If you’ve never been to a NASCAR event, you might not realize what a unique cultural experience it is. Now NASCAR owners are proving that statement with their actions on the racetrack.
Living in Charlotte, North Carolina as an anchorwoman for the NBC affiliate way back when gave me an opportunity to witness NASCAR for the first time when then-WPCQ-TV covered the World 600. As a Steel Town girl, NASCAR was never really a part of my childhood experience. Perhaps there are NASCAR events in Pittsburgh, but I never attended one.
But in Charlotte, I found it an overwhelming happening of sights and sounds. Oh, the sounds! Until you’ve heard multiple cars going faster than the speed of light around a track you haven’t lived. It’s louder than any Steelers or Nittany Lions game I ever attended. And that’s saying something. Some 80 thousand people screaming for a touchdown in Beaver Stadium is pretty darn loud. But it was nothing compared to the World 600.
And now we have something else separating NASCAR and football, and that is the patriotism that runs through and through those involved in the sport. On Sunday, in Loudon, New Hampshire several NASCAR team owners put a big red stop sign in front of all this NFL kneeling business. Check this out from Richard Petty:
“Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem oughta be out of the country. Period. What got ’em where they’re at? The United States.”
When asked if a protester at Richard Petty Motorsports would be fired, he said, “You’re right.”
And if that wasn’t enough, the owner of Dale Earnhardt’s team, Richard Childress, chimed in with:
“It’ll [protesting] get you a ride on a Greyhound bus.” Childress says he told his team that “anybody that works for me should respect the country we live in. So many people gave their lives for it. This is America.”
Amen and amen. Enough with this kneeling nonsense. If the national anthem of the United States is too divisive for you to stand with some modicum of respect for your country, then team owners should set the tone for their players. But they’re not doing that in the NFL, are they? Read all about their fake virtue-signaling here.
The Bottom Line
NASCAR owners have made a loud and clear statement about their values and their sport. In fact, the statement to let drivers and team members know that taking a knee for the national anthem will make them eligible for a pink slip is an act of unified patriotism. And perhaps their clarion call is, in its own way, louder than any group of cars going around a track.
Only time will tell, but my guess is that NASCAR events just might be selling out as people exit the football stadium to stand with others that don’t make disrespectful political statements part of their pre-game festivities. And that message, dear readers, will be hard not to hear as the pockets of the NFL owners begin to empty out for their lack of courage.
So, here’s to NASCAR. Raise a glass of Mountain Dew and drop in some Goodie's Powder if the noise gets to you but know that when it comes to showing some respect to our country – NASCAR comes in first place.
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