Random Thoughts

Michael is a favorite target for the ire of some Steve's fans, because some fans don't understand why he has a ride and Steve doesn't. Well, Michael's learned how to play those cards he's been dealt like a master. Why does he still have a ride and is a huge presence in the sport? I'd say part of that has to do with Michael's two Daytona 500 wins - sorry, as much as some might like to say that restrictor plate wins don't count, the Daytona 500 is Nascar's most prestigious race. And there's those two other wins too which proves that he's a driver who knows how to win, just like Steve. In addition, Michael has learned how to maximize his talents outside the car from being one of the most fan-friendly drivers in the sport to how well he represents his sponsors to how he's developed and expanded Michael Waltrip Racing. Those things have helped him to survive in this sport for more than 20 years. And his involvement as an owner and on the broadcasting side could keep him involved for another 20 years after he retires.

It's almost more laughable for fans to get on Jeremy. I'm no fan of some of the things that Jeremy has said and done over the years - his feud with Ray Evernham is an embarassment. However, one thing's for sure Jeremy has shown through the years that he's a decent Cup driver, with five wins and three finishes in the top ten in points. Yet some think he's a sucky driver - what then is Steve with only two Cup wins, and not a single finish in the top ten in points in Cup? I think Steve can race up front and win when he's given a competitive car, but as hard as it is for some fans to admit to it, there's lots of other drivers who can do the same and are deserving of rides every bit as much as Steve, including both Michael and Jeremy. And Jeremy is another who didn't sit idle when he was between full-time rides last season. He raced a little for Billy Ballew in a truck, he and his wife, Shana, interacted with his fans on the 360otc.com website, he tested for Bill Davis Racing, he auctioned off signed memorabilia on Ebay, and maintained a presence in the media by continuing his weekly column on nascar.com, as well as by giving interviews.

Getting back to Michael, even though he didn't race this past weekend he was a part of the Truck Series broadcast team, he taped Tradin' Paint, he was part of the team covering Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on Directv Hot Pass, and as an owner he surely took care of his obligations to his teams and their sponsors. Other drivers who don't have rides at all find ways to keep themselves involved in the sport too. Mark Green is spotting for Michael, and there are other former drivers who spot, some of whom hope to get back on the track. Ricky Craven, another driver who some believe is blackballed due to a head injury, has kept himself very active, from his work with Sirius and Yahoo!Sports, to a yearly charity event, to testing with PPI Motorsports, to racing a Busch race, and possibly racing some COT races this season if things work out for him. Even Jerry Nadaeu has kept himself involved in Nascar by consulting with teams and doing other things.

Where have I been going with the past few paragraphs? Well, what's Steve doing while he's between rides? Nothing at the moment apparently that is known about publically, at least when it comes to being involved with Nascar. Personally, I think the disappearing act that Steve often pulls when he's not at the track might hurt him and his chances for finding a ride. Of course I have no way of knowing exactly what Steve is doing or why, but this sport is all about exposure and drivers need to keep themselves visible, if not they fade away like Steve's doing. Steve is in control of what he does with himself when he's not racing, not Michael, not Jeremy, not any other driver, team, sponsor or Nascar. There's nothing stopping Steve from doing broadcasting or other media work, starting his own racing-related business, consulting with a team, mentoring a young driver, starting a foundation to raise money for charitable causes, interacting with his fans on his website, or doing any number of other things that other drivers do to keep themselves actively involved with their fans and the sport. Why isn't Steve doing any of these things? The simple answer is that maybe he doesn't want to. And that's fine. Steve has to do what makes him happy and what he feels are the best decisions for his career. Myself and other fans have all sorts of opinions about what Steve is or should be doing, but he's a grown adult who has to make his own decisions for better or for worse. But there comes a point where I see all sorts of drivers doing all kinds of things to keep a connection to the sport, and I wonder - why isn't Steve doing any of that? Instead I see him just fading away, and that's pretty sad to me.

The immediate answer for many is going to be as to why Steve's not involved in the sport all that much isn't that it's by choice but instead because they feel Steve's black-balled, that Nascar has it out for him, they have something against him and they don't want him back. Rubbish. Steve finding himself a competitive ride, racing well and returning to Victory Lane is exactly the kind of feel-good story that Nascar loves. Much like James Hylton and all the press he got for attempting the Daytona 500, if Steve made a triumpant return, Nascar - and the media - would run with it. We saw that when Steve won in California in the #62 truck. If Nascar truly didn't want Steve to race they wouldn't have cleared him to return after his accident, and they would have found a way to prevent Richard Childress Racing, Orleans Racing (now South Point Racing), HT Motorsports and Marsh Racing from giving him rides.

The other thing I've been wondering about is this - there's other series to race in - if the desire to race is so great why isn't Steve racing elsewhere to keep himself fresh? He got a Busch East ride for a race and had an outstanding race - why not race more Busch East races? Or go back to his old stomping grounds and race Modified races? I guess maybe the answer there is that Steve would rather wait for a quality ride to open up in one of Nascar's three highest series instead of taking a ride in what might be a lesser car, truck or series. Well, he might be waiting a long time for one of those quality rides to become available.

There's quite a few reasons that are out of Steve's control as to why he doesn't have a ride - his age, that he's still considered damaged goods, that sponsors don't feel he would be a good fit, the lack of strong results on the track the last few seasons because of having to race cars and trucks that aren't very competitive, etc... However, I think it's a little ridiculous to think that the course of someone's life, and their career, is entirely out of their own hands, and that everything that happens to them is someone else's fault. We'll never know exactly why Steve's career has taken this path, but one thing's for sure it's not the fault of other drivers - no, not even Larry Loyt's fault since that wreck was an accident. I was reading the newspaper earlier and a quote from an ad jumped out at me - "Opportunity is everywhere if you know where to look." I hope Steve looks around and finds some opportunities that might open some doors for him in relation to getting back on the track.