Title 53

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="spin_out_zone_home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Harpers Spin Out Zone, NASCAR News "><U><B><IMG SRC="14ca9430.png" border=0 width="169" height="67" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>The Spin Out Zone column can be found at:</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.racindeals.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.racindeals.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="13e7d470.gif" border=0 width="125" height="71" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.jayski.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jayski.com"><U><IMG SRC="1658c4c0.gif" border=0 width="140" height="76" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53_m.htm#the_spin_out_zone" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFCC33" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="#262626" FACE="Comix" > <A NAME="the_spin_out_zone"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#262626" FACE="KidTYPEPaint" >The</FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="KidTYPEPaint" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FF0033" FACE="KidTYPEPaint" >Spin</FONT> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#111111" FACE="KidTYPEPaint" >Out</FONT> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FF0033" FACE="KidTYPEPaint" >Zone</FONT></div> <div> <I><U>NASCAR OPINIONS - NEWS & INTERVIEWS</U></I></div> <div> <I>Nationally respected columnist Mike Harper's SpinOutZone.com</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT></div> <div> | <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spin Out Zone Inside the ARCA RE/MAX Se"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>      back to  </B><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive Spin Out Zone Columns"><U><B>Archive Spin Out Zone Columns</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>December - November - October 2004 Columns</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#disrespecting_ward_burton_gets_bumped_" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Disrespecting Ward Burton Gets Bumped </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#roush_racing_conspiracy_gets_bumped_" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Roush Racing Conspiracy Gets Bumped</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#blaming_janet_jackson_and_nascar_flip" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Blaming Janet Jackson and NASCAR Flip Flops Get Bumped</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#battle_over_dale_jr__gets_bumped_" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Battle over Dale Jr. Gets Bumped</U></A><A HREF="#battle_over_dale_jr__gets_bumped_" TITLE="Title 53"><U><B> </B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="spin_out_zone_home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Harpers Spin Out Zone, NASCAR News "><U><B>Go to the SOZ Home Page and Play "Name that NASCAR Driver"</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="disrespecting_ward_burton_gets_bumped_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B></div> <div> <B><U>Disrespecting Ward Burton Gets Bumped </U></B></div> <div> The Spin Out Zone</div> <bR> <div> By Mike Harper </div> <div> 11/21/2004 </div> <bR> <div> Hold on - here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!</div> <bR> <div> This is corporate America at it's very worst! Yes, lets forget entertainment and sports for a moment as I associate NASCAR with the cruel world of corporate America.</div> <bR> <div> You folks know the side of corporate America that I'm talking about, the one that takes advantage of their employees or the one that terminates employment during the holidays. The one side that will bypass good hard working men and women for those who will not think twice about stabbing a peer in the back to advance a career. It's a tough world - corporate America!</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="4793c500.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="80" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">By now most NASCAR fans have heard about the Ward Burton situation. Haas CNC Racing who fields the No.0 NetZero Chevrolet in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series, terminated their relationship with popular driver Ward Burton earlier this month. Burton who joined Haas CNC Racing back in October of 2003 was released after a little more than a year in the car.</div> <bR> <div> NASCAR drivers understand that today's NASCAR is a performance driven sport. For a driver, if you meet or exceed the sponsors and owners expectations you will pretty much keep your day job. For those who don't, well, the words that Donald Trump has made famous from his "The Apprentice" TV show will soon be ringing in their ears, that is - "you're fired!"