NASCAR held its season-ending awards dinner at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in N.Y. on Friday night, and in
Charlotte, David Poole wrote that for the "most part, the
proceedings in the Grand Ballroom ... went according to
script," as there was "little spontaneity and even less
genuine emotion shown" by the top ten drivers who accepted
awards. Poole wrote the format of the event has "become so
familiar, so pat over the past few years, watching has
become an exercise in looking for breaks from the routine"
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/10). RacingOne.com's Richard Huff
noted debate about whether the banquet "should be held in
New York or elsewhere," and wrote, "Take the event out of
New York and you have no event. ... Without New York in the
picture, there's little or no national exposure for the
champion, the sport or its sponsors" (RacingOne.com, 12/7).
THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: In accepting the award as 2000
Winston Cup Champion, Bobby Labonte said, "We've got a lot
of sponsors. My car is more cluttered than a voting ballot
in Palm Beach" (AP, 12/9). In Nashville, Larry Woody wrote
on Labonte: "He won't make waves or headlines. He won't
shock, stun or startle. After each victory Labonte kisses
his wife, hugs his little boy, and takes pains to thank
everybody who helped make it possible. Pretty boring, huh?
Maybe. Then again, maybe we need more boring athletes like
Labonte" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 12/11). In DC, Rachel
Alexander wrote that Joe Gibbs, owner of the Labonte-driven
No. 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, "took the unusual step
of flying all 125 members of Joe Gibbs Racing and their
wives" to N.Y. for the event (WASHINGTON POST, 12/9).
DALE NATURALLY WORKS IN SPONSORS: Jarrett accepted his
check for finishing in fourth place in the Winston Cup
standings by mixing humor and sponsor mentions into his
speech. Jarrett: "This news bulletin regarding Robert Yates
Racing is sent to you tonight by Texaco, Mac Tools and
Fleetwood RV's." Jarrett: "I might add that all of that
hard work makes [my team] very hungry, so it's nice that
there's an Outback Steakhouse near the track to satisfy
those appetites." Jarrett concluded, "I believe the future
of NASCAR racing is so bright we should all be wearing our
favorite pair of Bolle sunglasses" (ESPN, 12/8).
DW'S NEW GIG: NASCAR CEO Bill France said of retired
driver Darrell Waltrip broadcasting races for Fox next
season: "I talked to him a bit tonight and told him not to
get on us too bad. But there'll be enough times that we
deserve it. It'll be a natural deal" (ESPN, 12/8).
