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On NASCAR: Cathy's Corner
NASCAR columnist Cathy Elliott <<>> Courtesy of NASCAR
For seven years Cathy Elliott as media director for Darlington Raceway, the track "Too Tough to Tame", used her skills to overcome many logistical elements, but in the shadow of those dreaded walls she also honed the ability to tame the right words.
Refreshing column words from Elliott are a cut away from mainstream and available to media from NASCAR. Enjoy an experienced and respected edge from one who has been ever so close to speed.
Cathy Elliott is a syndicated columnist for NASCAR and she currently lives in Florence, SC.
Cathy Elliott [NASCAR Syndicated Columnist] October 2011
Dogged By Critics, Johnson Isn’t Rolling Over
Do you ever suspect that your dog might be walking you, rather than the other way around? Jimmie Johnson detractors may be feeling a little bit like that right about now.
When Johnson fell to 10th place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings after the race at New Hampshire on September 25, you would have thought it was the final event rather than just the second race in the Chase. Fans of other drivers engaged in some jubilant fist pumping while the furrowed brows and somber tones of analysts and motorsports media members proved this was indeed a most serious situation.
Some very well-publicized radio communication between Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus at New Hampshire, during which Jimmie told Chad his “cheerleading” skills left something to be desired and asked him to please just be quiet, seemed indicative of friction between the two. Could it be possible that we were finally seeing a chink in the armor?
So-called experts were saying that this is not the team that has won the last five championships, and that perhaps the strain of continually facing – and meeting, and then surpassing -- high expectations is wearing on them. Many considered “Five-time’s” hopes for a sixth consecutive series title not only dead, but already buried with grass growing over them.
Well, here’s a phrase you almost never hear in NASCAR – not so fast. Have the past five years taught us nothing? You might think you’re walking that dog until you suddenly look up and find that he has actually led you to the exact place he wants to be.
Johnson has certainly led us into some unfamiliar territory this season. Headed into the weekend at Kansas Speedway October 7-9, one of the most successful and dominant competitors in NASCAR history had only one win to his credit on the season. Known for the being affable and unflappable, he has also been engaged in one of the most unusual rivalries of the season, with Kurt Busch.
During the race weekend at Dover, when asked if the radio chatter meant trouble was brewing between Knaus and him, Johnson shrugged it off.
“If we could put a mic on the sidelines of a pro football game, I’m sure we’d hear a lot worse than some cheerleading comments. There’s a lot being made of very little there. I’m sure there are a lot more colorful drivers and situations that exist out on the track that are far more entertaining than mine,” he said. “When you’re together for as many years as Chad and I have been together, you gotta have thick skin. This is a great race team. It’s the same team that has won five championships in the past. I look forward to what this Lowe’s team is going to do in the future.”
America lost one of its greatest minds on October 5 with the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. We thought the Macintosh computer was cool way back when, but Jobs wasn’t satisfied with just one cool accomplishment. He continued to innovatively outdo himself and everyone else, eventually adding the PowerBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad to round out his own Top 5. He took seemingly impossible dreams, glammed them up with snazzy touch screens, tossed in some 4G and Wi-Fi capability, and placed them in our hands.
Steve Jobs changed the face of what we formerly considered technologically possible.
Jimmie Johnson is a lot like that. Winning one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is one of the most difficult feats in professional sports. Only eight drivers in history have won three or more, and for decades, only one driver was able to win three in a row, a feat which Johnson matched in 2008. Four in a row, of course, was out of the question, until Johnson made it happen in 2009. Five consecutive titles simply didn’t bear discussion, until he had us all talking about it in 2010.
Jimmie Johnson has changed the face of what we formerly considered possible in NASCAR. For the past five years, he has been the lead dog, and as we all know, that’s the pooch you must pass if you want to change the view. He may be running mid-pack at the moment, but history – which as we know is prone to repeating itself – must surely have taught us that to prematurely rule out a sixth title is foolhardy.