</div> <bR> <div> The cruel fact of the Burton situation is how it happened. Burton didn't get called into the boardroom as "The Apprentice" participants do and he didn't get called to a lunch, dinner or into the bosses office to discuss his future at Haas CNC Racing. According to Burton while working at his wildlife foundation he received a phone call and at that moment his time driving the No.0 Chevrolet was over. Burton was under contract at the time, but for some reason Haas CNC Racing felt it necessary to make a change even without implementing a respectful exit plan for Burton. They didn't even take time to draft a press release about axing Burton, they only announced the addition of their new driver Mike Bliss. To me, Haas CNC Racing showed little respect for Ward Burton, his fans, the tradition of NASCAR and the sponsor that they represent. According to a published interview with Burton after his release he said, "obviously I'm a little bit angry. I'm a little bit humiliated."</div> <bR> <div> This isn't the first time Haas CNC Racing pulled the rug out from someone's feet. They did the same thing to their Busch Series driver Jason Leffler. Leffler who was running third in 2004 Busch Series points was driving the Haas CNC Racing No.00 Chevrolet. In October of this year, Leffler was tapped by Joe Gibbs Racing to drive their NEXTEL Cup Series No.11 FedEx Chevrolet for 2005. In a sudden turn of events, Haas CNC Racing quickly released Leffler for the remainder of the 2004 season. In return Leffler tried to get a court order restricting Haas CNC Racing from putting another driver in the car and forcing them to honor his contract. Needless to say, Leffler has not been in the car since.</div> <bR> <div> These types of circumstances speak highly of Haas CNC Racing's core beliefs on honoring business relationships. The perception that they give to outsiders and insiders alike, are that they don't want to build lasting partnerships and if I were a driver I would take a huge mental note that these guys aren't looking out for me! Driver abuses like these may be the worst kind of corporate greed seen in NASCAR, because we are dealing with a human being with an emotional stake in his or her career, in this case it's Ward Burton who I truly respect.</div> <bR> <div> I first wrote about Ward Burton during the 2002 season. He came to the rescue of a six-year-old boy who was in line to get his autograph. The boy got Burton's autograph, but he also got more than that, he got Burton's attention. The boy was suffering from a cleft palate, a condition that affects his personal appearance and threatens his self-esteem.</div> <bR> <div> After the autograph session, Burton met with young boy and his family and offered to assist in fixing his condition including paying for any medical procedure. I said it then and I will say it now, Ward Burton is a hero, plain and simple!</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="47ccd700.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="112" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Forget racing for a second, lets talk about doing the right thing. When the right thing needed to be done for that little boy, Ward Burton didn't have to track this family down after they left the autograph session to meet with him, but he did. He wanted to share his resources with someone less fortunate. This is the type of person Ward Burton is people. To Burton, character and integrity and doing what is right is how he lives his life. However, when a group of individuals want to make a driver change, instead of doing the right thing, they basically tossed Burton to the curb. In my eyes, good driver or not, Burton deserves respect based on what he has done for others. Why couldn't Haas CNC Racing show a little respect to someone who has done so much?</div> <bR> <div> As an opinion columnist, I am going to give my opinion and in regards to the Haas CNC Racing mess I am furious. To be honest, I don't like the quick fix. Just last year, Gene Haas the owner of Haas CNC Racing said about adding Burton to his team, "The experience that he brings is something that will help us in so many ways. I just can't say enough about how excited we are about our future. We've had a lot of great people come on board our organization this year and we've made steady progress in our efforts to be successful. Ward Burton is the icing on our cake."</div> <bR> <div> So, my question is - what happened Gene? Shouldn't you be held accountable for disrespecting a fan favorite? The same fan favorite who you'll benefit from next year even though you suddenly released him without providing a reason to a loyal fan base from who you profited from by them supporting your primary sponsor and providing revenue generated from merchandise? Come on Gene!</div> <bR> <div> Ward Burton said it best when he spoke with XM Satellite Radio's Claire B. Lang after he was released by Haas CNC Racing. He said, "I will say, and the last thing I feel I need to say about the way they conduct business at Haas Racing is we grew up a Southern sport with Southern traditions, and I just don't think they have the morals that is capable of carrying on that kind of tradition, and they prove it in their actions."