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Published October 6, 2009 Do You Have What It Takes To Be A NASCAR Driver?
Tony “Tax Man” Anville sent me the link below. It is an interesting story about two Midwesterners who have made it big in auto racing and how difficult it is for others to do the same. The article focuses on drivers who raced at Lakeside Speedway this weekend. Lakeside is only a few miles away from Kansas Speedway, but for most drivers it might as well be on another planet. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/motorsports/story/1487378.html Obviously the drivers who have made it to the “Big Time” are Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer. I think it is much tougher now for a driver to make it to one of the NASCAR Big Three series then it was for Edwards or Bowyer, and it wasn’t easy for them. To start with, a driver has to have a “look.” He doesn’t have to be a pretty boy like Edwards, just have a ruggedly handsome look that fits with the image a company is trying to project. Anyone over 30 need not apply. Mark Martin is as good as any NASCAR driver, but if he was breaking in today instead of 25+ years ago, he might not have what sponsors are looking for. Public relations gurus can teach drivers how to talk, walk, and not chew gum, or not teach them ala Dale Jr., if that is the image desired. NASCAR team’s driver development programs have suffered with the economy. When employees on a current Sprint Cup team are being laid off, it certainly becomes difficult to spend money on the future. Any more being able to bring money to the table in the form of a sponsorship is a deal maker for many wannabes, but how many wannabes have that kind of sponsor? A rich father might be helpful for an up and coming driver. Of course, a driver also has to be able to move a car around and oval, rapidly, and with as little damage to vehicle and self as possible. Many drivers are capable of this. Carl Edwards could never make the claim he was the best modified driver in Missouri, but he is driving for Jack Roush and none of his Missouri rivals are. People in the know like modified chassis builder Bob Harris sing the praises of Clint Bowyer on dirt, but there is a ton of good dirt throwers in Kansas. Talent as a driver seems to rank no higher than #3 in what is needed to become a NASCAR driver. With drivers from all over the world racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series-Juan Pablo Montoya is from Columbia, and Marcos Ambrose is from Australia, the argument that a driver needs to reside in the southeastern part of the US to race NASCAR has gone by the wayside. What does work against a driver from the Midwest is lack of experience on asphalt. Most Midwest Saturday night tracks are dirt. I doubt our economy is improving fast enough to see big changes in driver development programs in 2010. Maybe in 2011 opportunities will improve for talented young Midwestern drivers. Still, there are far more drivers who deserve a chance than there are chances to give them. Thanks for stopping by.
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