Motor Sports: Grassroots Racin'

"If you reach back in your memory, a little bell might ring, about a time that once existed, when money wasn't king." - Rocker-rebel Tom Petty in "When Money Becomes King" off of his latest album "The Last DJ."

I'm a racing fan. I always have been, and I always will.

With that said, today's day and age of "stock" car racing has changed dramatically since the early '90s when I was kid racing Matchbox cars around my fictional track at the foot of the staircase (Aeropint Raceway I called it), pretending I was Bill Elliot racing Dale Earnhardt to the stripe amidst the roar of thousands of screaming fans and the waving checkered flag.

I've grown older now and have since shed my diecast cars. Dreams of being behind the steering wheel have now been replaced by dreams of carrying a notepad and pencil around the garage area of Daytona International Speedway, interviewing my childhood idols that, I one day, hoped to compete against.

Same song, different verse, "Well I ain't sure how it happened, and I don't know exactly when, but everything got bigger, and the rules began to bend."

My heart still lies in NASCAR, but I must admit, the radical growth of what used to be a regional sport worries me. Don't get me wrong, the France's have done a fascinating job transforming their idea of racing into a nation-wide phenomenon, but ludicrous TV and sponsorship deals, I'm afraid, are turning the series into a circus.

Constant attention on Dale Earnhardt Jr., whether he has a good or bad day, the unnecessary classification of "young guns" and veterans, and those annoying words from Darrell Waltrip, "Boogity, boogity, boogity," are just a few of my beefs with the sport and it's broadcast stations.

So why the reason for my sudden lashing out at NASCAR?

Let's just say that after two not so exciting races at Las Vegas and Atlanta, I found it necessary to get in touch with the grassroots side of racing -- the local short track.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Hooters Pro Cup Series, Naturally Fresh Foods 250 race, at New Smyrna Speedway, a .5 mile short track, located just outside of Daytona Beach. After five laps, I realized that what figured to be a decent Saturday night at the races was going to be a night that I would cherish for a while.

Thirty-five drivers from around the Southeast region took to the high-banked, Bristol-like speedway, turning blinding laps of just over 19 seconds.

I am glad to say that I was able to witness an extremely exciting race without the miniscule, yet sickening thought lingering in the back of my head that the race I was enjoying may be loosely scripted by the sanctioning body.

There were no "phantom" debris cautions or 15 minute cautions for minor accidents. There were no rough driving penalties, and there were no complaints of cars going to slow.

It was just pure racing, racing the way it used to be.

There was 250 laps of heart-pounding, sparks-flying action, which came down to the final two laps as series champion Shane Huffman bumped Clay Rogers off of turn 4 coming to the white flag, then held off Rogers and series star, Bobby Gill, on the final lap. Post race interviews were interesting, but as Harry in "Days of Thunder" would say, "Rubbin's racin'."

I will always be a fan of NASCAR and auto racing in general. I just hope that increased popularity and revenue will not lure the series away from what it used to be.

Last year, NASCAR shocked fans by moving the traditional Southern 500 at Darlington away from Labor Day. Now with rumors circulating that ISC (International Speedway Corporation) will sell Rockingham, NC and Darlington, SC to SMI (Speedway Motorsports Incorporation), taking one date away from each and giving them to the Texas and Las Vegas Speedways, it appears that NASCAR may already be forgetting tradition.

The series will prosper no matter what, but it's a shame that in the future, fans will see less and less Darlingtons and Rockinghams, and more and more "cookie-cutter" tracks like Las Vegas, Chicago and Kansas.

Send comments on this article to Mike Lovecchio at mlovecchio@columnist.com