| | NEW YORK -- The show is a few blocks off Broadway, but make no mistake, the Winston Cup Series Awards Banquet belongs in the Big Apple. And on Park Avenue, no less.
And let it be known that NASCAR doesn't look so out of place in New York these days. Amid the city's cosmopolitan landscape, the Good 'ol Boys shinned up like a new penny Thursday afternoon. In fact, it was difficult to single out a sharp-dressed Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett from the similarly clad international jetsetters he walked among in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel lobby.
NASCAR fit in just fine.
Just ask the autograph-hungry fans who had snuck into the hotel, only to allow D.J. and the other drivers to slip under their radar and walk past them on their way to awaiting limos.
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“ |
As
happy as I am to be a driver at this period of time
in NASCAR history, I'd give anything to be 35 years old 20 years from now. I really
think things are going to get interesting. ” |
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— Jeff Burton |
"Has anyone seen Dale Jarrett yet?" asked a couple with Sharpies and an 8x10 glossy of the champion in hand.
"Yeah, he just went out that door. But there's Bobby Labonte right there." The points runner-up stood just five feet away in a snazzy suit, but to the fans defense it was hard to spot Labonte in the crowded lobby without his usual green-and-black attire.
Step outside of the hotel's grand ballroom, which will be the setting for tonight's gala, and it was hard to spot any real NASCAR presence. There were none of the usual sponsorship logos on any driver. Some of Jarrett's entorage wore Winston Cup champion jackets, but each driver and crew chief who was on hand looked like he'd just stepped off the pages of GQ.
The only hint that NASCAR was in the building was given by fans who wore their favorite's name on hats or T-shirts. Outside, the NASCAR banner blew in the breeze next to the American flag above the hotel's entrance, but that was just to let folks know a little bit of the South was inside.
The sport's new-found acceptance with mainstream America, and its ability to feel comfortable in America's biggest city, was the real message being sent.
Jeff Gordon was recognized the night before by a few waiters and chefs, who suddenly surrounded his five-star dinning table. "They kept bringing out all this food for me to try," said the three-time Winston Cup champion.
It was rookie of the year Tony Stewart's first trip to New York City. And while he admits it's become much harder to walk the streets without being noticed, he felt quite at ease on the sidewalks of Manhattan. Just don't ask him to get in a cab.
"I now know why those taxis use their horns so much. I wouldn't want to drive on those streets," Stewart said. He doesn't even want to think about Daytona with a few cabbies behind the wheel.
But, for a sport regarded as being on the outside of America's mainstream for so many years, Winston Cup can say its made it in New York -- not to mention everywhere else.
"NASCAR is a living, growing element made up people -- American people. It's part of its lifestyle," said Mike Helton, chief operating officer of NASCAR. "It's almost like a teen-ager that has left home and gone out to make a life of his own. It's become more than just the race-day activities. NASCAR is a national sport, a national pastime -- if not the national pastime. It touches people from Daytona to San Francisco, and every town in between."
It's would be hard to argue that any other American sport is looking forward to the new millennium more than NASCAR. While the banquet will celebrate the 1999 season, Helton's state of NASCAR speech was centered around 2000 and what's in store for a sport that has grown more than any in the 90's.
"NASCAR 2000" was the theme Thursday. As much as Helton was careful not to forget where NASCAR's been, his words focused mainly on where the sport was going. From technical advancements in the way fans will watch races, to expanding into new cities, the sport has embraced the next century. There was even a preview of next year's debut of "NASCAR Racers," a futuristic cartoon set in the 21st Century about Winston Cup racing. "I sure hope we don't ever have to race on those tracks," quipped Mike Skinner.
"As happy as I am to be a driver at this period of time in NASCAR history, I'd give anything to be 35 years old 20 years from now," said Jeff Burton. "I really think things are going to get interesting."
With its fan base growing every year (17 of the 20 most attended sporting events in 1999 were Winston Cup races), its TV ratings on the rise each year and a new $2.4 billion television package ready to kick in for the 2001 season, NASCAR "is just warming up the engine and getting ready to hit the gas," said Helton.
"When NASCAR looks into its crystal ball, things look good," added Helton. "The nature of NASCAR opens the door to creative technologies. Our goal for the future is easy to pinpoint. We must continue to fulfill our responsibility to make our sport more entertaining and find better ways to bring that entertainment to more people every day. Our goal is to bring ever-improving entertainment to an every-growing audience."
It was clear by the end of the afternoon that Winston Cup had come a long way since spinning its tires in the Daytona Beach sand.
But, just when you though they'd taken the southern charm out of NASCAR, Labonte's limo arrived in front of the Waldorf's entrance. And if you didn't see him climb into the extra 20 feet of car behind the driver, you would have mistaken it for his No. 18 Interstate Pontiac.
A limo with a green, white, orange and black paint scheme? Now that's how you get noticed in New York City.
Ron Buck is the auto racing editor for ESPN.com. | |
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