Twitter Do You Really Support Your Driver?
July 23, 2009 by katylindamood
Filed under Columns
Beyond the News with Katy Lindamood:
Dale Jr. fans, you are in a class by yourself when it comes to supporting your driver. You let everyone know which driver you will be cheering for once the green flag drops. You don’t care how long it’s been since he won his last race or how many times the pit crew had a mishap on pit road. You don’t even care if he is on the lead lap. As long as your driver is out there on the track you are on your feet cheering for him.
I might not be a Jr. fan but I do respect his fans for never giving up on him. Sure, you might get annoyed when he finishes near the middle or rear of the field, but you still claim he is the greatest driver on the track and will defend his merit to any haters you encounter. Dale Jr. has a bad day and his fans say things like “well at least he’s out there on the track gaining a few points” or “he’s having a better race than that one last week.” Or my favorite of all, “at least he didn’t finish dead last”
What about the rest of us?
Most NASCAR fans lose interest in the race once their favorite driver’s chances of winning are gone. Those of us watching from home wander to the refrigerator, but those Earnhardt Jr. fans are sitting there cheering until the very last lap is in the books. Then you have those fans at the track. You know the ones. They show up at the race track decked from head to toe in Jr. gear. They’ve got the backpacks, the coolers, the hats, the t-shirts, and even shoes with the #88 emblazoned on them. It makes me wonder if everyone claiming to be a Dale Jr fan is actually a Dale Jr. fan or if they are afraid to step out and declare another driver as their favorite. There has to be some of that going in. I mean no everyone is a fan of the most popular driver, right? So, where are they hiding?
Where’s that fan wearing his Juan Pablo Montoya hat proudly or his Matt Kenseth t-shirt? Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears have to have fans other than those who drink Crown Royal and Jack Daniels right? Have you seen the couple wearing the matching David Ragan shirts or the kids wearing Clint Bowyer Cheerio’s t-shirts? Where are those girls screaming for drivers like AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, and Martin Truex Jr. because they are cute? I haven’t seen them either. Surely they all aren’t Dale Jr. fans.
I challenge each of you to start supporting your drivers. Stick with them when they are having a bad day. Wait until the commercial break to grab another beer. Wear their gear to the track even when no one else is. Cheer louder than the fans sitting next to you and show your driver some support. Represent your driver the way Dale Jr’s fans represent him. It will be okay. I’m not saying you have to become a walking billboard for your driver, but show them some love when you are at the track. Please, the endless sea of green is making my eyes hurt!
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The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not this website.
Katy Lindamood is a freelance writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed NASCAR addict. Katy co-authors The Biff Files, a NASCAR blog, with her best friend. Beyond the News is an opinion based column devoted to the fan experience. Katy welcomes suggestions for future columns and can be contacted via twitter.
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Great article! I for one and NOT a jr fan! I proudly support Michael Waltrip and have for oh…..6 or 7 yrs now? Not sure, but through thick and thin, I wear the napa blue and always will! And I AM a walking billboard for him at the track, online, just about anywhere! As a matter of fact, I am sitting here typing wearing my MWR shirt…i have LOTS of them! There are lots of us out here too who support Michael, we call ourselves teh ‘walnutz’ and he is our head nut!
I am not a JR fan either although I was a SR fan. I have been a Harvick fan since he climbed into the 29. Because of my driver I started watching truck racing-he was racing then & Nationwide-remember his first year in Cup was historical at that time to run them together. I have become a devoted Ron Hornaday fan-I stuck around to watch KHI race & grew to love truck racing actually best. I have a lot of old 3 gear but now when I go to the track I always wear 29. Last year at Texas I got a great picture of Hornaday & myself-with my 29 shell cap on. My driver has also turned me onto The Prelude-I started going 4 years ago to watch Happy race & have made it an annual trip now-luckily my daughter is Tony fan but we drive across country to watch our drivers race a couple of hours-LOL Prelude isn’t real long, but last year Kevin led a couple of laps-I was impressed.
Thanks Tracey for the comment. I attended the MWR fan appreciation day at their shop back in May and was blown away by how well they treated their fans. It was a great experience and I plan on going back next year.
I’m def not a Junior fan, actually not even close or even care to be one. But I’m a HUGE Matt Kenseth fan, he’s my number one driver all the way. I’ve been a fan of his ever since I was 7 and now I’m 19, yeah that long lol… But I had to deal with the best and worst of times with him from winning Rookie of the Year to going winless the next year to winning the championship to going winless again along with not making the top ten in points. I don’t like it when people dub themselves as a driver’s number one fan to me there is NO such thing as a number one fan, you may have bought tons of diecast, merchandise, and whatever else, that doesn’t mean nothing. There is people like myself that can’t go out and purchase every Kenseth stuff there is, I’m less fortunate. But going through message boards and how these people come across like they are the biggest fan that has ever lived just makes me think how cocky fans could be. I stay true to my driver through the up’s and down’s. It’s hard to deal with the bad things sometimes but what can I say I would never give up on my man number 17. But thanks for the great article, hopefully people will read this and actually relate to this. The biggest fan is the fans that sticks to the driver, not one person who names their baby after a driver, or someone who gets a tattoo of their driver’s number, etc, etc. Stay real fans, if you can’t do that then don’t bother being a fan of Nascar because your not the one who is the fan.
