Beyond the News with Katy Lindamood:

If your driver made it Congratulations! Keep cheering him on. He deserves it.

But, what if your driver didn’t make the Chase? What if you’ve been pulling for one guy all season long and now you know he won’t finish higher than 13th in the points? What if despite your efforts you couldn’t will him to drive faster for just a few more laps? What happens now?

The first thing you do is get mad. Yell and scream at the tv if you must. Curse NASCAR and their silly points system that rewards consistency over wins. Blame it on another driver who didn’t win but somehow managed to eke by. Threaten not to watch another race this season.

Got that out of your system yet?

Good! Now suck it up and focus people. We’ve still got 10 races left.

You’re driver didn’t make the chase but that doesn’t mean you should forget about him. Regardless of how he finished he’s out there every weekend putting it all on the line doing something he loves. How many of us can say that about our jobs? No, he won’t be taking home that shinny Sprint Cup trophy and he won’t get to be on stage at the awards banquet, but the fact that he’s one of only 43 drivers who get the chance to race every weekend means he must be doing something right.

Maybe he will surprise everyone and pull off that victory we’ve all been waiting for this season. Maybe he’ll learn some things that will help in 2010. Maybe he’s a guy without a ride for next year who’s hoping against the odds to get some attention and prove he’s got what it takes. Maybe that driver you love so much is a rookie who proved his ability by winning a race during his first full season. It doesn’t matter what his last name is, who he drives for, or how many years he’s been driving. If he’s your driver then he’s your driver no matter where he finishes in the points.

As for the Chase contenders, find someone you think deserves the title and become his biggest fan. Cheer for the drive who’s come back from semi-retirement to dominate in the wins column. Cheer for the underdog who has only been racing in NASCAR for 3 years. Put your support behind a brand new team that’s got 2 drivers in the Chase. Cheer for the driver who raced his way in by only 8 points. Pop open a beer and send up a toast to a former champion who everyone had thought lost his spark or the kid who put Petty back in victory lane. Sing the praises of a driver whos been consistent all season long and his teammate who raced despite a broken foot. Don’t count out the guy who won at his home track or who cried in victory lane after an emotional win. Become a fan of the guys who have seven championships between them and aren’t going to be happy until they have another.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that there’s someone in that top 12 for everyone. He might not be your ultimate driver but that doesn’t make him any less deserving of your support.

Remember that it wasn’t one race that left your boy outside the Chase but a combination of all the races. Between the 12 drivers competing for the cup there are 10 Sprint/Nextel/Winston Cups, 3 Busch/Nationwide Championships, one Craftsman/Camping World Truck Series Championship, and an IndyCar Championship. Don’t tell me they don’t have the credentials or the talent to be in the top 12 because they do.

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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 who had a little melt down when her driver didn’t make the Chase. Beyond the News is an opinion based column devoted to NASCAR fans. Katy co-authors The Biff Files and acts as the Kyle Busch Examiner for Examiner.com. Katy can be contacted via Twitter.

I like a good wreck a much as the next fan. I’m not saying that I sit in front of the television week in and week out with a voodoo doll of my least favorite driver. I don’t send up a silent prayer from the grandstands that he will go flipping end over end or that his car will spontaneously burst into flames. That’s a bit sinister, even for me. You will, however find me sitting a bit closer to the television when a wreck happens. Even if it’s my favorite driver involved in the incident I wait with bated breath for the replays from every angle possible. I might even get online later and watch it again just to see if I missed anything. My husband knows that when I say, “dude, you have got to see this” that he’s about to spend the next several minutes in YouTube land. When I’m at the track I will cheer loudly when a driver I dislike wrecks just as I will cheer loudly when a driver I dislike gets out of the car safely after the incident.

Is it wrong to cheer for a wreck? Some have called it juvenile to cheer when a driver wrecks, but it’s part of the sport. Don’t you think a few of those drivers out there on the track are breathing a sigh of relief when the top competitor crashes? If you think there isn’t at least one guy out there cheering when Kyle Busch has a wreck you are only kidding yourself. You might not hear an audible cheer from that driver, but we all know he’s out there somewhere counting his lucky stars that he won’t have to race the 18 for the win.

