASCAR drivers are the worst kind of people to get stuck in traffic. They hate bad drivers, but even more, they know that they can get where they're going a lot more quickly … if only they were able to drive faster and more strategically. They have to make a concerted effort to remember that the world is not a race track. That's the only time they have trouble thinking, “I'm here like everybody else.” It's very frustrating for them to be out there and not be able to cut people off.

Yet, off the road, these drivers find themselves at home, the place where their families and communities instilled all those values in the first place – values like patriotism and putting family first. If societal pressure isn't enough to keep these speed demons in line, then NASCAR will do it. The drivers are held responsible for their actions. They live in a world with consequences, just like the rest of us. It's the real world here, and drivers have more at stake. They won't be getting off because they're star drivers. They have to play by the rules of society and the rules of NASCAR, or they won't be playing at all.

NASCAR drivers can oftentimes be hell-raisers and risk-takers, but at the end of the day, they have people
to answer to and they have that strong conscience that their families and communities have instilled in them. They know that everyone they love is holding them accountable, and they know that this community, from NASCAR's fans to its officials, doesn't tolerate illicit behavior. In addition, NASCAR's fans and the drivers' families and communities oftentimes come from the working class. They understand the value of a hard-earned dollar. To see their drivers flaunting their wealth on illicit or dangerous activities wouldn't bring them to admire them more; it would make them shake their heads. These fans want heroes with a sense of pride in their country, American values, and talent paired with humility. Those are the things most drivers have that make them the star athletes and role models they are.

However, it is important to remember – not only in NASCAR, but in all sports – that the true heroes are not the athletes and drivers. Certainly there are drivers who are sports heroes; they continuously inspire people to follow their dreams. Yet the true heroes are in the stands. The true heroes are the dads and moms bringing their sons and daughters to the race for the first time. The true heroes are the military men and women who honor NASCAR by attending the races, year after year. Those are the people whom NASCAR honors and respects. In our society, too much emphasis is given to people who make gross
amounts of money – they may be rich, but that doesn't make them heroes. There are more heroes in the stands than out there on the track.