Karma is a curious
creature. When you start messing with tradition you are taunting Karma and she does not like to be taunted. Someone called
the Titanic "Unsinkable." Karma stepped in to prove somebody wrong. How many times have you said something, and then immediately
knocked on wood to ward off evil Karma? If you're guilty of that, you appreciate her for what she is. If you are not, may
Karma have mercy on your soul.
Nowhere in sports does
Karma work her magic more than in NASCAR racing. No team, no driver, no owner, and certainly no track are immune from the
payback parameters of Karma. NASCAR messed with tradition back in 2003 when the decision was made to stop running the Southern
500 on Labor Day weekend at Darlington but somebody forgot to knock on wood.
The 2004 Southern 500
was run in November and the inaugural Sony 500 was run at the California Speedway on Labor Day weekend. Oh, the humanity!
I'm sure it was a decision
that International Speedway Corp. (ISC) felt had to be made. There were beginning to be a few empty seats in the stands at
the Darlington track
for the Labor Day race. When the 2005 racing schedule was announced, I remember the horror of seeing the lineup and not finding
a second race at Darlington. I fell to my knees and prayed for Karma to be gentle with the assassins
of the Southern 500.
So here we are, three
years later. The Labor Day race at Fontana is barely on the radar screen of the
fickle Southern California consumer. There were a reported 52,000 tickets sold, well short of the 92,000
capacity of the track. In comparison, Rockingham seats 60,000 and you know what has happened there. The attendance woes at
the speedway continue and nobody seems to have a handle on why.
I submit that it is nothing
more than Karma at work. You don't tug on Superman's cape, and you don't mess with the Southern 500. Did anyone consider that
Madame Karma is closely related to the Lady in Black? Ask any driver who tempted fate coming out of turn four at Darlington
what price you pay to Karma. You get back what you dish out usually in factors of four.
NASCAR tradition is anchored
in the Southern 500. This race was considered one of the four crown jewels (along with the Daytona 500, the Winston 500 at
Talladega, and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.)
It was the last race where drivers could secure the Winston Million, a bonus provided by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
from 1985 to 1997, for any driver who could win three of the four crown jewel races. Only drivers Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon
ever took home the million. Remember Jeff Gordon following behind the armored truck at Darlington with
wads of Winston cash blowing in the wind? It was another great moment in the sport played out on the rich history stage of
the Southern 500.
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Could it be that the
decision makers at ISC and NASCAR are beginning to realize the error of their ways and in some sacrificial attempt to appease
the racing Gods are considering a return to South Carolina for the fall classic? I don't know, but work continues at Darlington
as more than ten million dollars have been approved for extensive retrofits and repaving. The high banks of turns three and
four have been leveled as crews work feverishly to install a new infield access tunnel. All improvements are scheduled to
be completed by the end of November.
I'm sure it's just wishful
thinking on my part. I grew up a short fifty miles from Darlington and have spent many a Labor Day
weekend watching my favorite circle track heroes. In my youth it was guys like Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker, Ned Jarrett,
Richard Petty, David Pearson, and Cale Yarborough that built the Southern 500 into a crown jewel. In later years it was guys
like Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon who drove the lady in black into the 21st century.
With the strike of a
pen, some bean counter and marketing manager wiped out 54 years of tradition in pursuit of California
gold. Karma was not pleased and the 24 carat promise of the Southern California market is looking more
and more like Fool's Gold.
Bring back the Southern
500 to Darlington and Karma may forever smile on you.
2006 StockCar Review.