Fans cheer for wrecks for a number of reasons. Maybe they detest the driver that was involved. Maybe they see it as poetic justice that he was spun out by the guy he put in the wall earlier in the season. Maybe they are the type of person who thinks the only interesting part of racing is the wrecking. Is it possible that they are just cheering for the wreck in general and not a particular driver involved in a wreck? There is absolutely nothing wrong with cheering for a wreck. I’m not suggesting that you do a victory dance or set off fireworks when someone has a wreck. I’m not even suggesting that you non-wreck-cheerers start now. All I am saying is that you should understand that the guy sitting next to you at the track might be a wreck cheerer. Don’t give him a hard time because he shows a little emotion at the sight of busted sheet metal.

NASCAR isn’t a pretty sport. It’s dirty. It’s dangerous. It’s emotional. I don’t know about you but that’s what makes it worth watching week after week year after year.

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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 diagnosed NASCAR addict. Her first memory of a race was the 1993 Daytona 500 where she wished for a wreck and got a Rusty Wallace end over end barrel roll down the backstretch. From that point on she was a Rusty Wallace fan and vowed never to wish for wrecks again. Katy co-authors The Biff Files, a NASCAR blog. Beyond the News is an opinion based column devoted to the fan expereicne. Katy can be contacted via twitter.

NASCAR fans are just like fans of any other sport. We complain a lot. When our driver isn’t winning we moan and groan about it. When the underdog wins a rained shortened race because he didn’t pit we call it a fluke. When driver error on pit road causes the dominant car to lose the race we blame it on the officials claiming that he was robbed. No matter who you are or which driver you are cheering for you complain. It’s just a fact of life.

NASCAR fans, this season more than ever, have made complaining about the television announcers an art form. It started from the very first race of the season and will no doubt continue until the very last lap has been driven. What have we complained about this season? We don’t like the gopher on FOX and while we understand that it’s geared toward children the clothing line, constant promotion, and cartoon have got to go. We get annoyed when the commentators can’t even remember who drives which car. We complain when the only action they are taking about is the action at the front of the field. We’re tired of hearing how much of a lead the first place driver has when those guys further back in the pack are bumping and banging trying to get one more position. Some people complain because there just isn’t enough excitement generated by the guys up there in the booth calling the shots. Sometimes it seems like they just want to get this race over and done with because it’s more boring that watching paint dry. We even complain about sponsorship. It’s only a matter of time before we hear, “this wreck was brought to you by x (insert random company name here).” I’ve complained about this all myself and have read dozens of posts about the lack of good announcers in the sport.

What do I say to this?

Stop the complaining!

Turn off the television and grab your radio. That’s right the radio. No, you won’t have pictures of shinny cars running around at 200 miles per hour to keep you entertained. You won’t get to see the drivers during their introductions or see the look on their faces when they answer some silly question posed by the television crew. You won’t have to endure lap after lap of seeing the same two cars go around the track. When you listen to the radio broadcast of a NASCAR race you have to imagine all these things, but that’s part of what makes it great. You get a feel for the emotion that’s going on when a driver is interviewed in victory lane. You know exactly how a driver enters and exits the turns because it’s all described in incredible detail. You get full field run downs periodically during the race. They pay attention to pit stops other than those of the top five drivers. It doesn’t matter if the lead car is ahead by four seconds, the guys on the radio know how to keep you on the edge of your seat as the laps wind down.

You might consider it to be old school to listen to a race on the radio, especially when you have that HD plasma television sitting in the living room. If you ask me though, I’d choose the radio over television any day of the week. We sometimes forget that there was NASCAR before television stations started airing the races. We forget that it wasn’t all that many years ago that not every race was televised. Instead of complaining about the reporting we get each weekend from the track why not tune your radio to your local affiliate for the next race? The difference might surprise you.

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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.

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.