Combining WWE, racing not a bad idea
Tony Stewart?s ?bad boy? reputation came back, however briefly, with his recent comments likening NASCAR to professional wrestling.
The driver, who?s developed a ?love him or hate him? relationship with fans and media members over the years, was fined and put on probation by Nextel Cup officials after missing a post-race media session, and is working hard to take back his radio remarks about his sport which landed him in hot water in the first place.
In case you missed it, Stewart was on his own Sirius Satellite Radio show when he voiced his theory that NASCAR over-uses caution laps to dictate the finish of races.
?I guess NASCAR thinks, ?Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it?s going to work in racing, too,? I can?t understand how long the fans are going to let NASCAR treat them like they?re stupid before the fans finally turn on NASCAR. I don?t know that they?ve run a fair race all year.?
Of course, after meeting with NASCAR officials, and being handed the $10,000 fine and year?s worth of probation, Stewart threw his tirade in reverse.
He now says he?s convinced Nextel Cup races are fairly officiated, but his remark raises an interesting point: Why not throw a few scripted bits into NASCAR racing, and treat it a little more like the WWE?
I need to look no further than six feet from the desk where this 16 inches of gold is composed each week to see a fan who enjoys, and enjoys writing his analysis of, both the squared circle and the asphalt oval. It?s clear the two sports share the same regional and socio-economical fan base, so why not make one a little more like the other than it already is?
Racing and ?rasslin? already share the patriotism, the pageantry, and certainly the noise of a wild crowd of supporters who are fiercely loyal to their favorites while absolutely despising their rivals.
They?ve even got some of the same moves! No NASCAR fan can look me in the eye and say Carl Edwards? backflip off the roof of his car wouldn?t be just a little cooler if the guy who finished second in the race was lying prone in a dazed condition, ready to fall victim to a patented ?Carl-sault.?
Bring Jim Ross and Darryl Waltrip together in the same studio, and the ratings will go through the roof.
Personally, it?s hard for me to sit through an entire race, or for that matter an entire episode of the Monday night slug-fests. But the appeal of Nextel Cup would certainly increase in this writer?s mind if, for instance, a few folding chairs were thrown around.
Just imagine Jeff Gordon screaming a five-minute promo into the pre-race microphone on TNT Sunday afternoon, spraying Pepsi into the crowd as he berates a rival driver.
?Let me tell you something, D.W.! The Dupont Chevrolet can take down the Budweiser ride any time, any place, on any track you want to name!?
When suddenly, from behind the tire racks, ?Little E? launches into his own speech.
?Hold it, brother! You come out here with your rainbow suit, and your pretty-boy grin, and your Hollywood ways… the fans are tired of it, the drivers are tired of it, and it?s time a good ol? boy put you in your place! If you smeeeeelllll what the ?E? is cookin?!?
It?s a gold mine in the making.