Maybe the old saying that dogs laugh with their tails (or in this case, their tailpipes) really is true after all …
Cathy Elliott [NASCAR Syndicated Columnist] September 2011
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Is Must-See, Non-Stop Drama
There was an interesting conversation on Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio recently on the topic of TV ratings for the races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. They’re up. Way up.
NASCAR viewership in general has been on the upswing this season, but the September 25 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in particular, garnered ratings that were higher than last year by double digits. It’s significant to mention the increase on a day locked and loaded with key NFL matchups and tight baseball wild card races in both the American and National Leagues is really something to write home about.
It is the nature of the sports broadcasting beast, when something overwhelmingly positive happens, to acknowledge it, applaud it, and then try to figure it out. Why did hundreds of thousands of people tune out the Bears, Braves and BoSox – losers all, by the way – in favor of a very early Chase race?
Like dumping a jigsaw puzzle out of a box with no picture on the front, the pieces must be individually examined, sorted into categories, and then firmly interlocked before the final image is revealed.
An old truism reminds us that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. First, you have to make him thirsty. Publicity for NASCAR racing has been nothing short of terrific this season; you probably remember watching promos for the Daytona 500 all the way back in January during the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, for example. It’s always fun to hear respected announcers from other sports – FOX’s Joe Buck is one good example – commenting excitedly about NASCAR during a baseball or football game.
I don’t recall the last time I watched "SportsCenter" on ESPN and didn’t see some type of NASCAR segment, and the network even showcased the sport on "Pardon the Interruption" recently by allowing lovable curmudgeon Tony Kornheiser to wear a firesuit on the air after attending the final race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Richmond International Raceway.
During the Chase, ESPN has also introduced the wildly popular "ESPN NonStop" feature which uses a split screen to simultaneously air commercials and the second half of the race. In a sport which doesn’t rely on a game clock and has no built-in timeouts, important developments often occur during commercial breaks and fans can miss seeing them live. "NonStop" has taken that worry away. Watch ESPN and NASCAR.COM’s RaceBuddy have also allowed fans to watch the race and 10 views online during the Chase races as well.
Fans might be electing to watch more races because NASCAR has entered its postseason.
Even the most diehard baseball fan has a tough time slogging through the 162 games that comprise the regular season, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes 10 months a year. Crunch time, however, is also tune-in time. Heaven forbid we should have enjoyed Evan Longoria’s walk-off home run in the 12th inning to propel the Tampa Rays to the A.L. playoffs only through highlights, or not have seen Tony Stewart emerge victorious from the first two Chase races after going winless all season, or miss whatever Chase-changing maneuver might take place at Talladega. Postseasons are rife with can’t-miss moments, and NASCAR offers more than most.
Another important factor in NASCAR’s increasing popularity is the product itself.
A field is a field and a court is a court, but a racetrack is another matter entirely. Each track in the Chase comes complete with its own unique quirks and characteristics, offering a different viewing experience each week. Who will bang fenders – and tempers – at Martinsville? Who can wring the last drop of fuel out of a depleted tank for a critical intermediate-track win?
Who will be the conductor of the winning freight train at Talladega, and how many cars will that train have? We just don’t know. NASCAR’s very lack of uniformity is one of its most interesting attributes.
The border that holds everything together, of course, is NASCAR’s personalities.
Jimmie Johnson has been the constant and classy face of the sport for five consecutive seasons. Lots of people are watching the Chase in hopes of seeing history made yet again, while lots more are praying for the end of a stellar reign.
Undoubtedly, a large portion of the viewership is keeping its eye on Dale Earnhardt Jr., the sport’s most popular driver and a Chase contender at last after a couple of seasons spent on the outside looking in.
Can former wonder boy turned canny veteran Jeff Gordon finally win his fifth championship? Can affable Carl Edwards finally win his first? How bad might bad boys Kurt and Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski actually behave between now and November?
When 12 teams are vying for a championship rather than just two, anything can happen. And in NASCAR, anything – and everything – does happen.
All these pieces, once assembled, form an ever-changing image of frustration and celebration, excitement and uncertainty. It is NASCAR’s big picture, and it is one that the American viewing public realizes what the rest of us have known all along; it is most definitely something to see.
