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Sprint Cup
JENSEN: A Magic Afternoon
The best part about the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony happened after the event...
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)
The best part about the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony happened after the event, in the media work room set up by NASCAR for post-event interviews.
First, Darrell Waltrip, Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress came in. Then Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy. The Earnhardt family followed, and the hour or so of interviews wrapped up with Junior and Robert Johnson, Richard Petty and Dale Inman.
To a person, they were all blown away by what had happened in the 2 1/2 hours before, when the first five members of the Hall were inducted.
You knew it was going to be a big day, but truth be told, there had been a whole week of events leading up to this, everybody had given interviews already and by this time of the week — after being up most of the night for the Sprint All-Star Race — energy levels were kind of low.
And to be really blunt about it, all of us there had sat through enough lengthy NASCAR media events that we were kind of jaded about what to expect.
But what happened in the induction ceremony was magic and it represented the best of NASCAR: Real people with poignant and amazing stories. Some made folks laugh, some brought tears to your eyes and others were merely interesting. The experience didn’t just surpass expectations, it transcended them.
You could tell by the looks in the eyes of the NASCAR personalities that came into the interview room that afternoon was far, far more than they had initially expected it would be.
Waltrip made that much clear in his opening remarks in the media room
“I've been in the sport for a long time and I recall being asked to go maybe to speak to a group of businessmen or to go to New York and go on some morning shows or any number of things, and I always remember how people looked at us and how they quite honestly made fun of us, that we were a regional sport with a bunch of rednecks, wore ball caps and uniforms with patches all over them,” said Waltrip.
“My point is, when I look at what Bill France, Sr., and Jr. and Brian and Lesa have done with this sport, to take it from where it was then to where it is today, and I saw these men and women, they're common men,” Waltrip continued. “ ... Get up out of their seats, go stand on stage and deliver emotional remarks about something that they love so much and do it so eloquently and do it so well, it makes me very proud to be a part of this sport.
“It made me proud to be a part of the made me proud to be a driver. It makes me even prouder just to be a part of the community, the NASCAR community. We have come so far and done so much, and this Hall is just indicative of the growth of this sport and how it has changed through the years.”
Hendrick said the event did not feel like the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet, and that was a good thing.
“I think the difference between this and the banquet is that at the banquet you've got one person that won the championship and you've got a lot of people that are sitting there wanting to win the championship,” said Hendrick. “And kind of getting fired up to go back. Because second place is not fun to sit there. Third place. ... So you've got one happy champion and everybody else is motivated to go whip him. Today, everybody was on the same team. Everybody here was celebrating our sport and recognizing everybody was on the same team today. There was nobody disappointed that they weren't winning or getting the championship trophy. We all won today.”
Yes, indeed. Everybody did win on Sunday.
You know, when it comes right down to it, the most compelling part of NASCAR racing always was and always will be watching common men perform uncommon feats through a combination of skill, bravery and sheer will.
And over the years, that’s sometime become diluted through the commercialism and the sheer enormity and ubiquity of NASCAR.
But Sunday brought everything back home and reminded members of the NASCAR community where we’ve been, how we got here and why there’s still nothing better on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon than watching 43 drivers square off and do battle.
Congratulations to the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class. You did the sport proud. Again.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
First, Darrell Waltrip, Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress came in. Then Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy. The Earnhardt family followed, and the hour or so of interviews wrapped up with Junior and Robert Johnson, Richard Petty and Dale Inman.
To a person, they were all blown away by what had happened in the 2 1/2 hours before, when the first five members of the Hall were inducted.
You knew it was going to be a big day, but truth be told, there had been a whole week of events leading up to this, everybody had given interviews already and by this time of the week — after being up most of the night for the Sprint All-Star Race — energy levels were kind of low.
And to be really blunt about it, all of us there had sat through enough lengthy NASCAR media events that we were kind of jaded about what to expect.
But what happened in the induction ceremony was magic and it represented the best of NASCAR: Real people with poignant and amazing stories. Some made folks laugh, some brought tears to your eyes and others were merely interesting. The experience didn’t just surpass expectations, it transcended them.
VIDEO: NASCAR HOF – Richard Petty Induction Richard Petty is inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. (Image: SPEED)
You could tell by the looks in the eyes of the NASCAR personalities that came into the interview room that afternoon was far, far more than they had initially expected it would be.
Waltrip made that much clear in his opening remarks in the media room
“I've been in the sport for a long time and I recall being asked to go maybe to speak to a group of businessmen or to go to New York and go on some morning shows or any number of things, and I always remember how people looked at us and how they quite honestly made fun of us, that we were a regional sport with a bunch of rednecks, wore ball caps and uniforms with patches all over them,” said Waltrip.
“My point is, when I look at what Bill France, Sr., and Jr. and Brian and Lesa have done with this sport, to take it from where it was then to where it is today, and I saw these men and women, they're common men,” Waltrip continued. “ ... Get up out of their seats, go stand on stage and deliver emotional remarks about something that they love so much and do it so eloquently and do it so well, it makes me very proud to be a part of this sport.
“It made me proud to be a part of the made me proud to be a driver. It makes me even prouder just to be a part of the community, the NASCAR community. We have come so far and done so much, and this Hall is just indicative of the growth of this sport and how it has changed through the years.”
Hendrick said the event did not feel like the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet, and that was a good thing.
“I think the difference between this and the banquet is that at the banquet you've got one person that won the championship and you've got a lot of people that are sitting there wanting to win the championship,” said Hendrick. “And kind of getting fired up to go back. Because second place is not fun to sit there. Third place. ... So you've got one happy champion and everybody else is motivated to go whip him. Today, everybody was on the same team. Everybody here was celebrating our sport and recognizing everybody was on the same team today. There was nobody disappointed that they weren't winning or getting the championship trophy. We all won today.”
Yes, indeed. Everybody did win on Sunday.
You know, when it comes right down to it, the most compelling part of NASCAR racing always was and always will be watching common men perform uncommon feats through a combination of skill, bravery and sheer will.
And over the years, that’s sometime become diluted through the commercialism and the sheer enormity and ubiquity of NASCAR.
But Sunday brought everything back home and reminded members of the NASCAR community where we’ve been, how we got here and why there’s still nothing better on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon than watching 43 drivers square off and do battle.
Congratulations to the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class. You did the sport proud. Again.
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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