NASCAR Nation (19 page)

My father taught me a lot about enduring economically. His advice isn't anything stretched too far beyond common sense: You save money when you work, and you don't buy something you can't afford.
If you do buy something on credit, like a home or car, you make sure you can make the payments. You have to make sure your investments are worth it to you. Even if you can afford it now, can you keep up with it?

If only our nation had been asking itself those simple questions over the last few years leading up to the recent economic collapse. The fact is we as a country
couldn't
keep up with it. We couldn't keep up with our oil costs and how much we were, and still are, consuming. We're a society that relies on consumption, but we came to a point where we couldn't afford to continue to consume and take. That's why finding straightforward, sustainable solutions was, and still is, important. We have to be honest with ourselves about how many resources we have and how much we are consuming and creating. Our economic problems in the auto and banking industry stemmed from business practices that weren't productive but were actually costing money.

Once again, NASCAR sets a good example: they're very honest about how much money they make and how successful they are. They're a champion of sustainable business operation. They started with a strong base of fans, and they have a regular demand for races, which they fill. When they expanded their business, they didn't grow too fast. As the saying goes, “Don't spread yourself too thin.” What was
once a southern regional sport has now spread to the entire country, but it didn't happen overnight; they expanded when times were good, waiting until they had the tracks and the audience in regions they were expanding to. It's common sense. Don't spread yourself too thin, and don't spend money if you're not making it. NASCAR has experienced exponential growth because they worked with what they had when they had it, and they grew. Because of their strategy, they have now been able to slowly grow outside of the country and gain exposure and begin series in Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

Though NASCAR has fared well in tough times, it too must tighten its belt during this economic recession. Fans are as loyal as ever, but their wallets may be a bit thinner. Families still come with their motor homes to every race, but as families tighten their spending, their ticket purchases become less frequent. Taking time off from work and paying for the fuel to get to race day are becoming greater burdens. Yet, NASCAR needs its fans. And since its fans are everyday Americans, the sport needs to find a way to still be affordable while trying to survive in the new economic climate.

NASCAR isn't any different than any other businesses or individual in the United States today. We all need to make choices. However, that doesn't mean NASCAR can choose profit over its fans. The fans
are the people who got the sport where it is today. That's why NASCAR has to find a way to keep the sport affordable. There are many companies out there that are taking advantage of their “fans” or the people who helped them to grow. Whether the companies are increasing premiums so that they are grossly unaffordable to most of the public, or whether they are imposing mandatory fines, fees, and taxes, they are jeopardizing the support they have received from their customers. But NASCAR plays by a different set of rules. It never forgets the people who make it what it is. In good times and bad, it remains everyone's sport.

American business is suffering, but perhaps it's time to be proactive. It's a lot like a driver in a race. The American people are behind the wheel. They have decisions to make. The car starts out strong, but then things wear down and there are malfunctions. The American business world is malfunctioning. We need to stop what we're doing, access the problem properly, and fix it. It will take valuable time, money, and expertise, but it must be done. We have a choice: we can keep going and either crash or run out of fuel, or we can make that pit stop and fix the problem. Slowing down isn't something American society is used to doing, but it's something we have to do.

It also means we have to consume less. Fans used to go to football games, rock concerts, and NASCAR
races. Now they have to make just one choice. It's all a vital life lesson in endurance. People today don't even know how secure their jobs are. They're good at what they do, people like them at work, but sometimes they get cut anyway. Yet, it's our attitudes toward the economy and our determination to find sustainable solutions that will dictate the security of our future. No matter what, we have to keep going.

In order to keep going, we need to pull together – a sentiment that isn't hard to find in NASCAR. Jeff Gordon was the first to say, “I'll take less money to help the sport.” He cares about the future of NASCAR, but more so, I think he cares about the fans. He wants NASCAR to be a sport that everyone can be a part of. He also said that he wanted his crew to stay intact. Drivers aren't throwing their teams under the bus. They'll make sacrifices for each other so the community can get through this together. Gordon was the first to grasp how important the NASCAR community is and see the big picture in this crisis.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not have a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, but he's very connected to the fans and to the sport. He's proven himself over the long run as a driver and a part of this community, and he is dedicated to remaining loyal to NASCAR in both the good times and the bad. The words and support of the drivers for the greater NASCAR community are a sign of loyalty and the
strong sense of togetherness that will keep the sport strong, even in the most difficult of times.

The organization's way of addressing the economic situation has been interesting. It hasn't just been lawyers and corporate heads talking things over. Instead it's been the France family, the executives, the owners, and the drivers, sitting together and talking about what should be done. There's something admirable about this. In a world of lawyers, corporations, paperwork, and bureaucracy, it's nice to find a sport that puts people who are actually a part of the sport in charge.

Every year, NASCAR reviews the NASCAR Sprint Cup race schedule and often changes the order in which the races occur. One week NASCAR is in the South, a couple weeks later they're in another region, and then they're back in the South just a few weeks after leaving. NASCAR really counts on the opinions of their drivers and owners, and they try to handle all shows and scheduling as a community, listening to everybody's needs, not just the needs of a business.

When there are issues in the sport, financial or otherwise, they can turn to each other for guidance and advice. NASCAR works closely with team owners such as Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs, and Rick Hendrick. They also work with the major corporate sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Office Depot, and Unilever. The sponsors are just as personally invested in the sport
as they are financially invested in it and thus are an important part of the NASCAR business.

NASCAR really does value American business, but the sponsors don't run the show. The sport isn't completely controlled by a pull on the pocket or the monetary powers of sponsors. First and foremost, they care about the fans, and they want to make sure that they get the racing they want. Of course NASCAR strives to be modern and cool for the sake of progress and profit, but not at the expense of the sense of tradition or morality that are so important to its fans.

NASCAR is very connected to its fans and everyday Americans. They share those same all-American values, and they also realize the hardship that these families must weather in the current economic climate. There is a connection between what NASCAR is feeling financially and how American society feels. Yet when race day comes and the track fills with fans and the sound of revving engines, bank statements and gloomy financial news forecasts fade away. Even so, a certain amount of apprehension is healthy. As we mature individually and as a society, we pause, reflect, and sometimes worry a bit more about the future generations. We want to ensure that tomorrow will be a brighter day; that we will leave our children a world even better than our own.

The truth is we don't simply want to endure and survive. We want to thrive. What will be our legacy?
We can worry as much as we like, but worrying never got any work done. Our society was, and is considered, by some, to still be, in an economic crisis, energy crisis, and everything else crisis, but we can endure and resolve these issues. However, we won't get it done by saying we can't, or simply by talking about how horrible it is or how hard it will be. Well-thought-out, sustainable, and prepared solutions are feasible – if only we work together to achieve them.

Just like on the race track, there's no such thing as too late, too old, or too hopeless in life. Think of Mark Martin, a man racing past the age of fifty who might as well be twenty. He once told me that worrying is like a rocking chair: if you don't go anywhere, it gives you something to do. American society is going somewhere, but we have to stop sitting in our rocking chairs worrying and start thinking of solutions instead. We need to listen to each other and find a carefully planned, well-informed way to address our current crises. We have the brainpower; it's time to put it to work. Martin had all the driving talent in the world when he retired. When he made his comeback to Hendrick Motorsports, he didn't do it without thought. He made sure he had the best team, the best resources, and the best sponsorship backing him. Even now, as he starts his 2012 career with Michael Waltrip Racing, he didn't sit around and worry; he planned,
strategized, and made it work. Martin is just one man, but I think American society could learn a thing or two from him. He was out of full-time racing for a while, but after careful planning and preparation, he was able to come back stronger than he ever was before. He didn't pity himself or wait for somebody to take care of him – he knew he'd probably need a sponsor to start racing again, but only he could put himself back on his feet. The moral of the story: you can't sit back and wait for somebody else to take care of you. You have to stay on top of what's going on in the world, figure out where you want to go, and get behind the wheel.

When the bills pour in, life gets stressful, and you just need to get away from it all. Sometimes the only place you want to go to is the races. NASCAR fans, no matter the level of the Dow on Wall Street or the number of bills in their mailbox, will find a way to get to the races. That ticket is more than money – it's a tradition, a spectacular event, a time to connect to a community. All they want is to see good racing. They want to hear the anthem and see America's finest vehicles out on the track.

Some people miss the old cars. The new cars, the stylish track, and the other technological advancements may add to the races, but they aren't the heart of the sport. Even if the economy reduced NASCAR to an old dirt track, used cars, and guys
in dirty T-shirts, sunglasses, and jeans, the sport would go on. Fans would keep coming. NASCAR would be changed, but not necessarily for the worse. It's a down-to-earth sport, and it doesn't need the latest technological advancements to survive. That's not what the sport started as, and that's not what it necessarily needs to keep going. It's not about the technology, engineering, or even how fast you can go; it's about the community and the spirit of the sport.

With the cost of the cars, tracks, fuel, and repairs, NASCAR is one of the most expensive sports. Still, getting those cars on the track isn't just about racing. Those vehicles represent American business and innovation. They show what our car companies and engineers are capable of producing. The automobile is a vital part of American culture. Just like your job is a part of your identity, your car represents who you are and what you can accomplish. NASCAR represents, on a larger scale, the advancements in automobile engineering and the economic fortitude upon which that this country was built and will prevail.

At a time when many hard-working Americans couldn't afford health care and people were losing their jobs every day without a way to support themselves or their families, the government was sending tax dollars to large auto corporations. Yet Ford, one
of the greatest American automakers of today and yesterday, refused bail-out money. There's something very American about a company that pulls itself up by the boot straps, tightens its belt, and says, no, that money can go toward people who need it.

When you hear about a formidable business like Ford turning down money and rightfully redirecting it to better causes, it makes you proud to be American. It's important that those cars and automakers keep racing down NASCAR's tracks. That might mean a few changes in the sport and limited testing. But even if those changes take a bit of the edge off of NASCAR, the spirit of the sport will endure. Even if the economy washed away all of the new gizmos that have made NASCAR's vehicles so aerodynamically capable that they can nearly fly … even if NASCAR's tracks were reduced to rubble due to lack of maintenance funds and the drivers were racing on dirt roads … even if we were broadcasting with a hand-held camera … NASCAR would still stay strong.

Over sixty years ago, down South, two rebels sat behind the wheels of average American vehicles with trunks full of moonshine on an old back road. They asked themselves how fast they could go. They didn't have money, sponsors, or engineers. All they needed was four wheels, moonshine, and a passion for racing. People started watching those daredevils
as they raced head to head, never imagining that it would someday turn into the sport that fueled a nation. But that's exactly what happened. That fiery love of racing became an American passion.

It's never stopped since.

A
merica is the greatest country on earth. It's a country where, no matter your status or background, you have the right to pursue your dreams, to speak your mind freely, to care for your family, and offer your children the brightest and fairest future possible. It's a country where potential is boundless, where hard work, dedication, and integrity go rewarded. So it's no small wonder that America is the birthplace of NASCAR.