I am a MWR fan too. I get laughed at a lot on the CBS Racing Message Board, but everyone knows I am a Michael Waltrip fan first and foremost.
As for the Junior fans, Well Tracey you must not have been to a race this year. At the 600 in May I saw fewer people wearing Green than ever before, People are jumping ship this year and moving on to other drivers. A lot are moving to Tony or Ryan, but “Junior Nation” is getting smaller and smaller each and every race he doesn’t win. When “Digger” is outselling Junior at the Track, then you know the fans are jumping ship.
This article is completely false. Do you know how many times I have been at a race and seen the stands clear out after Dale Jr. wrecks?? Lots of times. In fact during the 2008 Coca-Cola 600, he wrecked, all of his fans left and he ended up finishing like top-5 due to fuel strategy. They are not that loyal of fans.
Katy, loved your article. I have always been extremely loyal to my favorite driver. First it was 20+ years for Bill Elliott and when he ‘retired’ I had to select another driver to root for. I swore I’d never pull for the #9 again, but sure enough, the first ract I attended (Charlotte-May) after Bill’s departure, I watched this kid in the #9 car and was impressed. I am now a “Kahniac” and I’m no kid, I’m old enough to be his mother.
Good kid, good clean driver, he’s got it all. Now he needs some luck.
Thanks, you understand why Dale Junior fans love him so much. I am sure other drivers would love the support we give hour driver. Be proud of your driver win or lose.
They are many devoted fans out there Katy & they do support their drivers, there’s just a lot more of Jr supportors. You are right about one thing, we do support our driver no matter why kind of day he is having. Last year he messed up at Bristol on the first lap, but that is not stopping me from going back this year, and when he gets out of his funk I just hope I am at that track.
I am one of those loyal Dale Jr fans. Although I have gotten too old to attend the races at the tracks, I wear my Jr gear while watching practice, qualifying, and during the race. It makes me wonder why fans of other drivers
Interesting article… And I second that I am NOT a Junior fan (by a long way) In fact, I’ve been a Brian Vickers fan since he first came into the Cup series. From his first win to the 13 missed races in 2007, I’ve never waivered. I, too, am a walking billboard for Brian. Where I go to school there aren’t too many NASCAR fans, but I still proudly wear the Red Bull logos to school and I make everyone that knows me know Brian Vickers. I’ve spread Brian’s name around so that he is one of the most well-known racecar drivers in my school(behind probably Junior and Gordon and maybe Johnson, but that’s it!). And if you ever come to Pocono or Richmond, you’ll hear me screaming the Sheriff Brian Lee Vickers, loud and clear!
I support my driver, altho’ Nascar doesn’t always make it easy!! GO, JEREMY!!!
Katy,
I have always supported my drivers. When DJ was racing, I wore his gear at the track. I even wore an official UPS shirt I got from a friend who worked there.
Now that I’m a Marcos fan, I bought and wore a T-shirt while at the track.
Good days or bad, I’m a loyal fan.
Good article, Katy. I am one of those die-hard Junior fans you described. I’ve rooted for him ever since he was driving in the then-Busch series in the #3 AC Delco car. I cheered hard then, and I cheer even harder now. Even if Junior isn’t doing that well, I always cheer for him to make up what ground he can. I’m sure I’ve made up my fair share of what many would consider ridiculous excuses for Junior’s performance. And I’ll continue to make those same excuses, because as far as I’m concerned they’re truth to me.
Now, of course, I’m not exclusive a Junior fan. When I was a boy and Junior was just some kid running around the garage in a GM Goodwrench shirt, it was the glory days of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Mark Martin. My dad rooted for both, but instead of Dale Sr. as my favorite driver as my dad had, I chose Mark (Dale was my second favorite, though). My cheering for Mark has continued into my adulthood and never really lost strength. I was on my feet in my living room yelling at the top of my lungs during the last lap of the 2007 Daytona 500 that Mark almost won, and I was doing the same thing when Mark got his dramatic win at Michigan this year. I’ve actually had to mix and match #5 and #88 apparel this year when I go to races so I can support both Mark and Junior.
