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Feel free to boo Racing could use more Gordon-Earnhardt rivalries
Posted: Friday April 21, 2000 05:26 PM
Sports Illustrated motor sports writer Mark Bechtel will answer your questions every Friday. Click here to send him a question. Ah, vacation. It's more than just the best cheesy video ever made (could they have done a worse job making it look like Belinda Carlisle was actually water skiing?), it's a chance to get back to my roots. Since the NASCAR boys are taking the week off following Talladega, I took the chance to drive up the highway a bit to Huntsville, Ala., which is where I grew up. And reading a column by local scribe Mark McCarter (always a treat), I learned that our little local speedway actually has some impressive roots. Seems like a lot of big-name drivers have passed through here, including Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who actually won one of his 200 races here. Just goes to show you how much NASCAR has changed. On to the abbreviated 'bag (I am on vacation, after all):
I'm a Jeff Gordon fan and I'm sick and tired of hearing people bash Jeff Gordon, especially Dale Earnhardt fans. I'm also tired of Earnhardt not giving Gordon the respect he deserves. Since the beginning of 1993, Gordon's first full year on the NASCAR circuit, Gordon has won 50 races to Earnhardt's 23. There is no better sign as to who is the better driver than head-to-head competition. It took Earnhardt almost 20 years to reach 50 wins; it took Gordon eight. After seeing these stats -- and stats don't lie -- who is the better driver? The answer is a no-brainer. Greg, first of all, Earnhardt's seven Winston Cup titles are nothing to shake a stick at. That said, comparing him to Gordon is like comparing Mays to Mantle. They're both incredible drivers. As for people booing Gordon, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I think it's good for the sport. Sure, some cretins take things too far, but think of golf for a second. Nobody hates any golfer. There are no bad guys. As a result, there are no juicy subplots. When you are watching golf, the action on the course is all there is. Did anyone in America except for friends and relatives feel strongly one way or the other when Stewart Cink won on the PGA Tour last week? NASCAR, on the other hand, offers all sorts of nifty little side-stories. Normally, people boo the bad guy. But NASCAR has always appealed to the rebellious types, so it makes sense for fans to boo the driver in the nice-guy white hat, not the guy who is called The Intimidator and drives a black car. It makes things more interesting when there are strong rivalries. I've been a huge Browns fan my whole life, so needless to say I've hated the Steelers since the day I was born. But I'll readily admit that back in the day, the Steelers were great, and I had a genuine appreciation for what they did. So go ahead and boo Gordon. Just don't bash his accomplishments. There's no denying the fact that he is one of the best to ever get behind the wheel of a car.
Mark, to me driving around in circles (like NASCAR) is not real racing. And for the life of me, I don't understand why fans prefer the ovals to the road courses. My guess is the fans like to see the massive pile-ups and hear their favorite laundry detergents mentioned every five seconds. Why is NASCAR so popular? I prefer Formula One, European or South American stock car events in which every race is on a road course and the cars are more similar to what I drive in the street. Four left turns just doesn't cut it with me. Our first Paraguayan letter. Sweet. Yeah, a lot of people prefer road racing to NASCAR for that very reason. But remember, NASCAR's roots are simple: guys driving stock cars in circles. It's so popular because anyone can relate to it -- or at least to what it was not long ago. If you like Formula One better, fine. Both series have their own inherent charms, which makes for a nice segue into our next question ...
Do you think NASCAR drivers could compete with CART and Formula One drivers if they got a shot to race in CART or Formula One races? Same goes for CART and Formula One drivers competing on the NASCAR circuit. How successful could they be? I seem to recall Tony Stewart saying something about how the only NASCAR driver he thought would be able to cut it in an Formula One racing was Gordon. It's not so much that NASCAR drivers aren't good enough, it's just that road-course racing is really, really different. The Formula One cars are drastically more diverse than NASCAR vehicles in terms of handling and overall explosiveness, and they have gear shifters instead of stick shifts. On the other hand, throw an open-wheel guy in a stock car, and he might struggle (as Scott Pruett did, for example). Or, like Stewart, he might succeed. Point is, there's no definitive answer. I think if you gave the average NASCAR driver time to acclimate himself to his ride, he'd be able to become an average CART or Formula One driver -- and vice versa. A few guys on each circuit are so naturally talented they could step in and compete right away. Click here to send Mark Bechtel a question.
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