Cathy Elliott [NASCAR Syndicated Columnist] September 2011
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Is a Stress Test
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing may well be the most definitive stress test in professional sports.
Not to take anything away from the stick-and-ball guys, but stock car racing is one humdinger of a pressure point, anxiety-ridden by its very nature. Throw in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and the angst-ometer goes off the charts.
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief Chad Knaus said in a recent interview that the 10-race Chase is the most stressful time of the season, and it gets worse every year. Not that he needed to be asked. Knaus isn’t given to verbal histrionics when things aren’t going to his satisfaction during races, but his body language speaks for itself. We have all grown accustomed to the sight of him sitting atop the war wagon in Jimmie Johnson’s pit box, coiled so tightly he resembles a cobra ready to strike. Again.
You can see stress, and you can hear it, too. On the Wednesday evening after winning the Chase-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway, Tony Stewart’s crew chief Darian Grubb told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Claire B. Lang that he had worked in the shop that day until 7 p.m., had then talked with various media and was just hoping to make it upstairs in time to give his 3-year-old son a bath. It was almost 9 p.m. Business as usual, in other words.
Stress isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform well under pressure and motivate you to do your best. NASCAR fans are notoriously empathetic; sometimes it seems we get almost as stressed out during races as our favorite drivers do. As with almost everything else in life, in order to understand how to deal with this condition, it is important to identify some of its causes and effects.
According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the primary causes of stress is a hectic lifestyle.
Does a deadline at work get you tied up in knots? Think how NASCAR drivers must feel. The equation of sponsor obligations plus physical training plus media availability, multiplied by strapping into a 3,400-pound machine to compete wheel to wheel at high speed with 42 other drivers for 400 miles or more 10 months a year, divided by family, team and travel time, equals the potential for Guinness World Records in both the biggest headache and largest ulcer categories.
Relationship problems are another stress inducer.
In our world, this might include things like leaving the cap off the toothpaste or tossing clothes on the floor instead of in the hamper. In NASCAR terms, leaving someone’s car in the wall while you sail on past or tossing an ill-advised verbal or physical punch after a race really isn’t all that uncommon. In terms of real-life relationship issue comparisons, however, it is rather like the difference between lightning and lightning bugs.
Mayo lists irritability and angry outbursts as two of the effects of stress.
In our ordinary lives, we might make snarky comments or rail against the recent Facebook changes when the emotional rubber meets the road. In NASCAR, on the other hand, Kurt Busch’s radio “rants” during races, when the car – or his competitors – aren’t meeting his performance standards, have become legendary. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are among the drivers who have been known to make their own brand of snarky statements by knocking another car, whether occupied or not, out of their way when they were feeling a little irritated.
Suggested methods for stress relief include calling a friend “just to talk things through,” enjoying a soothing cup of herbal tea, or listening to classical music. (Pause for a moment to envision Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Kevin Harvick doing any of these things, then continue reading when you stop laughing.)
Perhaps the true key to overcoming stress involves maintaining your poise while dealing with it. A good recent example is Tony Stewart. Stewart, who was so frustrated with what he considered a lackluster “regular season” performance that he said he would rather not fill a spot in the Chase when an actual contender could have it instead, promptly went out and won the first race in the championship series.
Stewart’s body language and tone of voice after the race were those of a completely different driver, elitist rather than defeatist. Nine remaining races meant plenty of stress still lay ahead, but for the moment, he had put the beat-down on it. The victory catapulted him from ninth to second in the driver standings, giving merit to the notion that the higher the wall, the greater the satisfaction in climbing it.
To four-time champion Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, who started the race third in the driver standings and finished in the 11th position, that wall probably appeared to have grown a few feet higher.
Mohandas Gandhi died in 1948 and therefore never had the opportunity to be a NASCAR fan. That’s just as well; the man who espoused the belief that there is more to life than increasing its speed probably wouldn’t have embraced the “faster is better” philosophy of stock car racing.
But perhaps Gandhi and NASCAR did have at least one common concept regarding the secret of stress relief, considering one of his most famous statements: “A small body of determined spirits, fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission, can alter the course of history.”