</div> <bR> <div> With that said, I sure hope that Haas CNC Racing isn't writing any future guides on how to run a NASCAR team or this isn't another chapter of change in what we'll see coming down the pike in NASCAR. If we are lucky, this is just a random circumstance of bad business decisions by an organization that instantly have thousands rooting against them due to their insensitive way of dealing with a fellow member of the human race.</div> <bR> <div> This week's SPIN OUT goes to the - DISRESPECTING WARD BURTON!</div> <bR> <div> Until next week, happy bumping!</div> <bR> <div> To read and listen to Ward Burton's interview with Claire B. Lang please visit: <A HREF="http://www.nascar.com/2004/races/tune_in/11/11/claireb_wburton/index.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nascar.com/2004/races/tune_in"><U>http://www.nascar.com/2004/races/tune_in/11/11/claireb_wburton/index.html</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Copyright 11/21/2004 </div> <div> by Mike Harper </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#the_spin_out_zone" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="roush_racing_conspiracy_gets_bumped_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B></div> <div> <B><U>Roush Racing Conspiracy Gets Bumped </U></B></div> <div> The Spin Out Zone</div> <bR> <div> By Mike Harper </div> <div> 11/2/2004 </div> <bR> <div> Hold on - here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!</div> <bR> <div> Oh boy! My eyes are still burning from reading all the email from NASCAR's conspiracy theorists. How in the world do they come up with this stuff? I must admit it's a good read and an interesting twist to the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.</div> <bR> <div> I would say that it's a safe bet that the majority of fans and insiders would rather see the NEXTEL Cup Championship go to Mark Martin driver of the No. 6 Roush Racing Ford instead of Kurt Busch driver of the No. 97 Roush Racing Ford. I believe this to be true.</div> <bR> <div> Busch has been described as arrogant and disrespectful to veteran Cup drivers, while Martin is highly respected by his peers. The media, the fans, the majority of drivers and Jack Roush, the owner of Roush Racing are hoping to see Mark Martin finally win a championship that has eluded him for years.</div> <div> We now enter the conspiracy zone!</div> <bR> <div> Roush Racing has three drivers in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Including the three "Chase" drivers, Roush has a total of five cars on the track at any given time. Roush's No. 97 Ford driven by Kurt Busch is the current "Chase" championship points leader, while Martin and Roush teammate Matt Kenseth driver of the No. 17 Ford and 2003 Champion, trail Busch for the 2004 championship.</div> <bR> <div> Going into last weekend's Atlanta race, Busch had a healthy lead on the nine other drivers chasing him for the championship points lead. Busch had not seen bad luck since the start of the "Chase" after race 26 on the Cup schedule, while his competitors in the "Chase" have each experienced some type of bad luck. To give credit to the No. 97 team, they have done an outstanding job finishing up front throughout the "Chase." However, Busch's luck would change just after 52 laps during the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 in Atlanta last weekend.</div> <bR> <div> "Coming off of Turn 4, it just sputtered and acted as if it dropped a cylinder or lost an ignition box. We tried to do the things inside the car to alleviate our problem, and it was something more catastrophic," said Busch about blowing his engine during the race.</div> <bR> <div> With an expired engine, the No.97 of Kurt Busch ended the day in 42nd. However, Busch wasn't the only "Chase" driver to experience problems in last Sunday's race. Matt Kenseth, Busch's Roush Racing teammate drove to the garage after only 175 laps. "I don't know why (the engine) broke -- maybe it would have broke with any gear that we ran, but we chose to run more gear than most other guys were and that hurt us today," said Kenseth after his Roush engine blew up. Kenseth ended his day in the 41st position.</div> <bR> <div> You must wonder where I am going with this. Well, now it gets good!</div> <div> Of the five Roush Racing entries, three finished the Atlanta race in the top 10. Martin finished second, Carl Edwards in the No. 99 finished third and Greg Biffle in the No. 16 finished 10th. They experienced no engine problems, however two of the five Roush Racing entries that are in the "Chase" do have bizarre engine problems - coincidental?</div> <bR> <div> According to Kurt Busch, his car had a "conservative" gear so the engine wouldn't turn too many rpms, and the tires had high pressures so they wouldn't wear too fast. "We didn't risk anything, and we worked our way into the top 10 with those conservative settings."