NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, in Charlotte for this
weekend's Coca-Cola 600, said NASCAR "has become a boring
sport. ... It's a homogenized sport. Everybody looks the
same, talks the same and gives the same answers." Petty, on
the image of drivers: "I have had sponsors before who have
said cut your hair. I said keep your money. That's not who
I am and the people up in the grandstand are going to know
that. ... If the marketing angle becomes too much, drivers
in the garage area with a lot of talent and not a lot of
marketability will be replaced by drivers who look and walk
and talk and act like Jeff Gordon, but have a quarter of his
talent. ... If it breaks back to the point where it depends
how good looking a driver is and how much he can walk and
talk and say the right things to get a Winston Cup ride,
that's when it will be bad for the sport" (David Poole,
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/28). An ESPN Chilton Sports Poll
showed that Gordon was named the favorite driver of 17.6% of
NASCAR fans in '98, compared to 12.9% in '97. But 24.7% of
NASCAR fans who drive Chevrolets said that Dale Earnhardt --
who drives a Chevy -- was their favorite driver, while
17.9% said their favorite driver was Gordon, who also drives
a Chevy (ESPN Chilton Sports Poll).
STATE OF NASCAR: In DC, Liz Clarke examines NASCAR and
writes the "bond NASCAR fans feel with drivers is a large
part of what drives NASCAR's popularity and what
distinguishes it from other motorsports." SMI President
Humpy Wheeler, on NASCAR drivers: "They behave themselves.
They don't make $5 million and perform at half speed"
(WASHINGTON POST, 5/28).....Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that he
"takes a conscious role in his sponsors' promotions of him."
Earnhardt, Jr.: "We don't want to do anything that's gonna
make us look stupid, like Stone Cold [Steve Austin] did [in]
that 1-800-COLLECT commercial. Ridiculous, man, terrible
career move. The way he looked in that commercial, that was
pretty pathetic" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/28)....The
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER lists its "Power 25," the most
influential people in NASCAR. The top five: NASCAR
President Bill France Jr., SMI Chair Bruton Smith, NASCAR
COO Mike Helton, TV execs -- ESPN's Steve Bornstein, NBC's
Tommy Roy, CBS's Sean McManus -- and at No. 5 , Jeff Gordon
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/28)....Smith said he approached Roger
Penske last year about a purchase of Penske's motorsports
holdings. Smith: "We approached Mr. Penske last year about
buying him. At that time, he thanked us and all of that,
but that it wasn't for sale" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/28).
