I hadn’t planned on a continuation of the media theme from yesterday, but Greg Engle’s column this morning…
A life lesson all too often learned too late is the wisdom of listening to your elders so you can benefit from their wisdom obtained by life’s lessons, the ones only experience can teach. This is especially true when the ones speaking are veterans of your vocation and/or avocation. Those who have been there, done that, read the book and bought the t-shirt are far more often than not ready and willing to share what they’ve learned along the way. This is one of the core elements of the human experience. As we are taught in Ecclesiastes there is nothing new under the sun. It behooves us, should we be in the mood to be behooved, to take in what has been absorbed by those who precede us.
Said all that to set up this. Recently, Dustin Long who is a top-notch reporter gathered together Kyle Petty, Jimmy Spencer and Larry McReynolds. He switched on the microphone, asked a few questions, and has been dodging shrapnel ever since. From direct challenges by Randy Poston to Brian France noting he was less than amused by the discussion, Long’s looked like the lead car at Talladega with one lap to go and no one behind him willing to push him along.
In the course of the aforementioned discussion, McReynolds made some pointed comments about the late David Poole. I interviewed Poole once, and read his work faithfully. Sometimes I wholeheartedly agreed with him, other times the response was an eyeroll and a ‘whatever.’ He called it as he saw it; consider it as you will.
McReynolds’ view was that Poole was excessively negative about NASCAR. Which is where Engle chimes in. In his view, the only thing wrong with NASCAR is that no one has taken Poole’s place as…
… exactly what?
While Engle’s strong defense of Poole is understandable given his open admiration for the man and his work, the assertion that with his passing there is a dearth of honest examination when it comes to all things NASCAR is absurd. No sport rises or falls on the basis of its reporting. The fans in the stands, as well as those watching at home who to a one have the ability to tune out the announcers should they choose to do so, are the sole true judges of any sport. They like it, they’re there. They don’t, they’re not. For a reporter to believe their words or those of a compatriot have the ability to significantly sway a large enough group of fans to make a difference in any direction grotesquely overestimates their influence. NASCAR’s sniping back at those who take potshots in its direction notwithstanding, no one is going to stop following the sport because of anything any reporter says.
Another element of Engle’s premise that falls apart under scrutiny is the notion that no one has yet assumed Poole’s mantle. Mantle of what? Media criticism has hardly dwindled. There isn’t a major writer covering NASCAR, be it Long or Lee Spencer or Jenna Fryer or anyone else, who has not severely taken it to task more than once this season. Absence of criticism by the media is not an issue. The very series of articles Engle points to contains a tremendous amount of honest critique based on the wisdom that comes solely through experience. Petty has experience on both the ownership and driving side. He’s won races. Spencer has won races. McReynolds has as a crew chief won races. When they speak about NASCAR, they know what they’re talking about. Engle reacting badly to McReynolds speaking plainly about his opinion of Poole’s tack when covering NASCAR doesn’t negate the rest of the conversation.
Ask the fans what they don’t like about NASCAR and they’ll be more than happy to tell you: too many dull races, too many dull drivers. They don’t need journalists to tell them this.
David Poole was a fine journalist, one whose memory deserves respect and honor. However, his absence isn’t what is wrong with NASCAR. Saying this is so ironically highlights something that actually is wrong with the sport: journalists who think too highly of themselves and/or hold fast to the delusion they are far more important than is actually the case, in the course of doing so dismissing the insight provided by those who’ve done the deed.
Bob Dylan said it best: “You can’t listen to critics.” Listen to your elders. First and foremost.
