NASCAR Nation Read Free

drivers are so intelligent, why do they risk their lives driving in circles, crashing their cars into walls?” They view the admiration of a wreck as grotesque. These are people who don’t understand the races and who haven’t given it an honest chance. The sights, sounds, smells of the wrecks are a necessary part of the spectacle. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that these cars have been handmade by some of the greatest engineers in the country and handled by some of the most skilled crews. Or perhaps it’s the assurance that the driveris going to step out of the car and be okay. These drivers may crash and total cars, but at the end of the day, they walk away.
    There’s nothing wrong with a crash, especially in today’s races when the necessary safety precautions have been taken to ensure that drivers are guaranteed as much safety as possible. And there’s a reason for these precautions. When Dale Earnhardt, who was the face of the sport, died on February 18, 2001, as a result of injuries from a wreck, it changed the world of NASCAR forever.
    My introduction to NASCAR as a broadcaster was earth-shattering. Everyone was affected that day – the parents and kids sitting at home enjoying the final lap of the Daytona 500, the drivers who were well across the finish line before they realized what had happened, my fellow broadcasters and I. All of us, as a nation and community, held our breath as car No. 3 stopped moving. Nobody could be sure of what had happened. We hoped, but in vain. Earnhardt and his No. 3 swerved and crashed on the very last lap. Just moments before, everything had been different. Fans at home were holding onto the edges of their sofas, people were standing up in the stadium with joyful anticipation, and we were narrating the final lap of the race with extra tension in our voices – only to be interrupted by speechlessness.
    Everyone was waiting, no longer interested in how the end of the race would turn out; waiting to see if Earnhardt would emerge, just like all the other drivers had in most crashes. He was the symbol of NASCAR. His kind gestures, formidable grasp, bushy moustache, and down-to-earth demeanor fully embodied what NASCAR was and is.
    After the first man to approach the window became frantic, everything became unsure. This was no ordinary crash. Then ambulances arrived – the only vehicles you
never
want to see racing out onto the track. It was something that no one expected. In the sport where viewers, fans, and drivers learn to expect the unexpected, this was something for which no one was prepared. No matter how many times the race footage was replayed, it never ceased to seem somehow unreal.
    Since Earnhardt’s death, safety regulations have greatly increased. Some have complained that these safety regulations have caused uniformity in car design. This is possible, but there’s no doubt that being sure that these drivers make their way back to their families at the end of the day is vitally important to NASCAR and its fans. It’s a family sport – good, safe fun. After this tragedy, many more drivers have been able to drive safely doing the sport that Earnhardt loved, that the nation continues to loves, and that I love, too.
    That day brought the end to the career of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers to ever set wheels on a track. It also marked the beginning of my career as a NASCAR broadcaster, and taught me an early lesson: this sport is all about surprises. In the years since, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes NASCAR great, and how all the elements of racing – risk, patriotism, teamwork, tradition, and endurance, just to name a few – come together to make this the true American sport. It’s not just that we all love fast cars or the thrill of the open road. It’s that the values of NASCAR mirror the values of our great nation, the place we call home.
    NASCAR fans don’t get half the respect