Sticking My Neck Out

Fan Commentary by Grandstand Bob

Grandstand Bob is an amalgamation of race fans we’ve met through the years on the Winston Cup circuit.

He is passionate about racing, and though he’ll never admit it, he’s a fan of most drivers. The only drivers on his bad side are those who take on an air of superiority or those who bitch and moan all of the time without admitting when they screw up.

His favorite place to be is the track, though traffic and high prices get under his skin. Still, he likes nothing better than going to a race with a bunch of fans, tailgating before and after the big show.

He votes Republican and carries an NRA card. Through most of the ‘90s, Charlton Heston was his president. He has many black friends, and they, as well as he, would like to see more diversity in the stands; however, he doesn’t believe that minorities have systematically been excluded from the sport, and the last thing that he wants to see is Jesse Jackson taking a parade lap.

Restrictor plates are in the way of good racing, he believes. As a matter of fact, he would like to see the drivers have more control of their destinies in the races. Though he appreciates the quality of engineering, he’d rather see races decided on the track than in the wind tunnel. Fenders are on the cars for a reason.

Bob has some education and a good-paying job, and the redneck stereotype myth perpetuated by non-fans irritates him. He knows both native and non-native Southerners, and he knows fans from all income brackets, and he enjoys the fact that there is very little difference between any of them on race day.