Join the Discussion "Whoever's producing the banquet has now, officially, completely lost touch with the majority of NASCAR fans." AB_NASCAR

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Dateline: December 9, 2002

I admit it, I have never worn my hat backwards and I don't own a Playstation, let alone PS2. I know all the words to many Hank Williams Jr. songs and actually prefer camping in the parking lot of the track to staying in a hotel. I have supported NASCAR for many years and spent way more money than I'd care to think about, but it seems like NASCAR is no longer trying to appeal to me.

Since the new television contract went into effect NASCAR has been trying to shed it's "good old boy" image and appeal to a younger, hipper audience. Last Friday night's NASCAR Winston Cup awards banquet shows that NASCAR is no longer even trying to entertain their original core audience. This year the banquet featured a new location, a new format and a focus on an fan base that I'm not a part of.

I can appreciate that many NASCAR drivers, crew members and fans probably like Cheryl Crow and Third Eye Blind, but who was that ballet/acrobatic thing for, "L'YouGottaBeKiddingMe?" With five musical numbers total how about a little bit of country music mixed in? I know for sure that when I'm walking through the parking lot at any NASCAR event that I sure do hear a lot of country music being played.

As they have been since the introduction of the teleprompter in 1998 the driver's speeches were sterilized and largely uninteresting. Two quality NASCAR personalities, Allen Bestwick and Bill Weber, were relegated to bit parts while NASCAR brought in a Hollywood name with limited NASCAR knowledge to host. It simply was not interesting or entertaining.

I understand that NASCAR needs to broaden it's appeal but lately they have been ignoring their long-time fans in their effort to appeal to a new audience. Certainly there must be some middle ground where they can still seek out the next generation of NASCAR supporters without abandoning their original hardcore fan base?

Lets hope that NASCAR learned their lesson and that the 2003 edition of the NASCAR Winston Cup banquet has a little something for everyone.