Friday, January 09, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JEFF WOLF: Fans know who's No. 1 -- and who isn't

This was to be a Friday when I share my motorsports wishes for the New Year, but my high-speed version of Nostradamus will have to wait for another day.

A down-and-up week forces me to apologize and celebrate instead.

First, an apology with an explanation.

In my last column, the item on the best national driver of the year slighted NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, who won 12 titles and the season championship. Anderson finished third on my list, behind winner Ryan Newman of NASCAR and runner-up Paul Tracy of CART.

Anderson was ruled out of contending for No. 1 because he's a drag racer. Further firing up fans of the world's fastest sport was an unnecessary comment I made that "it's still drag racing."

That's one shot I regret firing.

During a weekend look at Nitromater.com, a great site for drag racing news and rumors, I learned drag racing fans were not happy with me, though a few friends tried to defend my poor choice of words.

'Maters, as many forum participants call themselves, blasted me pretty good.

Then the e-mails started to arrive.

I've been ripped, smacked and trashed by longtime stock car fans, but getting taken to the electronic woodshed by drag racers was painful. It was like getting disowned by your family.

I'm a latecomer to following NASCAR closely, and I do it because I get paid to.

Drag racing, however, is something I grew up dreaming about while reading Car Craft and Hot Rod magazines when they cost 50 cents a copy.

When wraithsinfloppers @yahoo.com wrote that my comment made him and other drag racers feel like "third-class citizens," I felt his pain.

David.Gawboy@tennant .com wrote, "Please do not be so dismissive of drag racing in the future.

"It's my favorite form of motorsports, followed only by NASCAR. If handed two sets of tickets to racing, and only allowed to keep one, I'll pick drag racing every time."

So would I.

I'm a drag racing fan at heart. I love the sport.

But you just can't compare the skill level of driving professionally on an oval or road-racing track with racing down a quarter-mile dragstrip. It's the 100-meter dash compared to a marathon.

For that reason, next year I will select three national drivers of the year: one each for drag racing, oval racing and road racing. It might be the easy way out, but it's the route to take if it keeps from upsetting my drag racing brethren. ...

The addition of Brendan Gaughan to the NASCAR Cup series is my reason to celebrate.

He gives Las Vegans another driver and hometown lad to follow closely as he joins three-year veteran Kurt Busch in America's biggest racing series. Toss in Kurt's 18-year-old brother, Kyle, and there could be three native Las Vegans competing in the March 7 Cup race at our local speedway.

What more could we ask for?

And I will crawl on hands and knees down the quarter-mile dragstrip at the speedway if Gaughan doesn't win this year's rookie of the year award or win a race.

Somehow, I just had to end up mentioning drag racing.

Jeff Wolf's motorsports column is published Friday. He can be reached at 383-0247 or jwolf@reviewjournal.com.