</div> <bR> <div> Kenseth's story was different, he said "The reason we broke is we ran too much gear -- we ran more than Kurt. I don't know why he broke, but I knew in my head this morning we shouldn't have run it."</div> <bR> <div> Is it all that easy to explain or can Busch and Kenseth fans cry foul play?</div> <bR> <div> Did someone within Roush Racing "play" with the two Roush engines that were directly competing against Mark Martin for the championship? Let's face it - with Busch out early, Martin would be able to close in on the points leader thus providing him with a better shot at the championship. What a conspiracy!</div> <bR> <div> To make it all more interesting, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have taken over the championship points lead late in the race, however while passing the third place car, Earnhardt Jr. was hit in the rear and sent spinning into the inside wall ultimately taking him out of the race. His opportunity to take the championship points lead was eliminated. At the time, Roush Racing driver Carl Edwards was the third place driver who hit Earnhardt Jr. and Edwards was running just behind the second place car of Mark Martin, his Roush Racing teammate.</div> <bR> <div> Is there a conspiracy within Roush Racing to help Mark Martin win this championship?</div> <bR> <div> You decide!</div> <bR> <div> This week's SPIN OUT goes to the - ROUSH RACING CONSPIRACY!</div> <bR> <div> Until next week, happy bumping!</div> <bR> <div> Copyright 11/2/2004 </div> <div> by Mike Harper</div> <div>  </div> <div> <A HREF="#the_spin_out_zone" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="blaming_janet_jackson_and_nascar_flip"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B></div> <div> <B><U>Blaming Janet Jackson and NASCAR Flip Flops Get Bumped</U></B></div> <div> The Spin Out Zone</div> <div>  </div> <div> By Mike Harper </div> <div> 10/22/2004 </div> <bR> <div> Have you ever noticed when a NASCAR driver does something wrong, whether its big or small, their dedicated fans will blame someone else, even though their favorite driver is guilty?</div> <bR> <div> Some people, not all people, live in this society where it's easier to blame others instead of owning up to their mistake. Fans and some media people have done this throughout this NASCAR season, however in my opinion, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. "S" word controversy has really crossed the line into a major problem found in America.</div> <bR> <div> Unlike some MTV icons, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood up and admitted that saying the "S" word on national television after winning a race was wrong. Earnhardt Jr. said in an interview with NASCAR.com on October 8th, "I expected to be penalized. I believe what I did wasn't right, wasn't correct and was offensive."</div> <div> I was very pleased with his apology and I honestly would have been perfectly happy ending it there, but NASCAR has fined and penalized drivers in the past for saying the same word on the airwaves and to be consistent they had to do the same to Earnhardt Jr. However, some Earnhardt Jr. fans and some in the media look past the fact that he was absolutely wrong in what he said. Instead of taking a responsible approach and applaud Earnhardt Jr. for stepping up and taking ownership of his mistake, they ignore the mistake and blame Janet Jackson and the Federal Communications Commission for Earnhardt Jr.'s slip of the tongue. Like if Jackson hadn't shown her bare breast on national television during the half-time show at the Super Bowl, Earnhardt Jr. wouldn't be punished for saying an inappropriate word on the national television. Both were equally wrong and both deserved equal scrutiny.</div> <bR> <div> In my opinion, to say "because of Janet Jackson" we can't do this or we can't do that is really missing the point. The bottom line is - you can't say the "S" word on national television, period. So, you fans and you media, I won't mention names (Speed Channel's Pit Bull talking heads), give it a rest and take the high ground of expecting higher standards from those who make a living in the national spotlight.</div> <bR> <div> The aftermath of Earnhardt Jr.'s inappropriate word is now coming back to haunt NASCAR and NBC. A national advocacy organization by the name of "Parents Television Council" has filed an indecency complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against NBC for airing Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s inappropriate word. This organization that has one million members nationwide, does an outstanding job protecting children against sex, violence and profanity in entertainment including professional sporting events. The PTC asked the FCC to levy a Notice of Apparent Liability against each NBC affiliate that aired the program.