First, let me state that for any sport I am not in favor of 'fan voting' for an All-Star event. Major League Baseball, for example, is more about a popularity contest than about which player is more deserving based on performance from the season.
The past week, Dale Jr made a comment that he hoped his 'Nation' would 'vote Elliott Sadler into the All-Star race'. While on the surface this is a nice gesture, but it does put Sadler in a no win situation.
1) If he doesn't 'race' his way into the race. (which in itself is not an easy thing to do) There can be the perception that Sadler just doesn't have 'what it takes' to make such a race.
2) If he does indeed get voted in, and doesn't run well, also the 'what it takes' perception maybe perceived.
In today's 'all or nothing' attitude with many fans (and that includes all sports), many times what gets lost are the little things that prevented the high level success. In Dallas, many fans call this the 'Superbowl or Bust' syndrome.
On the other hand, if Sadler is voted in with the help of the JR Nation, it may just be the "Racing God's" returning the favor from the 2000 All-Star Open when Sadler had a very good car that night, but the effort was cut short by an aggressive Mike Skinner (then driving the 31 car for RCR).
Watching this video reminds me of a few things. The first thing is that the contact looks very similar to the Sadler/Stewart contact from Darlington last week. Also the video doesn't show the previous couple of laps where the 31car was running the 21car 'up the track' almost every corner. But then again, that is a product of a non points race I guess.
Honestly, the only way for Sadler to 'win', is for him to drive the 19 car into victory lane at some point Saturday night. And sadly, that is not very fair.
The past week, Dale Jr made a comment that he hoped his 'Nation' would 'vote Elliott Sadler into the All-Star race'. While on the surface this is a nice gesture, but it does put Sadler in a no win situation.
1) If he doesn't 'race' his way into the race. (which in itself is not an easy thing to do) There can be the perception that Sadler just doesn't have 'what it takes' to make such a race.
2) If he does indeed get voted in, and doesn't run well, also the 'what it takes' perception maybe perceived.
In today's 'all or nothing' attitude with many fans (and that includes all sports), many times what gets lost are the little things that prevented the high level success. In Dallas, many fans call this the 'Superbowl or Bust' syndrome.
On the other hand, if Sadler is voted in with the help of the JR Nation, it may just be the "Racing God's" returning the favor from the 2000 All-Star Open when Sadler had a very good car that night, but the effort was cut short by an aggressive Mike Skinner (then driving the 31 car for RCR).
Watching this video reminds me of a few things. The first thing is that the contact looks very similar to the Sadler/Stewart contact from Darlington last week. Also the video doesn't show the previous couple of laps where the 31car was running the 21car 'up the track' almost every corner. But then again, that is a product of a non points race I guess.
Honestly, the only way for Sadler to 'win', is for him to drive the 19 car into victory lane at some point Saturday night. And sadly, that is not very fair.
3 comments:
I really enjoyed Elliott in the #21!
No win for Sadler.....how fitting
New knickname maybe?
Lets sit back and watch him go backwards from the pole tomorrow night.
Success for Sadler ?
Baloney ! ( Still his claim to fame)
His level of incompetence was surpassed long ago....
McDonald's is a great sponsor, with its french fries.
Sadler is positively "small potatoes !"
Post a Comment