Thursday, March 6, 2008 | 3:33 p.m.
Sometimes I wish those in the mainstream media who don’t follow NASCAR on a regular basis would just go back to ignoring the sport – the way they did before NASCAR’s meteoric rise in popularity.
If that were the case, I wouldn’t be subjected to inane observations like the ones that greeted me this morning when I signed on to AOL. In a feature on its home page, AOL posted a photo of the late Dale Earnhardt and wondered which of NASCAR’s “young, up-and-coming drivers” were poised to become the new “Intimidator.”
AOL’s No. 10 and No. 9 choices? Dario Franchitti and Kasey Kahne. First of all, I would hardly call the 34-year-old Franchitti young, up-and-coming or intimidating – in fact, he might be the most pleasant driver in the NASCAR garage. Secondly, while Kahne certainly is a capable driver with tons of talent, I would hardly call him intimidating, either.
AOL fared better on its other eight picks, which included Kurt and Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. But as most seasoned NASCAR observers could have told AOL, there’ll never be another “Intimidator” quite like the original.
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