</div> <bR> <div> According to the PTC president, "NBC knows that NASCAR has a huge family audience. NBC and its affiliates should be fined for airing the S-word at a time when millions of children were likely to be in the viewing audience." I can understand why they would take this action and their reason is justifiable. However, I would like to highlight that there are two separate issues that must be dealt with. First, NASCAR must deal with Earnhardt. Jr. and they have. In my opinion the way NASCAR handled it could cost Earnhardt Jr. a championship, so it was severe. The second issue is with NBC. They are responsible for what we see and hear on television. NBC is at fault for not having a delay system in place and since there has been a history of athletes including NASCAR drivers using profanity on television during, before and after races it should have been implemented at the beginning of the season.</div> <bR> <div> In addition to this profanity issue, I would like to take it a step farther. As the good PTC president stated, "NBC knows that NASCAR has a huge family audience," so I would recommend to NBC that while they chew on the Earnhardt Jr. issue, they should revisit the content of their commercials during the race. FOX too. In most cases, the commercials from sponsors are appropriate, however the commercials highlighting the networks own shows are at times appalling. So NBC, FOX, TNT and FX, as you prepare to sign a check over to the FCC, look in the mirror and remember NASCAR has a huge family audience!</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>NASCAR FLIP FLOPS</B></I></div> <bR> <div> The NASCAR watchdog group called "me" - yes I am talking about myself, has found another inconsistency at NASCAR in their ability at dishing out penalties.</div> <div> NASCAR was consistent when they hit Earnhardt Jr. with a fine of $10,000 and docking him 25 driver points for using an inappropriate word. The same penalty was put on other drivers who used the same word on the airwaves. The debate of docking points as a penalty in this situation is valid, however in this case, NASCAR was very consistent at a time where penalty consistency is a problem hanging over the heads of NASCAR officials.</div> <bR> <div> I look at the Tony Stewart and Mike Bliss incident after the Busch Series race in Kansas as a perfect example. Actually, this incident received a media pass when it should have been questioned and researched. Instead it was swept under the rug and when other drivers found themselves in the same situation, NASCAR penalized them. Let me explain.</div> <bR> <div> Stewart and Bliss drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart drives the No. 20 Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup Series and Bliss drives the No. 20 Chevrolet in the Busch Series. For the Busch Series race in Kansas, Stewart teamed up with Chance 2 Motorsports and drove their car against his teammate Bliss and his Cup Series owner Gibbs. During the race, Stewart and Bliss traded bumps and it angered both drivers. After the race, it's reported that Stewart confronted Bliss and the exchange became heated. According to witnesses, Stewart punched and wrestled Bliss to the floor of Bliss' trailer.</div> <bR> <div> NASCAR officials did confirm that they investigated the confrontation between the two drivers and at the time NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter said, "There was apparently a little incident in a truck hauler after the Busch race and we're going to continue to look into it."</div> <div> After the investigation, NASCAR elected not to penalize Stewart or Bliss in connection with a confrontation between the two. NASCAR spokesman Mike Zizzo said, "After reviewing the incident, NASCAR officials determined it to be an internal team matter within the Joe Gibbs Racing operation."</div> <bR> <div> My problem with this matter is that NASCAR turned the other cheek and ignored this situation when in the past they acted and penalized other drivers for doing the same thing. Let me remind NASCAR that the confrontation started on the racetrack when Stewart was not a Joe Gibbs Racing driver. He was competing against Gibbs' organization and not Bliss' teammate. I understand Gibbs is Stewart's primary owner, but not on that day. For NASCAR to say that it was "an internal team matter" was incorrect.</div> <bR> <div> Even if it was "an internal team matter," NASCAR should have dished out some penalties based on what they had done in the past.</div> <bR> <div> According to NASCAR's own rule book, under Section 12-4-A "Actions detrimental to stock car racing: Involved in an altercation with a team member" and to be perfectly honest, it should have been used in the Stewart - Bliss incident. It was used when driver Ricky Rudd was employed at Robert Yates Racing and he scuffled with crewman and internal teammate Larry Lackey. They were fined a total of $15,000 and placed on probation for their roles in the scuffle. At that time, NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter said, "Despite what the team indicated, the sanctioning body had no choice but to step in."