It didn't seem that long ago I was cruising the streets of Detroit in my new 1965 Plymouth Street Wedge. I had a regular route from Telegraph Road south to Michigan Avenue. Once there, I headed east towards Dearborn ending up downtown to catch Woodward Avenue. At the foot of Woodward I'd make a left turn and head north, driving through such places as Highland Park, Ferndale and then up to Royal Oak, where I'd turn around and head south until I hit 8 Mile, which would eventually take me back to Telegraph Road. I never thought twice about making this journey because it presented opportunities to show off my car, meet girls and pick up a few street races along the way. Things were different in 1965 and never once did I ever fear for my safety or worry about losing my ride to a car jacker.
Fast forward to 2013. The thought of doing the same thing 48 years later scares the bejeezus out of me. The streets I once drove have become nothing more than a war zone and the institutions we all looked up to have become fraught with corruption, fueled by greed.
I didn't realize it at the time but Detroit was a great town to grow up in. Downtown businesses were thriving, the streets were safe, the police and fire department came when you called them and everyone, all 1.8 million of us, seemed to have a job.
Thursday's announcement marked a new low point for a city that has been on the ropes for decades. The theories of how things got that way are not as important as the human costs that will continue to be realized until someone or something comes along to make it better. For a native Detroiter, it seems incomprehensable that it has come to this.

J.R. Andres/SMM Editor-in-Chief

He has a lot going for him. He's glib, knowledgeable and witty, and sometimes he's even insightful. He has the connections and the inside line on what's happening in the immediate world of NASCAR. He's worked hard to get where he is and in most cases he's the 'go to guy' for the inquiring minds that comprise his nationwide daily call-in audience. I often wonder how he does what he does and the ease with which he fields calls from individuals who sometime say things that would test the patience of a saint.

He says he doesn't expect the callers to agree with him and he always respects their standpoint even if they go against his but today (Tuesday, May 25th at 2:15 PM) he exhibited something that was in conflict with what he professes and petulance doesn't look good on him no matter how he tries to spin it.

It all began when a caller said he was concerned about the 'health' of NASCAR, based upon his understanding of this year's lowered TV ratings and the empty seats he saw at the recent Dover race. Moody tried to explain that even though there were a lot of empty seats, the numbers there would actually fill a Super Bowl, or so many NBA games or so many MLB stadiums. The caller went on to ask if Moody was aware that Jimmie Johnson's sponsor, Lowe's, was the only sponsor that has not jumped to another car or driver in the last three years. Once again, Moody tried to explain that Jeff Gordon still had DuPont. I agree that the caller was wrong; he wasn't listening and uncompromisingly convinced he was right. Even so, Moody made a fool out of him, saying indignantly 'You're right, NASCAR is in trouble and Lowe's is the only sponsor with the same car and driver for the past three years', much like a yammering child. The caller eventually hung up, much to the surprise or perhaps even to the delight of that MRN commentator. If Moody was surprised he shouldn't have been. After all who would ever dare to do that to the 'Godfather', the one who holds the key to the truths as defined by Moody himself?

For all his positive traits, Moody was boorish and out of line today, although he'd probably just chalk it up to a caller who was in need of some form of reality update. Even the exalted need a reality update of how they come across to others from time to time and this is his.

Funny thing about “roots”. Some celebrate them and others try to keep them buried. In the case of NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series, it seems the mothership is unsure what to do with the History Channel’s “Madhouse” program that depicts the events transpiring at Winston-Salem’s very own Bowman-Gray Stadium.

To hear it being described by the pundits at Sirius NASCAR Radio who maintain an unbroken umbilical connection to the aforementioned sanctioning body, it represents something that most would rather forget -- something that doesn’t represent the corporate mantra of clean living and altruistic inspired sportsman racing because it brings up all of those nasty stereotypes of the South they have worked so hard to eliminate, either through repackaging or denial. After all, these things happened over 50 years ago. Let’s forget about it and move on to a more genteel world, one that doesn’t offend, one that is beyond reproach.

Contrary to this belief, “Madhouse” offers its audience an unsanitized dose of reality of the behind the scenes drama that racing has always been about. The characters are real and the names have NOT been changed to protect the innocent. Central casting could never surpass creating the individuals who comprise the core of this series: Bad Brad, Junior, Rocket Brown, Eric, The Show Stopper, the K-Ville Mafia, “Jon Boy” and the Myers Brothers. Some of this may sound like the WWF but these guys play for real and their quest for a trophy, peer recognition and a take no prisoners reputation often comes before family and their ability to exercise better judgment.