That sounds an awful lot like a successful race team to me.
Cathy Elliott [NASCAR Syndicated Columnist] September 2011
Never Say Never Again: Chase Drivers Share ‘Bond’
The beginning of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is reminiscent of the style and pacing of a classic James Bond movie. There is a definite starting point, and an end goal, but everything in the middle is a perilous combination of booby traps, comedy, unexpected twists and turns, and plenty of head-to-head competition.
In the end, one man with just the right combination of guts, brains, good fortune and a great support system is left standing. He may have been shaken and even, Heaven forbid, stirred (or stirred up) over the course of the 10-week Chase, but at closing time, he is acknowledged as the only guest at the party who has manage to assemble all the ingredients of a perfect cocktail.
For the past five years, that man has been Jimmie Johnson, who has exhibited the calm and charismatic staying power of Sean Connery. In these early days of the Chase, there is no real reason to believe that has changed, but lest we forget, the role of Bond has been regularly recast over the years.
Just to make things a little trickier, Bond faced only one "Dr. No" over the course of his career. Johnson has 11 of them breathing down his neck. Headed into the opening race at Chicagoland on September 18, the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field, in order, is Kyle Busch; Kevin Harvick; Jeff Gordon; Matt Kenseth; Carl Edwards; Jimmie Johnson; Kurt Busch; Ryan Newman; Tony Stewart; Dale Earnhardt Jr.; Brad Keselowski; and Denny Hamlin.
Bond loves fast cars, and one thing we know we are going to see as we head into the theater for a new film is a great chase scene.
NASCAR’s Chase involves 10 of these scenes, in situations as varied and unpredictable as in the moon buggy/dirt bike/Ford Mustang sequence from "Diamonds Are Forever." This famous chase, by the way, ended with a heart-stopping finish on the Las Vegas Strip. Sound familiar?
While the 12 drivers in the Chase probably wouldn’t turn down a moon buggy race if they were invited, this particular contest is played out in stock cars. And while the backdrops traversed on the way to the final destination might not be as exotic as Bond’s frozen lakes, African jungles and barren deserts, they nevertheless offer up a variety of tough challenges to overcome.
First and foremost, comprising half of the Chase events, are the 1 ½-mile intermediate speedways at places like Chicagoland, Kansas, Charlotte, Texas and Homestead-Miami. This type of racetrack is familiar and comfortable territory for drivers, like a favorite recliner or your most well-worn pair of shoes.
While Johnson has typically excelled on intermediate tracks in previous Chases, his only victory in 2011 headed into Chicagoland came at a different type of venue. Championship contenders Harvick, Kenseth, Edwards and Keselowski, on the other hand, have all had wins on 1 ½-mile tracks this season. Harvick, in particular, could step up this year to change Johnson’s intermediate-track nickname from "Goldfinger" to Goldbricker.
Hot on the heels of the five intermediates are three tracks measuring roughly 1 mile in length. These include Loudon, Dover, and Phoenix. Winning Chase drivers at these venues in 2011 include Gordon, Kenseth and Newman.
Rounding out the events on the schedule are the long and the short of the Chase, literally – Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway. Johnson’s only win of the regular season came at Talladega. Short-track winners in the Chase field include Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Keselowski.
Bond aficionados might say that "You Only Live Twice," but we know that’s not right. Johnson has proven that in the perilous world of consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships, you can definitely live five times, and at this point, almost no one is willing to rule out six. Bond, remember, had a secret weapon that pulled him out of many a tight pinch. Known simply as "Q," he was the head of the British Secret Service’s research and development division.
Johnson has a major ally in the technology department, as well. Crew chief Chad Knaus – we’ll call him "K," has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat more times than you can count. To think he isn’t capable of doing it again is a major mistake.
The season so far has shown us the folly in trying to guess what might happen between now and the final race on November 20. While there are no real villains, in the end, there can only be one true hero in the 2011 Chase scene.