</div> <bR> <div> In my eyes, NASCAR still has a problem with being consistent. I applaud them when they are consistent as they were in the Earnhardt Jr. "S" bomb situation, but they dropped the ball in dealing with this internal fist throwing scuffle between non-Busch Series teammates.</div> <bR> <div> Since NASCAR wants to follow the NFL model in growing the sport, they should look at the NFL model for penalties. NFL players know that if they get caught holding, they will receive a 15-yard penalty. If they get caught offside, they are penalized five yards and if they fight, they are ejected from the game. In NASCAR, drivers and owners have no clue what their penalty will be when they break a rule. NASCAR comes up with it as they go.</div> <bR> <div> That is not fair!</div> <bR> <div> I believe NASCAR should set a penalty so that the driver and owner know what the ramification will be if they break a rule. This system of making things up as they go is getting old and it shoots down NASCAR's credibility to manage. It opens NASCAR up to their critics and gives the perception that they play favorites to certain drivers.</div> <bR> <div> It's time to standardize the penalties!</div> <bR> <div> This week's SPIN OUT goes to the - NASCAR Flip Flops!</div> <bR> <div> Copyright 10/22/2004 </div> <div> by Mike Harper </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#the_spin_out_zone" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="battle_over_dale_jr__gets_bumped_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B></div> <div> <B><U>Battle over Dale Jr. Gets Bumped </U></B></div> <div> The Spin Out Zone</div> <bR> <div> By Mike Harper </div> <div> <U>SpinOutZone@aol.com </U></div> <div> 10/6/2004 </div> <bR> <div> Hold on - here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3b23c500.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="80" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">I've done my best to keep politics out of the Spin Out Zone column during this election season. I even started a column on this very issue a few months ago. I had great quotes from many drivers about the presidential race and information on who they were supporting. Then, I received an email from a representative of a former Cup champion and he made it clear that responding to my questions could cost this driver 50% of his fan base, so he wouldn't take the chance on responding. After reading his email, I realized that I was walking on thin ice about this subject, so instead of naming names that could feed the political bloodhounds, I put the column in the drawer and walked away.</div> <bR> <div> The mainstream media hasn't been so willing to walk away from the NASCAR political subject. It's obvious to me that the mainstream media has gone after the NASCAR drivers in an attempt to find out who could be identified as a Democrat or a Republican strictly for political gain.</div> <bR> <div> It's no secret that many in the entertainment and broadcasting industries are outspoken members of a particular party and as Americans, they are free to participate in the process. Both major parties are always looking for the most popular among us to join their cause, whether it's actors, musicians, or NASCAR drivers, in their eyes the big name could equal big votes for their candidate.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3abc8520.png" border=0 width="200" height="82" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">NASCAR.com got into politics on August 24th with their column titled "Bush big winner in NASCAR campaign contributions." In the column, they named names and told readers who paid and to what party. Many learned that NASCAR, NASCAR owners and drivers are active in political contributions and for the first time they read who was giving to the Democrats and who was giving to the Republicans. Now, I am just as passionate about politics as I am NASCAR, so I'm leery when I see NASCAR.com, whose parent company leans extremely to the side of one political party, publishes a story about politics. I must question their motive?</div> <bR> <div> I also must question the motives of Chris Myers' from NASCAR on FOX. During the first half of the 2004 season, Myers did a pre-race interview with drivers where he asked them a question and gave the driver two choices to pick as their answer. For example, one question was do you prefer blondes or brunettes? Other preference questions were simple and fun like, East Coast or West Coast and vanilla or chocolate. However, one question that seemed to pop up was the "Democrat or Republican" question. You've got to wonder why Myers would ask such a personal question in the middle of so many non-important ones? Asking a driver a political question on national television during an election year raises my suspensions about Chris Myers motives.