Every now and then, someone compares NA$CAR to the WWE. In the past, I’ve scoffed at this notion. But over time, witnessing race after race where questionable calls or rules violations are made, some fans are beginning to see a little truth in this notion, myself included. While NA$CAR cannot completely engineer the outcome of a race, they do at times appear to use some underhanded tactics to influence how a race progresses. In NA$CAR’s quest to pull in fans and keep the “show” entertaining, they uses mystery debris cautions, pit road speeding penalties, yellow line infractions, restart penalties, and anything else they can get away with to achieve the desired results. Drama, action, intensity on the track. And the Holy Grail of goals, money in the bank.

In the WWE, we know everything is scripted. Who wins, who loses, who cheats, who interferes, it’s all predetermined. Yet, the WWE has a huge fan base, and many of their fans rival a NA$CAR fan’s enthusiasm and passion for their chosen form of entertainment. When a WWE wrestler blatantly cheats or a referee misses an obvious call, most WWE fans know it’s all part of the show. It’s supposed to happen this way. Officials are supposed to pretend to be distracted. Calls are supposed to be missed, blown or ignored

On the other hand, NA$CAR markets it’s events as a sport. NA$CAR would have you believe races are contests of speed, where the fastest car/driver, who has the best equipment, most skill and greatest luck on that particular day wins. Contests where the rules are fairly and equally applied to all contestants. The WWE is marketed as sports entertainment. Winners, losers, cheaters, all are determined before the first fan ever enters the arena. There’s not any real rules to the rules in the WWE. The scripting, manufactured drama, and personality antics are what appeals to fans of the WWE. They expect it and require it. And, the WWE brass knows it.

In comparison, race fans, or more correctly fans of racing competition, want a legitimate contest. A true contest, where no individual or group of individuals interferes with or manufactures the outcome of the race. Where officiating is impartial and equally applied, with the utmost integrity. Whatever happens is honest, real and genuine. These “true” fans are not the fans NA$CAR wants today. NA$CAR wants the WWE type of fans. The type of fan who doesn’t care about a sport’s perceived integrity, honesty, or genuine competition. The type of fan who expects manufactured action. They want a show. They want wrecks. They want cars banging door to door. If one car is pulling away from the field, the show start’s to get stale. If it takes an unwarranted debris caution to tighten the field back up or bring a golden goose back into contention, the WWE fan type will say “go ahead and do it!” They’ll say who cares if a driver has worked 350 laps to gain that large lead, they want drama and want it now!

Here lies the one of the root causes of the “old time fan’s” resentment of the NA$CAR Mafia. NA$CAR execs don’t want us old time fans. They don’t need us. They want us to go away, stop complaining and stop glorifying the “good ole days”. Brain, Mr. Racer-Tainment himself, doesn’t want fairness. He doesn’t want equal competition. He doesn’t want the best man to win. He wants action, drama, wrecks, a close tight battle for the lead. If throwing a caution or penalizing a driver will create action, then by golly he’s gonna do it. What he does NOT want is you or me, the fans of true racing, to gripe and moan and complain. Brain France doesn’t give two cents about true fans. The sooner we go away, the happier he’ll be. Then he can promote his racer-tainment at will, with no comments from the peanut gallery.

I’ve been under the impression that Brian France is a moron and incapable of running NA$CAR. Well, maybe I was wrong. Oh, Brain definitely IS NOT capable of running a racing series based on true, fair, unbiased competition. But he is very capable or running NA$CAR WWE.

And unfortunately, it’s going to remain this way for awhile. Until the new “fad” fans and the WWE fan types get bored and move on to something else, Brain will keep doing exactly what he’s doing today. Races will be shows, marketed to the max, over-hyped and over-produced, without integrity. The networks will keep doing a rotten job on race coverage, but will do a great job with marketing, glitz and glamour. Race outcomes will be tampered with, the innocent will be penalized, and the guilty will be ignored. We true race fans will still follow the events, still care who wins and loses, and still glorify the “good ole days”. But, we won’t do it with the vigor, enthusiasm and compassion we used to. We’ll still call the Daytona bunch “the mob”, “the Daytona Mafia”, “Beach Boy Bubbas” and so on. And they won’t give a darn.

But someday, when the fans of racer-tainment have moved on, when the stands are more empty than full, when Brain’s billions begin to dwindle just a bit, maybe he’ll think of us. The true fans, the fans he drove away, the fans that made NA$CAR into what it was – before he came along. Maybe he’ll want us back. Maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll move on to something else that hasn’t yet been rapped and pillaged of all it’s glory and history. And I’ll still be missing true racing, wishing for the time when emotions were genuine and finishing orders weren’t massaged. And, wondering why when Hulk Hogan Jr. landed the Mighty One-Ton Hell-Ton Bomb on Splash Gordon, the ref didn’t throw a red flag to wipe the blood off the mat, didn’t imagine some debris on the ring apron which might trip up Mr. Hankey, didn’t give the black flag for rough talking to Mr. Clean Jeans, and penalize the diva’s for loose undergarments - resulting in a one-fall penalty match.

Wes Cook
Waiting for “RAW vs NA$CAR” on Monday Nights –

The Mighty Hell-Ton vs Little Jimmie Gordon…

Cookster351@yahoo.com