“I Hate NASCAR and I Am Never Going Again”: Veteran Silences Fans After Criticism Over Latest Development

Modern-day NASCAR has not been without its problems. With the Next Gen Cup Series car’s introduction in 2022 stirring a whirlwind of emotions amongst die-hard fans of the sport to the actual safety issues the car presented over the first couple of seasons, the sport has continually been on a path of improvement.

Amid all this controlled chaos that is stock car racing, former driver Kenny Wallace thinks the fans have been looking at the same in the wrong light while criticizing racing a little too much.

The latest form of backlash from the community came towards Ticketmaster being announced as the sport’s official ticketing partner. NASCAR and the Ticketmaster marketplace joined hands to streamline the ticket-buying process for the fans, aiming to develop a “frictionless” experience come 2025. However, fans have seemingly taken negatively to the decision.

Nothing unites NASCAR fans from all walks of life quite like shitting on Ticketmaster and on NASCAR for going this route https://t.co/IkieO8TFxn

— Koty Geyer (@kgeyer3) September 26, 2024

Meanwhile, Wallace’s reaction to the underlying fan sentiment surrounding the decision seemed to be in the opposite direction. The former Xfinity Series winner questioned the public’s approach to the sport as a whole. Tieing into the backlash of last weekend’s Bristol Motor Speedway race, Wallace took to Twitter to silence the naysayers.

“In today’s world. ‘I hate NASCAR, and I am never going again. I hate Ticketmaster. I am never going again’ People have become accustomed to constant bitching, and it creates a bad life style… NEGATIVE.”

https://twitter.com/Kenny_Wallace/status/1839364954165809499

Wallace’s take on the issues of the sport was not taken kindly by fans, with further backlash over his stance brewing in the comments as he spoke his mind. “So we’re not allowed to be upset and should just eat every shit sandwich they give us?,” replied one fan, touching on the governance’s recent decision.

However, the 61-year-old veteran of the sport stood his ground, replying to several others, with some of them looking at the scenario with a broader perspective. “Every sport event in the world is doing it. They are moaning and bitching about something that is very old,” he wrote, replying to one fan who touched on the service fee charged by Ticketmaster.

Every sport event in the world is doing it. They are moaning and bitching about something that is very old.😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/qdUg8dAd5U

— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) September 26, 2024

“And this has been said for the last 20 straight years.. and TV keeps giving Nascar billions of dollars and you keep watching,” he wrote, calling out yet another fan. “We are an old crowd. However, the demise of NASCAR is greatly exaggerated, and Nascar is not going anywhere but up,” Wallace summed up, touching on how NASCAR’s heyday is long past.

While one might agree to disagree with Wallace’s take as a whole, it has to be said that the newer generation of fans that stock car racing wants to entice would certainly welcome a few changes. This argument is further solidified by the fact that NASCAR viewership has only seen a decline since the days of Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott.