**disclaimer: the following is all my small opinion, and who am I really? LOL!**
I was sitting and relaxing and reading tweets on twitter today, when an interesting topic came up. At first, it caught my interest because Denny Hamlin was involved....gotta read up on the Nascar hotness right? But, the more I thought about the actual topic of 'driver emotion', the more I realized that this topic has had a HUGE effect on the sport over the last several years. How? well..here is what I think....
I think Nascar has gotten boring lately. I love love love watching races, but lately, the cup races have been boring! I am more glued to my TV during the truck and nationwide races. Now yes, I do think that the COT has alot to do with the 'boringness' of the cup races, but the more I think about it, lack of driver emotion is a contributing factor.
A few years ago, I used to feel strongly about a few drivers. I hated Jeff Gordon, thougth he was whiney, and Kurt Busch, well, I thought he was the biggest ASS out there! Kurt Busch was a highly emotional agressive driver who woudl bump anyone out of his way to win. I hated him for it, but damn was it exciting! Remember when Jimmie Spencer punched him after the race? How was THAT for excitement! So, as much as I hated Kurt, I couldn't WAIT to see what he would do next! It made it exciting! These days, Kurt seems to be quiet and politically correct.....blah. boring. And Jeff Gordon, who always seemed to be complaining about someone or something, I haven't heard much of that either. I like Jeff now, but wish he woudl whine some more....LOL!
Oh, and who remembers the race (it was either sonoma, or teh glen, can't remember!) where juan pablo and kevin harvick actually got OUT OF THEIR CARS after wrecking and got in each others faces.....wow! That was powerful! LOVED IT! And you know what? I had picked Juan Pablo in my fantasy league that week, and by him getting out and doing what he did, well, that pretty much killed my points for the week.....but who cares! It made for a great exciting race! They were angry and well...they showed it! Good for them! I looked forward to that rivalry in races following that one.
And lets talk about Mark Martin. Man. I used to despise him! Thougth he may have been teh whiniest driver of all! How many times woudl he get out of his car after being wrecked and start pointing fingers. Used to piss me off! I couldn't stand him! Turns out...well...he was showing how he felt, and being honest and putting it out there. Now, all he does is smiles and is happy all the time. Everyone seems to like this. Me? I want the old whiney Mark back....it was more fun for me to get riled up at him whining.
So I guess now we have Kyle Busch....just about the only driver out there showing some emotion. As much as everyone seems to hate him, I like it! Kyle is about the only driver out there being REAL. He is showing who he is, and how he feels, and it is GREAT! No, I am not a Kyle Busch fan, I am just not one of the haters! He is the real deal and isn't afraid to show it. But he is only 1 of 43 drivers out there. Now earlier this year, I saw some true raw emotion out of Denny Hamlin, brought me to tears myself. When he won at Pocono, and was all choked up in Victory Lane. I felt horrible for his loss, but was glad to see him not holding back, that was one of the most emotional Victory Lane's I had seen....even under dire circumstances. I missed taht race, only got home in time to see the last few laps.....but was glad I saw what I did that day.
So I guess what i am saying in all my randomness ( i don't claime to be a writer, i actually sucked ass at english in school!) is that i wish drivers would forget politically correct and tell us how they really feel! When they start whining and pointing fingers and taking out their agressions, it makes for better racing I think. Put it out there! Show us how you really feel! Maybe don't go punch each other in the faces, but show some emotion! I personally love seeing it! Even if it makes me dislike you ,well, it made me more interested and want to see more, which is important rigth? Im a fan and shouldn't be so bored that my eyes wonder away from teh tv....what if I turned the tv off altogether? or never even tuned in to the race?? If enough of people like me did that, where would the sport be?
So there you have it, my opinion of driver emotion. Just my opinion, in really bad writing and english.....please don't correct my english, that will just anger me, and then I may show emotion! LOL! But all comments on content are welcome! Thanks for reading!
~tracey
