As
Earnhardt is remembered, will the #3 ever ride again? |
Every sport goes through times of change. The decade of the 90s saw NASCAR grow from a regional sport, with its roots in the southern and eastern states, to the national sport it is today. Even President George W. Bush watches NASCAR events on TV and has attended several at Texas Motor Speedway. Most changes in this sport, such as the construction of speedways and the rise and fall of a team's dynasty take place over the course of several seasons. But 2001 saw more changes
in a single season than I can remember.
The 2000 season ended with the retirement of one of NASCAR's most popular drivers, Darrell Waltrip. As Speedweeks in Daytona approached, all attention was on the return of Dodge and the new TV deal that NASCAR had signed with FOX and NBC. Dodge proved early it would be a force to reckon with by sweeping the front row for the Daytona 500 with Bill Elliott and Stacy Compton. FOX's first race was overshadowed by the loss of one of the most popular drivers in all of motorsports, Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt's death, the retirement of Ol' DW, the return of Dodge, and the new TV deal seemed to be the beginning of an avalanche that would forever change NASCAR as we knew it.
After the death of Earnhardt, the focus of the season was on driver safety. By the end of the 2001 season, NASCAR had mandated how the seatbelts would be attached, as well as requiring each driver to wear a head and neck restraint. They had also announced the demise of the aero package used at Daytona and Talladega, and are still continuing their research into making the cars softer, covering such things as the Humpy Bumper. With three races to go, the safety issue engulfed the pit crew members because of the accident at Homestead in which crew members from the #28 car, as well as a Winston Cup official, were struck by the #22 car. Thankfully, everyone will be okay. As a result of that incident, all over-the-wall crew members will be required to wear helmets at the beginning of the 2002 season.
Elliott
returned to victory lane with Evernham and Dodge. |
As everyone watched the debate over safety takeover the headlines, the battle between the young guns and the veterans seemed to reach a level that it hasn't been in years. Leading the way for the young guns were the likes of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. The veterans still had plenty to dish out with drivers like Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott. As the season began to come to an end, two battles seemed to lead the news. One was the battle between Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd for the Winston Cup. Rudd's team, however, seemed to have nothing but bad luck for the last few races, which dropped him to a disappointing 4th in points by seasons end. The second
battle between the young guns and the veterans came, coincidentally, on Veteran's Day in Homestead. In the final laps of the race at Homestead, a classic battle between the young and the old developed. Twenty-one year old Casey Atwood was leading his 46-year-old teammate, Bill Elliott. With just a handful of laps to go, it seemed as if Elliott began to play mirror tricks with Atwood, changing his line through the corners, trying to cause Atwood to make a mistake. With just three laps to go, Atwood over drove his car into turn three and slid up the track, opening the lane for Elliott to cruise to his first victory since 1994.
When the 2002 season starts, we will see the new "one engine rule" set in place. At certain tracks, the teams will be forced to use the same engine in practice, qualifying, and the race, which eliminates the need for separate qualifying engines. Also, the 2002 season will see the continued backing of the two-lap qualifying format, which began in 2001. The teams will be given two laps to qualify, eliminating the second round of qualifying from the past.
With all of these changes, there is no doubt that NASCAR has reached a major intersection with its history and future. Not since the beginning of the modern era has there been so many changes in so little time. Wherever the sport goes from here, I hope it continues to grow as it has in the last decade and that it will stay the same family-oriented sport that it is today.
I would personally like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and ask that we all continue to pray for our great Nation, the armed forces, and every other American as our nation battles against the enemies of freedom.
The author can be contacted nascar@autoracing1.com
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