IN MY OPINION

NASCAR awards show better, but not there yet

N.Y. gathering still missing key ingredients to successful endeavor

DAVID POOLE / The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Dec. 02, 2007

NEW YORK -- Credit NASCAR for how much it has improved its Nextel Cup awards ceremony over the past two years. This year's soiree at the Waldorf-Astoria on Friday night had more warmth and personality than the annual festivities have had in a long time.

It began with Tom Brokaw's eloquent tribute to the late Bill France Jr. Tinged with humor and personable remembrances, the former NBC News anchorman who had a friendship with the late president of NASCAR gave it precisely the right tone.

Then Motor Racing Network radio anchor Barney Hall, one of the sport's true gentlemen and a living broadcasting legend, got the Bill France Award of Excellence. Hall was completely surprised and genuinely moved, but he deserves every honor he gets.

The real difference, though, began when the top 10 drivers in the final standings were introduced. Each was brought to the stage after a short piece featuring the driver and somebody or something special in his life.

All were better than a brief video review of their on-track highlights, and some were actually quite amusing or touching.

More to the point, these pieces provided welcomed glimpses into each driver's personality. The whole question of how to get a driver's personality "out there" had become a big topic of Champions Week.

It began Wednesday with Jeff Gordon saying he believes the structure of the sport, with its heavy emphasis on corporate sponsorship, stifles a driver's ability to be himself.

"If you go back to the days when maybe guys were a little rowdier, I definitely think there wasn't as much media scrutiny," Gordon said. "The repercussions weren't as broad as they are today. We rely on our sponsors more today than we ever have. Our sponsors want to be proud to have us as representatives."

But Gordon, who finished second to repeat champion Jimmie Johnson, said he believes drivers, sponsors, NASCAR, the media and fans need to ease up on the possible negatives that might come from displays of emotion.

"My opinion is that there is a way for all of us to continue to open up with our personalities and show ourselves a little bit more," Gordon said. "It's almost as if sometimes I watch the sport and see some of the interviews and I think it was scripted. I blame myself at times, too. I see my own interviews and say, `Why do I always say the same thing?' "

The speeches given by the drivers Friday were examples of how things should not be done. Each was tightly scripted and they all sounded virtually the same.

As long as NASCAR insists on making this annual fete about recognizing 10 drivers, teams and sponsors, only so much can be done to help that.

And, as part of the admirable effort to shorten the banquet it seems the champion's portion of the evening is too hurried. The winning crew chief and team need to be a much bigger part of the party, and the champion should get more than the same perfunctory few minutes to say thank you that the guy who finished 10th does.

It's also still not as much about where this thing is -- New York, Las Vegas or anywhere else -- as it is about what it is. Right now, it's an exclusive party for corporate partners and industry insiders. It's almost as if NASCAR is telling fans they can't be trusted to be around decent folk. It has long been time for that to change, but there's little use in beating that dead horse any more.

The reason fans care about NASCAR is because of the people in it. And while this year's ceremony wasn't perfect, it did take significant steps toward making those people and the stories behind them a bigger part of the final event.

I call that progress.

Doing the Math

The final earnings for 2007 for the 10 drivers atop the final standings:

reprint or license