A young kid proved the adage that 90% of success is showing up. 20 year old Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 yesterday. Unlike the superstars he beat, he drove to Daytona in his pickup truck rather than coming by private jet. He's drives for a legendary but woefully under-funded team, the #21 Wood Brothers. He wasn't supposed to win. But he did.
No one is happier than NASCAR. Ratings and attendance have dropped significantly the past few years. The root cause being NASCAR itself. It embraced the glitter and glam of Hollywood and left behind the southern folks who built the sport. It moved the Southern 500 from it's traditional Labor Day weekend spot on the schedule. It abandoned tracks like Rockingham. The fans who helped build the sport rebelled. I was one of them.
The light bulbs eventually went off at NASCAR offices and the sport began a return to its southern roots. It paid off yesterday. Brad Paisley kicked things off with a terrific set of country tunes and Martina McBride sang the national anthem. She even remembered the words. There was a prayer and fly over by the USAF Thunderbirds.
As for the Wood Brothers, they were there at NASCAR's very beginning. Back then you owned the team, you worked on the cars and pitted them during the race. They were shoved aside by the super teams. But the Wood Brothers kept on showing up. As of Sunday morning they didn't have the money or sponsorships to even run a full schedule. They took a chance on a young kid because that's all they could afford.
Some will argue that early wrecks by NASCAR superstars like Jimmy Johnson made it possible for Payne's victory. Nonsense, Racing is about running at the end. That's what Trevor Payne did. He finished first and the 2nd place car was simply the first to lose.
Payne got a huge payday but no points. His commitment is to the Nationwide Series, not Spint Cup so he won't get any points for winning, while losers will.
It doesn't matter, at least this week, because NASCAR got a winning result when a 20 year old got behind the wheel of the 21. It added up to a big day for racing.
Old school took everyone else back to school. Dale would have liked that.
Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (Boogity boogity boogity)
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