Week in, week out, the major networks serve up the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events that seem like a world away from the “do it on a shoestring” grass roots racers who risk it all on the ¼ and ½ mile short tracks across this country. It’s easy to get lulled into a semi-vegetative state watching the “made men” of racing, with all their high dollar corporate sponsorships, cavort around the track in an endless parade, usually interrupted only when it’s time for the omnipresent commercial break.

We’ve become too accustomed to prepackaged and processed programs, sports, foods and ideology. We got there because we forgot how to cook and to think on our own. It’s too easy to throw in a TV dinner or a frozen pizza. Sure, times have changed but whether we like it or not we’re still, NASCAR included, connected to the roots that we may or may not be proud of and no matter how hard we try to erase or discount them, they’re never far away from us or Bowman-Gray. In this age of diversity, who we are or where we came from should be celebrated and the boys from Winston-Salem deserve our praise for being true to their ideals and their chosen way of life. NASCAR’s lucky to have them whether they choose to admit it or not.

It seems that it was only a matter of time before someone caught on that something was awry in Fontana. Regardless of the media spin that blamed the economy, the boring racing and the rotten weather for the poor attendance, Auto Club Speedway now finds itself clearly in NASCAR’s crosshairs and it doesn’t seem to have a clue what to do. No one in the front office really wanted to consider messing with the status quo but it’s time to get real before things get any worse.

Rumor has it that the Fontana February race date will be given to another track, presumably Kansas Speedway, by as early as next year. It’s been a long time coming and at this point appeals from ACS will not be met with much enthusiasm from the powers that be. No one can quite put a finger on how things got to this point but one thing is clear, two NASCAR races in Southern California is one too many.

I began covering the Fontana races in 2004 and the stands for both races were packed year in and year out until 2007. You could cut the excitement then with a knife. During that time, the community got behind the events by staging downtown parties that rivaled the one offered in downtown Charlotte. The City of Ontario did the same and it was clear to all that NASCAR coming to town was a big deal. Somehow somewhere things changed and these events went by the wayside. In some ways it seemed ACS began to focus upon a demographic that had nothing to do with the core group that supported these races in the past. Subsequent track improvements included a fan zone that featured a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, park landscaping and a stage providing those with a need to party a place to go but something was missing. It isn’t clear what Puck has to do with NASCAR or any other form of racing but someone at ACS must have thought the track was going to be primarily serving the IndyCar crowd. An In/Out Burger stand would have been more widely accepted than standard West Hollywood wine and cheese cuisine. Within a year the place took on a corporate feel that lacked the verve and the roughness that Fontana has always been secretly proud of and the people that were once willing to put their hard earned cash up for grabs to prove it found other ways to spend their Sundays.

I don’t want to completely disregard the fact that discretionary cash for most NASCAR devotees is less available and that overall the TV ratings and attendance has suffered at other tracks as well. I also don’t want to leave the impression that one restaurant is the cause for poor attendance. It’s a combination of factors that Track President Gillian Zucker and her staff haven’t been able to figure out yet. Maybe someday they’ll find the key that opens the door but until that happens, the first race of the season will likely remain a thing of the past.

Sunset at Auto Club Speedway


2004 POP SECRET 500

The winds of change have finally reached the place they should have a long time ago. For years, this writer has been hoping that the low pressure weather patterns would have relented and allowed clear skies and clear minds to prevail but now that they have finally arrived, who’s going to complain?

NASCAR announced this week at the Sprint Cup Series Media Tour in Charlotte that they have embarked upon a new way of looking and doing things, one that takes into account the suggestions the fans have been screaming for - better competition, racing rule changes, greater driver accessibility, and a willingness on behalf of the powers that be to listen to the people who spend their hard earned dollars to walk through the turnstiles across the country each and every weekend.

It would be easy to speculate why NASCAR has decided to make these changes now but what matters most is that the individuals who make this sport what it is finally have a voice that is being listened to.

I remember having a conversation with a track official two years ago, asking why NASCAR couldn’t adopt a mindset like the NHRA (see SMM editorial “A Weekend of Observations” in the “Antron Brown Sweeps the West” article), an organization that learned long ago the importance of spectator input and involvement. He looked at me like I had alligators coming out of my ears, citing security concerns and this and that. I tried to make my point with him in spite of the rebuffs but it was clear that my idea was heresy at the very least.

It will be interesting to see if this new found openness is a one-time shot or a trend. NASCAR and its fans have a rare opportunity to work collectively to improve the welfare and the grass roots relevance of stock car racing. It will be up to them to determine whether it will once again become a sport by and for the people.