</div> <bR> <div> Striving to crack through to NASCAR Dads, what bigger name could a political party use from the NASCAR world that could bring them votes? You got that right - Dale Earnhardt Jr.</div> <bR> <div> On CNN earlier in the year, Larry King had two of NASCAR's biggest stars on his show - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. In an attempt to nail down their political views, Larry asked Dale, "the president was there to (Daytona) -- "Gentlemen, start your engines." How'd you feel about that? And are you going to endorse anyone in the presidential race?" Earnhardt Jr. replied, "Yes, I don't really get too involved in that. That's really not really something I'm too familiar with. But yes, I was really proud to have the president there. I met him several times even when he was governor of Texas. He came to a couple races. But I like him a lot. He's a pretty cool guy." (http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/23/lkl.00.html)</div> <bR> <div> If you saw the interview, you could tell that Earnhardt Jr. really likes the president, but he was going to stay away from the politics. In my opinion, he did the correct thing. However, Earnhardt Jr. found himself in the center of a political party thunderstorm after the race at Sonoma Valley, California in June.</div> <bR> <div> During the NASCAR on FOX broadcast, Chris Myers said, "You think you know Dale Earnhardt Jr.? He advised his crew to go see the Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 9/11. He said, "it'll be a good bonding experience no matter what your political belief. It's a good thing as an American to go see... " and it just shows you that Dale Earnhardt Jr. can reach far beyond the steering wheel."</div> <bR> <div> Again, I must question Myers' motives for bringing this subject up during the broadcast. It had no relation to the race and according to Earnhardt Jr.'s camp, Myers' did not hear this first hand from Earnhardt Jr. According to a representative from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team, Myers' quote of Dale Earnhardt Jr. was "not a direct quote," however Earnhardt Jr. and the team did go and see the movie. The representative said that Earnhardt Jr. felt like it is important that open-minded people are more informed by seeing all sides of the issues.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3b7783c0.png" border=0 width="120" height="60" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Who can argue with that? Whether you are an Earnhardt Jr. fan or not, Democrat or Republican - Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 100% correct! How can someone make an intelligent decision without being informed on the issues? You can't and to understand this you must be open-minded. I applaud Dale Earnhardt Jr.</div> <bR> <div> After the Myers' statement on FOX, the political world turned upside down. Michael Moore, the author behind Fahrenheit 9/11 dedicated web space on his site for Myers' version of Earnhardt Jr.'s comments and Moore used the comments while out on tour. The Democrats praised Earnhardt Jr. and used his words as an endorsement for their candidate and to push the movie. While the Republicans cried foul and many conservative bloggers trashed Earnhardt Jr. for saying what he did. It was absolute craziness to say the least.</div> <bR> <div> It was all finally put to rest in late September when Earnhardt Jr. appeared on the CBS show - 60 minutes with Mike Wallace. Asked if NASCAR fans were Republicans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. replied, "Yeah."</div> <bR> <div> Wallace states, "he supports George W. Bush. Yet, he took his crew to see Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. Why?" Earnhardt Jr. answered the question by saying "I like hearing both sides of the argument. I thought the movie was well done. But my dad was a Republican, and I'm a Republican, and so it's not that I came out of there going, I ain't voting for Bush again, that didn't happen, and I didn't expect that to happen. I just wanted to go and enjoy the movie. Because I knew Michael Moore would try to push a few buttons. And I just wanted to see how hard he mashed them."</div> <bR> <div> With that said, I am able to announce the battle for Dale Earnhardt Jr. is over. Michael Moore, the Democrats and Republicans can go back to the way life was before June and before Chris Myers' comments.</div> <bR> <div> The presidential election will be over soon and with no presidential election next year, I will be curious to see if the question of Democrat or Republican pops up on next year's broadcasts. If not, we'll surely see it again in 2008.</div> <bR> <div> This week's SPIN OUT goes to the - Battle Over Dale Earnhardt Jr.!</div> <bR> <div> God Bless our Troops, our President and America!</div> <bR> <div> Until next week, happy bumping!</div> <bR> <div> Copyright 10/6/2004 </div> <div> by Mike Harper </div> <div> <A HREF="#the_spin_out_zone" TITLE="Title 53"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>