Journal Article Analysis

assignment 1-3
May 7, 2008

If It Ain’t Rubbin;, It Ain’t Racing’; NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom

It is no big secret that I love NASCAR with a passion. Seriously, all you have to do is come over to my house, especially on a Sunday afternoon, or Saturday night. Really you can come anytime and understand the depths that I follow NASCAR. Everything I do from February thru November is revolved around what is happening in NASCAR. As I was going to through the articles to find one that I like to write on, I came across this one. It was a no brainer that I would choose this one over all of the others.
The article is written by Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg. The way they wrote the article makes it appear that they attended NASCAR races to get there information. In some parts of the article they made it sound like they are new to the NASCAR scene and it was neat to get the point of view of NASCAR from first timers. The first part of the article just talked about the basics and the stereotypes of NASCAR. I’m not going to discuss this in depth. Another thing that should be mentioned is that at the time that is article was written they referred to the series as being Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. They have changed names; The Winston Cup is now the Sprint cup, the Busch series is now the Nationwide serious, and the Craftsman Truck series is now the Camping World Truck series.
The middle part of the article compared and contrasted NASCAR fans with other sporting events. In the article it said that you can drive down the road and know exactly who NASCAR fans love to watch. Another thing that they mentioned is that NASCAR fans a loyal to their drivers. If they change teams, team colors, and/or car paint schemes they are first in line to get the new merchandise. NASCAR fans are also more likely to use the product or company on the car. For instance when Dale Jr. drove for Budweiser, his fans was more likely to drink Budweiser over any other beer brands. My room still has the old Dale Jr. Budweiser merchandise on display, along with the newer Amp, and National Guard stuff.
Sometimes the beating and bang on the track over shadows the cooperation and trust among the drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, and spotters. When driving down the highway you are putting trust in complete strangers that they know what they are doing. The same goes for NASCAR drivers only the speeds reach over 200 mph. You have to be able to trust your fellow racers. The crew chief, crew members, and spotters are the people that tend to get overshadowed by the driver, but they are important to the safety of their driver and to the other drivers. They are the people that work hard behind the scenes making the car safe, and fix any problems that may arise. The spotter helps guide the driver around the track, telling them if there is an accident coming up, where other cars are; they are their eyes in the areas where they can’t see. Being able to cooperate and trust the people you work with is very important when going sometimes over 200 mph.
At the end of the article it states that NACAR is the second in fan popularity in America right behind football. It also states that some of the largest sporting event’s crowds are at a NASCAR race weekend. It is nice to know that with the many people who tell me they don’t understand why I like it so much, that there is double the number that does understand.


References
Hugenberg, L. W., & Hugenberg, B. S. (2008, August). If It Ain't Rubbin', It Ain't Racin': NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom. Journal of popular culture , Vol 41 Issue 4 pp. p635-657, 23p.