Motorsports
NASCAR on Prime, Pete Rose on ballots, Kyle Larson on spin cycle
It’s been too long since we went to the virtual mailbag, which isn’t as utilitarian as the old mailbag, but it smells better. Folks have gripes, and folks have praise, but mostly folks have gripes … HEY, WILLIE! Well, I see big money has taken over NASCAR like everything else. I just found out the […]
It’s been too long since we went to the virtual mailbag, which isn’t as utilitarian as the old mailbag, but it smells better.
Folks have gripes, and folks have praise, but mostly folks have gripes …
HEY, WILLIE!
Well, I see big money has taken over NASCAR like everything else. I just found out the next five races will be on Amazon Prime.
NASCAR has priced out the working-class people who have supported NASCAR all of these years. Between the nitpicking and the yellow flags, this is the last straw. I won’t be watching NASCAR after supporting NASCAR for 50 years.
All of my racing friends feel the same way.
JAMES
HEY, JAMES!
Since you wrote this email, it’s now the next four races that will be on Prime. Through one week of Prime time, you don’t want to hear this, but the product is really good, with full-blown commercials only during the stage breaks.
But you might want to hear this — a reminder of last week’s tip: You can sign up for a free month of Prime and, if you want, dump it as soon as the NASCAR racin’ returns to regular cable TV.
Yes, yes, you have to remember to cancel at the end of your month. Amazon’s fiduciaries have concluded it’s worth giving away a month. They think enough of you will like all the other stuff they offer and stick around when you start getting charged.
Not to be cynical (of course!), but they might also think that enough of you will forget to cancel until you realize you’ve been dinged $14.99 for the next month. Fiduciaries have to fidoosh, you know.
HEY, WILLIE!
I don’t understand the reasoning behind NASCAR going to Prime. I do not subscribe to the paying stations. I live on a fixed income and those stations cost way too much.
NASCAR has done a lot of stupid rule changes, and now this. I feel like they want to lose more fans.
DORIS
HEY, DORIS!
If you really tried, I bet you could understand NASCAR’s reasoning.
There was a time when many said network TV was enough and they’d never pay for cable. Then cable started buying the rights to televise big sporting events.
I remember people saying they didn’t need a cell phone. Didn’t need to buy a membership for the privilege of shopping in a certain store. Didn’t need WiFi, ATMs, payday loans to pay a dinner tab. Needed none of it, yet here we are, being incrementaled to death.
Sometimes, you think the only option is to become the mysterious dude down the street who only comes outside to adjust his ham-radio antenna.
HEY, WILLIE!
Thank you so much for your NASCAR articles in my local paper, the York Daily Record in Pennsylvania. My local TV station doesn’t even mention it at all. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
DORIS (AGAIN)
HEY, DORIS!
Just when you think bargains don’t exist, you’re getting a two-for-one here today.
Yet another burst of research tells me you’re in that Harrisburg-York-Lancaster-Lebanon TV market. You’re closer to Philly than Pittsburgh, which probably explains it.
But I’ll try to continue slipping some missives past the goalie to keep you slightly informed of what’s happening.
Pros and cons of Pete Rose
HEY, WILLIE!
I enjoyed your article about Pete Rose (May 14). He was fun to watch, on and off the field. He was a celebrity who made everyone interested in baseball.
At 94, I do not remember much about professional baseball, except when I dated a few players in Sarasota when spring training was in town. But I do remember Pete Rose as a hotshot, and fun to watch and follow.
I do hope he can be considered for the Hall of Fame, not only for his accomplishments on the field but for creating interest in the game of baseball as a popular sport.
CAROLE IN SARASOTA
HEY, CAROLE!
Guess what part of your email I honed in on. And I did some math.
At 94, it seems your presumed prime dating years overlapped with Sarasota’s 1946-58 tenure as spring-training home to the Boston Red Sox. Boy oh boy, do I have questions. For another time, of course.
HEY, WILLIE!
I have enjoyed your columns for many years and I believe this is only the second time I have emailed you. Your take on Pete was admirable but failed to look at the whole picture.
Pete was a very shallow individual, a despicable human being outside of baseball. He was an adulterer and mistreated many who came into contact with him.
It was always about money to Pete. He put himself above the game, and no player, even Babe Ruth, is greater than the game of baseball.
If anybody deserves forgiveness, it’s an illiterate man from South Carolina who was coaxed into a position he was not intelligent enough to understand.
AL
HEY, AL!
You were on a roll until you got to Shoeless Joe Jackson, the great ballplayer who couldn’t read or write but didn’t need to do either in order to swing the bat like someone out of Greek mythology.
From what I gather, Joe and the others weren’t given written agreements about throwing the 1919 World Series. Paper trail, you know, so Joe didn’t need to do any fancy readin’ or writin’. And Joe didn’t do a very good job of throwing things — he batted .375 during the series — but still apparently received a five-grand payout, according to testimony.
As for Pete, I’ve hopped off the fence and taken a side. He belongs in the Hall as a ballplayer. He was banned from baseball when it became clear he’d bet on games, presumably only as a manager (yes, presumably).
Much of the general public, and especially those visiting the Hall in Cooperstown, are smart enough to differentiate between Pete the gambler and Pete the ballplayer. A simple plaque in a museum isn’t an overall stamp of approval, but a nod to common sense for all who ever saw him play.
Back to racin’ to discuss Kyle Larson, and Rick Hendrick’s family tree
HEY, WILLIE!
Is that new NASCAR Hall of Famer, Ray Hendrick, related to Rick Hendrick the team owner?
RAY in JACKSONVILLE
HEY, RAY in JAX!
No. A quick visit to the Boys in Research tells us, however, a young Rick Hendrick in the 1960s worked on the pit crew for Ray when Ray was dominating the modified racing scene.
HEY, WILLIE!
Yes, the Indy 500 is a very important race, maybe THE most important, but Kyle Larson is first and foremost a NASCAR driver and he is where he is now because of NASCAR.
If it wasn’t for his successful achievements in NASCAR he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attempt the Indy-Charlotte double. If Indy racing is so important to him, then switch over and run it full time.
KEN B
HEY, KB!
It seems the racing gods might agree with you, Kenny. Between last year’s rain-induced debacle and this year’s “spin class,” Kyle might start blocking all calls from the 317 area code.
Kyle’s second and final Month-of-May spin at Indy ended his second Indy 500 earlier than he wished, but it might’ve ended early anyway — the 45-minute delay, due to a misting pop-up sprinkle, could’ve forced him out of the car before the checkers.
During the delay, the Fox cameras captured a great shot of Kyle in the cockpit, checking his watch and probably wondering what he did to anger Ol’ Man Doppler.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com