Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008 | 4:43 p.m.
Alleged NASCAR fan Robert Weintraub, a freelance TV producer and sports writer, has written an opinion piece for Slate.com headlined: “Gentlemen, stop your engines—A NASCAR fan makes the case to euthanize stock-car racing.”
Weintraub believes that the current plight of the Detroit automakers, shrinking interest in Detroit’s products, the economic decline, and other issues plaguing the sport make it more and more difficult to justify the existence of stock-car racing. He states in his opinion piece: “Detroit’s nightmare is an opportunity for NASCAR to do the right thing and suspend operations. Once it goes, we’ll probably wonder why it ever existed in the first place.”
Weintraub also seems to suggest that the sport simply can’t survive the challenges it now faces.
Obviously the author’s knowledge of NASCAR’s history is casual at best since the sport has weathered economic downturns, the demise of manufacturer support and consumers’ changing tastes in automobiles before.
If you’re an avid NASCAR fan who takes blood pressure medication, I wouldn’t recommend reading Weintraub’s piece without first consulting your doctor. For everyone else, you can read the story here. Make sure you check out the excellent rebuttals from some of the fans who disagreed with the story.
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