The Patriotism of NASCAR

Call it a "redneck" thing, but NASCAR and American patriotism go hand-in-hand.

As we honor those who died in the horrid attack on American soil on September 11, 2001, we still hear from those who question the wars we've engaged since this tragedy. Our servicemen and women fight and die for our continuing freedom, much of it because nearly 3000 people, many of multinational heritage, died while enjoying the freedom we hold so dear.

The NASCAR community honored the fallen with an incredible array of paint schemes this past weekend at Richmond International Raceway, and there is already a vast array of memorabilia for sale that will profit from it. Such is the American way.

But the American spirit runs deep in NASCAR, and has well before all of the commercialism we now easily associate with it. America's Armed Forces recognize this, and use the cars, drivers, and races as a recruiting platform. Even that goes further back than this weekend.

During the 1991 Daytona 500, NASCAR recognized the conflict known as "Desert Storm" by sponsoring five cars (already racing with minimal, to no sponsorship that weekend) representing the five branches of the military, and decals of the American flag adorned virtually every car in the field. Not as commercialism, but as a proud display of heartfelt patriotism.

NASCAR grew from the ashes of World War II. Our servicemen -- and women -- returned home and sought some kind of normalcy. American sports are a great platform for that. And NASCAR was a big part of that. American cars, and predominantly American drivers and crews fought on the "battlefield" of NASCAR competition. Many of these participants were veterans of the war, having put their lives on the line to defend their country, and now putting their lives on the line to entertain its people.

And it didn't end there. Through the years many veterans took to the track, having, in my opinion, earned a place there.

60s NASCAR veteran Larry Frank was indeed a veteran. A no-nonsense hard-charging ex-Marine, he wasn't one to back down from a conflict, and was even known to give chase, with or without a car, if he felt it was warranted. He is probably best known for his NASCAR "conflict" that is the stuff of legend.

During one race, "Little Joe" Weatherly was driving in his own hard-charging style, but seemed to focus most of his beating and banging on Larry Frank, doing a lot of damage. After the race, Frank chased ‘Little Joe' into the parking lot. Not wanting to tangle with Frank without the protection of a car around him, Weatherly jumped on a car's roof. Even that wasn't going to stop Larry Frank, so Little Joe ran across the roof of every car parked in that row, leaving a trail of dented roofs along the way. And, in true NASCAR style, both men laughed about it the next day.

Army veteran Nelson Stacy drove a tank as he served his country. That might have had something to do with the way he drove on the Grand National circuit during his brief NASCAR career.

Nowadays, many of the drivers in NASCAR's top three series started too young to have had a career in the military. But, that doesn't mean that they can't show their American pride, even if it comes at 200 miles per hour.

Never Forget.

Falling off the face of the net

Keeping a blog updated isn't necessarily a problem, provided you have a life that allows opportunity to do so. As a writer, the act of writing (a book, a blog, an article somewhere) should make it easy to post just another piece of worthless drivel in some shape or form. I guess that's what I'm doing here.

Between writing, edits, and formatting, I put together my novel HIDING BEHIND THUNDER in about 14 months. I'd like to think that's not too bad if one takes into consideration that I type with only my index fingers, my right thumb (space bar) and my right ring finger (backspace key... which I seem to use a lot). That leaves me with six other rather useless digits that tend to only get in the way, especially over the course of creating a 137,000-word self-proclaimed masterpiece.

Not that those phalanges are wasted in other ventures, mind you. I mean, it's not like I'm going to have them surgically removed just so I can write another book or add another blog here. That would have a detrimental effect on my being able to communicate my feelings about the behaviors of other drivers for their benefit.

Then there's that little issue of actually working a full-time job and having a full-time family. That will slow things down. Oh, and let's not forget the modern time-wasting monster called commuting, which eats up another hour and a half of potential writing time each working day (but doesn't seem to impact my ability to put those previously-mentioned middle fingers to use). So, where am I going with this?

Although HIDING BEHIND THUNDER isn't actually flying off the shelves at your local bookstore (which likely has a lot to do with bookstores not yet carrying the thing), I've already had people asking if I'm working on my next magnum opus. (Not to be confused with a really big cartoon penguin.)

Yeah, I'm trying to work on another novel, but I've found that promoting a book is almost harder than writing one. So, where am I going with this (you ask again)?

I'm wondering if I should take a break from writing and just work on the promotion. (Kind of what I'm doing at the moment.) You know, somehow convince enough people to buy my book so I can retire and just keep writing between attending lots of NASCAR races.

Resting upon one's laurels isn't really a bad thing, provided you have laurels to rest upon. Which I don't.

But, I never wrote my 60s-era NASCAR novel expecting to get rich... although it sure would be nice. No, I wrote it because of my passion for the sport and its rich history, threads that I've woven into a satisfying coming-of-age story. Really.

