From antitrust lawsuits to sometimes stale racing on short tracks, the issues that surround NASCAR at the moment aren’t few. One could be led to think that the sport is going down a path of ruin at first glance. But this is far from the truth. Like every other successful organization, NASCAR is evolving and adapting to the current age in the best way it knows how.
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Legendary former crew chief Ray Evernham underlined this thought strongly in an interview on Kenny Wallace’s YouTube channel. He said, “My personal feeling is that the overall state of NASCAR is strong. It is good. As long as we have two car manufacturers, we’re always going to race. There’s a ton of young talent that has come into our sport. Lots of good positive things.”
Does this mean he agrees with everything that the sanctioning body is doing? Absolutely not. He continued, “I listen to all the sides, and you know, if you said, ‘Hey, put your mediator’s hat on.’ I would tell you, ‘Look, there’s good and bad on both sides of things.’ There are things that I would like to change and see how to make it better, but I do think that they’re trying to do that.”
Evernham doesn’t want to attack the 75% of the good stuff that is happening in the sport just because there are 25% of bad things happening. He believes that it is all a part of the evolution that has to be endured. A true veteran of the sport, he has seen how audience behaviour changes over time. His conclusive learning from his experiences is simple. The sport needs to be proactive rather than reactive.
Evernham is not a fan of spoiled young drivers
Driver personality is a big problem in NASCAR today. It has never been easier for the wealthy to get into motorsports than it is now. Because of this, we see several drivers buy their seats even in the top level of the sport. This has led to an influx of arrogant young drivers who can’t race to save their lives.
Evernham told Wallace last month, “I’m not a big fan of a kid that doesn’t appreciate stuff because his dad or mom paid a gazillion dollars for him to get in the car and then he tears the hell out of everything.” What he rather appreciates are the ones like Kyle Larson, who fight through situations and races regardless of what car or discipline they are in.
He reiterated that it is the love for racing that needs to power the youngsters who get into the sport, and not the dollar in the bank. While there is a fine balance to be struck there as well, passion should always remain at the core of sports of any kind, be it motorsports like NASCAR.