Fittingly enough, we will know his identity and applaud his accomplishments at NASCAR’s annual awards ceremony … at "Casino Royale."
Cathy Elliott [NASCAR Syndicated Columnist] September 2011
Gordon, Johnson Going Strong As The Rock Rolls Back Into NASCAR
It isn’t a word you hear much in conversations about the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but the battle between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon during the final laps of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 6 displayed a certain elegance.
Two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport went head to head and wheel to wheel at one of the most thrill-inducing tracks on the schedule. Neither was willing to give an inch, while at the same time, neither was willing to take an inch, if doing so would interrupt the precise point/counterpoint balance of the contest.
With nothing significant to lose – both drivers were locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field before the green flag fell – Gordon and Johnson did what they do best. It wasn’t a demolition derby, or a one-horse race; it was fierce, respectful, perilously close competition, the kind that makes you jump up from the soda and yell at the TV just because you’re having so much fun. Switch out some fireproof shoes for satin slippers and roaring engines for a symphony orchestra, and Tchaikovsky could have choreographed this thing. It was really something quite special to see.
Gordon’s win – his third this season and the 85th of his career – moved him into third place on NASCAR’s all-time win list, behind only Richard Petty, with 200 wins, and David Pearson with 105. That’s a pretty nice neighborhood to move into.
What was also pretty nice – very nice, in fact -- was seeing Gordon get a hefty dose of well-deserved and hard-won respect and recognition. It seems like only yesterday that he was just a clean-cut youngster with a questionable haircut, being roundly booed at almost every racetrack in the country thanks to his pesky habit of not only consistently winning, but of beating beloved NASCAR legends like Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace. Kids sure do grow up fast, don’t they?
Gordon, who has had his share of amazing experiences over the course of his career, called the win “unbelievable. I'm not sure really [how] to kind of rank everything; the significance of this win today, the timing of it, doing it here in Atlanta on such a tough racetrack, battling with Jimmie, the bonus points, the 85th win, the momentum that this team has got right now … “ he said after the race. “Man, this is cool.”
The second-place finisher had a cool experience of his own the very next day, when President Obama honored Jimmie Johnson and some of his fellow drivers at a White House press conference. The president once again professed his admiration for the sport of stock car racing, admitting that the only vehicle he usually has the opportunity to pilot is slightly slower than the No. 48 Chevy, which at the time was parked on his lawn. “I’m not allowed to drive much these days,” he said. “Basically just my golf cart at Camp David, which is called Golf Cart One. True.”
President Obama went on to compare Johnson with some of sports’ greatest dynasties, including the Boston Celtics and the New York Yankees, and to applaud NASCAR as a whole for its solid commitment to America.
“What makes NASCAR special is the difference it makes in the lives of so many people, especially our troops and their families,” he said. “I want to thank all the drivers who are on the stage for their extraordinary success, for the success of NASCAR, and for everything that they do for our country.”
While Jimmie Johnson traded quips with the president and Jeff Gordon hit the mental math books to figure the difference between 85 and 105, a semi-retired NASCAR star of the inanimate variety was hosting a press conference of its own. On September 7, Rockingham Speedway owner Andy Hillenburg uttered a simple statement with some major impact. "I'm so proud to say that NASCAR is coming back to The Rock,” he said.
The one-mile track formerly known as North Carolina Speedway hosted annual Cup and Nationwide Series weekends until February 2004, when it fell victim to NASCAR’s expansion and realignment. Fans and competitors alike lamented the loss; Rockingham is a feisty little track, and consistently hosted some of the most exciting races of the year. That tradition will be reborn on April 15, 2012, when the track will welcome some stiff competition in the feistiness department in the form of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
"It's a real big day for race fans around the country, because anyone who knows anything about racing knows about the history of this fabulous track," said Bev Perdue, governor of North Carolina. The track will undergo $1 million worth of renovations prior to the race, including the installation of SAFER barriers.
From 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, through the rural roads of North Carolina and down to Victory Lane in Atlanta, it is certainly safe to say that three NASCAR legends – and, by association, millions of NASCAR fans – have enjoyed a tremendously good week.
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