So, again I ask you --nay, beg you -- to at least check out HIDING BEHIND THUNDER, now specially priced at Amazon.com, and available for downloads to Kindle, Nook, and many other e-readers -- even your PC -- at Smashwords.com.

Who knows? Maybe you'll want to see me write another one, too.

Loyalty, Part Deux

I just recently posted my perspective of the re-signing of Carl Edwards with Roush-Fenway Racing, devoting the post to the concept of loyalty. In a recent post by Mark Aumann on NASCAR.com, he opines that the continued association between Edwards and Roush wasn't about money, loyalty or leverage; it was about winning.

Well, yes... and no. There is no doubt in my mind that, had Edwards jumped ship for Joe Gibbs Racing, his association with a championship-winning team at JGR and championship-winning crew chief in Greg Zipadelli, he would have added plenty wins to his resume. And I'm sure most fans could easily see the possibility of Edwards driving towards a Sprint Cup Championship behind the wheel of the Home Depot Toyota.

But Edwards chose to stay with Roush. You can't tell me that there wasn't a huge dose of loyalty taken into consideration when Edwards remarked, "I talked to Jack on the phone and he said, 'Look, Carl. You do whatever you think is best for you'... That meant the world to me. It meant that I didn't have that pressure to do something for any reason than for what I thought was best..."

Loyalty has played a significant role with some of the most successful and popular NASCAR racers.

Dale Earnhardt has to be one of the greatest examples of loyalty. Even as he founded his own race team, he was still driving for Richard Childress, and there was no intention to jump ship, citing loyalty to Childress as a significant factor.

And it wasn't just the 6 Winston Cup Championship they had earned together. Earnhardt's last Cup championship with Childress and the #3 was in 1994. They remained together, dedicated to each other, right up until Earnhardt's tragic death at Daytona in 2001.

Likewise Jeff Gordon. How many NASCAR drivers do you know of who have signed a lifetime contractual agreement? Is it based in winning? Yes. Is it based in championship chases, past, present and future? You bet. Is it based in loyalty to his team owner? Unquestionably.

There are a couple other drivers that ditched loyalty to a championship-caliber team in hopes of doing something they'd been working towards, anyway (insert Tony Stewart here).

And then there's the sport's Most Popular Driver, whose loyalty was to his father, then to himself when the race team his father founded was wrenched away from him. Now he chooses to stay with Rick Hendrick, the man who gave him his second chance.



One of my all-time favorite movies is The Princess Bride, a wonderful tale of love, honor, and loyalty. Between the film and many of NASCAR's biggest stars, I remain optimistic that loyalty is not dead.

That's my two cents, your mileage may vary.

Loyalty Isn't Dead

I am elated by today's announcement that Carl Edwards has re-signed with Roush-Fenway Racing to continue doing backflips in 2012 and beyond. My excitement isn't simply because I am a big fan of Edwards, but because the renewal of his contract speaks greatly about a little-recognized personal attribute that I feel is all but forgotten in NASCAR today; Loyalty.

When questioned early on about his pending decision, Edwards remained vague; not showing his hand. He rightly reinforced the notion that he needed to make a decision based not only in performance, but what was the best for his family in the long run. Sure, this was most likely a significant bargaining tactic, but it was also a reflection of the responsibility any father / husband has to his family. After all, Edwards is participating in a sport that is always performed under the specter of potential death.

But, back to loyalty. Sure, Edwards had the potential to be just as competitive in a race car fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing as he has been with Roush-Fenway. Whether or not he would have jelled both personally and professionally with potential teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin would have been interesting to see. But he has an existing professional relationship with his fellow RFR teammates Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and David Ragan.

Jack Roush gave Edwards a killer opportunity, first in the truck series and eventually to NASCAR's top-tier Cup Series. Edwards rewarded Roush's belief in the young driver with a second Busch Series title. (Greg Biffle gave Roush his first.) Now Edwards is on the verge of giving Roush his 3rd Cup title, and the signing of this latest contract reinforces that dedication.

Edwards' decision reflects his belief that his relationship with Roush-Fenway will lead to many more shots at the Sprint Cup title, and the more shots you have, the greater chance of hitting that target. That comes through loyalty and dedication.

Okay, so what does this have to do with my novel, HIDING BEHIND THUNDER? (Notice how I snuck that in there?) Well, a significant facet of the story centers around the loyalty the young Davey Sutherland has to those who give him his greatest shot at rebuilding a life. This loyalty, however, isn't driven solely by the need to achieve more racing wins or championships. It's critical to the relationships Davey has with those who have accepted him into their hearts and lives. It's loyalty for his chance at redemption. It's loyalty built on a foundation of trust, and even love.

HIDING BEHIND THUNDER can be purchased through CreateSpace, downloaded to Amazon's Kindle reader, and purchased for downloads for Nook, Kobo, and many other ePub formats through Smashwords.com.