"Red Hat Hero"
submitted by "Polly"
M.L. Morgan (referee)
Well, race fans, we have decided to turn our Sound Off!
page over to you.
This will be your forum and we encourage you to submit your opinions to us.
Don't be bashful.
Another snippet of life as a race fan from our friend "Polly".
This Winston Cup "Hat Routine" can be very
confusing. One barely knows which driver to root for anymore. When I
started watching Winston Cup racing, Dale Earnhardt was at the top of
his game. Black car, all aggression, push, bump, "outta my way guys".
I heard the boos. Ah! he wears a BLACK hat, one of the bad guys. Now
that Dale's career is waning, we have given him a WHITE hat.
Several years ago, an apple-cheeked, spit-shined kid named Jeff Gordon came on
the scene. He immediately was granted a WHITE hat. One of the good
guys. Before I could blink, his hat turned a muddy GRAY, and now Jeff's
hat is a darker BLACK than Earnhardt's ever was. So much for figuring
out who is who.
Mark Martin has always worn a WHITE hat. Perhaps
because he is the "forever bridesmaid". The first runner-up. The first loser. If he
ever becomes the "bride", his hat may turn BLACK. Dale Jarrett's hat is
so WHITE right now, it is almost blinding. But then, he has friends in
high places.
Others wear clown hats, merely looking foolish most of the time.
Michael Waltrip and Derrike Cope, to name a couple. Sometimes, you can
wear a WHITE hat, then a BLACK hat, and if you hang around too long, a
clown hat. Stand up, Darrell Waltrip.
There are new hats, "Little E". Old hats, Dave Marcis. And of course the bland beige hats. You know,
the drivers who show up every week, ride at the back of the pack,
collect a couple of bucks, and then tell their grandchildren, "hey, I
raced in Winston Cup". Generally, Nascar does not care what color hat a
driver wears. In fact, they encourage change. Hat switching keeps the
fans interesed, and the Nascar bank accounts bursting. EXCEPT, Nascar
frowns on the RED hat. You know, the one a driver puts on when he is
angry.
Nascar drivers are supposed to be "just one big happy family". No
discord, thank you very much. This brings me to my favorite "RED Hat
Hero" story. It involves Rusty Wallace. Rusty has almost always worn
the WHITE hat. He is a great interview, crisp Miller Lite uniform,
flashing, friendly smile. But one Sunday, a Johnny on the spot
announcer caught Rusty off guard. He had just been handed an "unfair"
Nascar penalty. "Rusty, how do feel about what happened?" Rusty
blurted out a "bad word". "Naughty, naughty, mustn't do." said Nascar,
and ordered Rusty to pay a cash fine. Now, I've seen a few gutsy
drivers take on the likes of Dale Earnhardt, but Rusty went one step
further. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, threw on the RED
hat, and thumbing his nose at the Nascar Czar, had his penance delivered
by truck totally in PENNIES. Way to go Rusty!!! Seems I read the
Nascar Czar laughed. Sure he did. Since then, we've seen Rusty put on
that RED hat more than a few times. Knowing what we do, I think we had
better keep him away from the BLACK hat!!!!
Have comments or questions? E-mail: M.L. Morgan
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