I’ve also recently become a huge fan of Brad Keselowski. At the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008, it started off as just a “root for Brad because he drives for Junior” sort of thing. Since then, though, that has evolved into me rooting for Brad in his own right. Not only is he very nice to his fans (I’ve met him twice… last year and this year in Charlotte), but I’ve also become a big fan of Brad’s driving style. The real turning point was when I attended the Nationwide race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May of last year. By the end of the race, Keselowski had raced his way from a mediocre starting position to 3rd place, just ahead of his boss, Junior, who was driving the #83 Navy car, and just behind Kyle Busch in the #32 and Denny Hamlin in the #20. Keselowski raced the hell out of Hamlin, never giving up on trying to take second and go for the win. Hamlin didn’t like this, saying in his post race interview that Brad was a rookie and shouldn’t race more experienced drivers that hard. Brad said that he only had one race a week to prove himself and had to make the most of it. He was there to race, and that was what he was going to do. The crowd united in support of Brad, cheering his candid comments even as Hamlin’s crew and Keselowski’s crew got in a fight in the pits. Most people barely even noticed that Kyle Busch won the race. Even though it was only a Nationwide race, it was one of the most memorable motorsports events I have ever been to. And when Mark retires, you’ll still see me mixing and matching gear, only then it will be gear for Brad and Junior instead of Mark and Junior.
I haven’t worn a piece of “Souvenir” clothing to a race, ever.
I pull for about 10 different drivers and see no need to wear the clothing of any of them.
Thanks Katy for your comment on Dale Jr. I’m one of his loyal fan through thick or thin. I’m all so happy for Michael Waltrip and glad that Martin Truex is coming over to his team. Michael is a good guy wish him all the luck with his racing team. Flora
I am a devoted, dedicated, Junior fan have been for over 10 years now. I am a fan dedicated to him threw thick and thin threw bad and good win or loose champion or not. i will never leave his side as a fan.
I agree with Nikki, Jr. fans are the biggest, loudest-mouthed, obnoxious fans at the track, but are by far not the most loyal! Sure he has the most fans, because he was handed all the fans when Sr. was killed! That doesn’t make them loyal to him, they are loyal to the ol man!
I choose to root, cheer, and listen to the jeers, of a true driver! Robby is at his trailor every weekend signing autographs, and letting his fans know that he really appreciates them. The guy answers only to himself and his sponsors. Nascar heads go out of their way to mess with him, hoping to see him fail, but Robby keeps on keeping on! When I see a fellow Robby fan, there is a connection, because I know this is a true fan of racing.
Well if you want to see someone wearing their favorite driver’s gear, look for me Sunday in the Northeast Vista Section 21 Row E Seat 9 (hint). If your lucky, I may even share from my cooler!
robby8gordon….Please not lump “the few” Jr fans in the same basket as the loyal and dedicated fans that are not loud-mouthed and obnoxious. That same comment could be said for fans of any driver in the sport. Also, the Jr fans that jump ship for another driver…bye-bye…don’t let the door hit them on the way out, JrNation and Jr do not need them..fair-weather fans need not attend. The Jr fans that support him through the good and bad also have a true connection and know his dedication to racing. We are fans for him, not all because of his father, but because of his passion for racing and his being a true fan of the sport. Learn about Jr and you will understand his love of the sport. Yes, Nascar does screw with Robby! You have a good day now. And excellent article Katy..kudos!
Yes Nikki & robby7gordon, please don’t lump us all together, not all loud-mouthed, obnoxious fans belong to Jr, they belong to each & every driver out there. If you are a true fan to your driver you too will get loud & maybe obnoxious at times. The important thing is that you support them, no matter what, which is what this article is about. BTW, Katy very good article..
I haven’t watched Nascar for that long, perhaps 4-5 years. The one thing I do know is that I AM a true Martin Truex Jr fan. Sure I get frustrated if he gets caught up in a wreck or is having a bad day, but I’m still there to the very end!!! Who doesn’t have a bad day?
**Censored**
Loyal jr fan. When jr blew up at the brickyard, i was mad because he was doing so well….usually if its bad, its hurry up and wreak it so we can go! I stay till jr is done plain and simple.
Thanks everyone for the great comments! I’d love to answer them all one by one but that would take forever. I agree that some fans can be obnoxious but you get that with every driver out there…Lord knows I can scream for Kyle and Kurt to the point those people sitting next to me start to get annoyed…of course I am trying to scream louder than the boos…Some “fans” might be jumping ship this year but most of the true fans will stick with their driver regardless. Jr got a lot of fans from his father but new fans to the sport aren’t those he gained that way. There’s just something about him that people like.
@Jamerson – I don’t share your love for Brad but I was at that race sitting right on the start finish line. It wasn’t until I caught the race highlights that night on tv that I even knew a fight had broken out. Best comment I’ve ever heard from Denny Hamlin though was “you throw a brick, I’ll throw a concrete block”