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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
HEMBREE: Drivin’ ’N’ Cryin’
Crying in racing is OK as long as it doesn’t get out of hand - we don’t want to see Ryan Newman wailing after winning the pole in Atlanta...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 19, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Jamie McMurray Wins Daytona 500! Click here to watch VIDEO: Daytona 500 - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Image: Photo)
Jamie McMurray got all blubbery Sunday after winning the Daytona 500 and pretty much cried like a baby – at least twice.

McMurray’s tear total reportedly was the most in one hour of television since Paula Deen baked a big ol’ Strawberry Cholesterol Cake and delivered it to Oprah.

And it was OK. Crying in racing is understandable now and then. It shows the emotion of the moment.

McMurray’s Sunday was very much like Jeff Gordon’s once-upon-a-time plummet into the emotional abyss while accepting the Cup Series championship – Remember? He used to do that – in New York. He got so wrapped up in the sentiment of the moment that he couldn’t get the words out. The tears, though, explained everything.

There were limits, though, during the Daytona excitement. You didn’t see tough guy team owner Chip Ganassi crying in victory lane. One imagines you’d have to slam Ganassi in the big toe with a hammer to get that sort of response from him. Then he’d be likely to elicit tears from the aggressor by planting his foot squarely onto your rear spoiler.

Crying in racing is OK as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. We don’t want to see Ryan Newman wailing after winning the pole in Atlanta, for example. And there should be no crying after a 3-second victory at Pocono. People are too tired to put up with that.

Crying is OK in some circumstances, including these:

When – or if – Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins again. Not only will Junior be allowed to weep, but promoters and diecast hustlers everywhere might join in uncontrollable tearful unison.

Any time it’s raining like you’re living in Seattle and a track official promises the race will be completed because “We have a window.” It’s his party, but you can cry if you want to. The rain is going to come straight in through that window.

Arriving at the Martinsville Speedway concession stand only to be told the last hot dog has been sold.

When Tony Stewart leaves his pit early and runs over your foot.

Sitting in massive post-race traffic, finally reaching the highway after weaving through the web of the parking lot and being directed south when you want to go north. Cry a river. Just don’t shoot anybody.

The next time a woman wins a major NASCAR race. The next time will be the first time, of course. Reason enough for tear-duct spillage. And women – they cry a lot, anyway (see Oprah).

The first time a thoroughly dominant driver loses a win because he or she runs out of fuel on the third green-white-checkered restart. First, though, there will be the cussing.

Any time Daytona International Speedway tells you that it has brought its “pavement specialists” to the track.

Any time there is a first-time race winner. Crying is so normal in this circumstance that it’s virtually demanded by the NASCAR rulebook.

When a driver’s T-shirt costs more than your wedding tux.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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