COLUMN: NASCAR needs a shot ... of whiskey

The red clay roots of stock car racing can be traced to the hills of North Carolina and northern Georgia.

Under the dead of night, moonshine runners relied on guts and cunning to outrun the law. Those same wild-eyed ruffians took their talents to far-flung dirt
tracks where they amazed factory workers and farmers with their feats of speed and mechanical wizardry.

It was wild, dangerous and dirty.

The not-so-glorious stock-car game was eventually organized into something called NASCAR.

Track promoters such as Russ Catlin and Humpy Wheeler recognized that folks needed an escape from the ordinary, so they devised all sorts of catchy
gimmicks to entice fans.

Many of the promotions centered on the derring-do of drivers such as Fireball Roberts, Tiny Lund and Curtis Turner. These self-made guys captivated fans with
their power slides on the track and swashbuckling exploits off.

For whatever reason, the art of promotion seems to have vanished in NASCAR. Instead of focusing on the gritty and heroic nature of racing, fans are treated to an endless reel of fluff.

Frustrated by generic cars and robotic drivers, traditional fans have been leaving the sport for a couple years. Want evidence? Check the lackluster television ratings and empty seats for events at the top three levels of NASCAR.

It’s time to show the real side of stock-car racing. Forget the soap opera. Show us some grit. Call it redneck or wrestling on wheels if you want, but racers
have never been and never will be choirboys.

The mesmerizing crash and bitter wordplay involving Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at Atlanta Motor Speedway could not have unfolded at a better time
for officials at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was classic theatre, but even that may not be enough to create a sellout for Sunday’s Food City 500.

Yes, the national economy is lousy and average folks have to worry about paying their light bill. True racing fans should still be to make sacrifice because the
stock-car show doesn’t get any better than the half-mile thrill ride at Bristol.

There may not have been as many wrecks since the track was resurfaced and widened in 2007, but where else can you see 43 cars zoom around a concrete bowl at 120 mph.

That’s gritty stuff, even without the typical Bristol carnage.

The various Fortune 500 sponsors, which fuel NASCAR, hate to see conflict. The stockholders would much rather see their toothy corporate spokesmen
posing with a lovable duck or kissing a puppy than trading sheet metal and barbs with rival drivers.

Judging from the preseason speeches, NASCAR leaders have gotten the message that fans want more action and reality. Witness the lack of penalties following the Edwards-Keselowski clash.

The promotional staff at Bristol Motor Speedway deserves credit for playing up the rowdy history of their track. This sport needs more real drama.

NASCAR could even use the services of a few carnival barkers roaming the streets with signs heralding “the fighting, fussing and wrecking” elements of NASCAR.

Since the first chase through the hills between the whiskey runner and the revenuer, racing has been a diversion for common people who enjoy a fast ride on the wild side.

The suits in the suites might revolt, but NASCAR needs a shot of whiskey.

A big shot.

agregory@bristolnews.com I (276) 645-2544.