Talk in the garage is at an all-time high that the “Winston West is dead”; but is it?
I don’t think so. Not by a long shot. The NASCAR Winston West has been held in the shadows of the NASCAR Winston Cup and that has been its blessing, and that has been its curse. A part of its past glory can directly be attributed to the fact that it was the sister series of the leading NASCAR division. But its woes are also directly related to the same and the pain is felt by the expense it incurs in being so similar to the Winston Cup. Teams running Ricky Rudd Fords, Tony Stewart Pontiacs and Ken Schrader Chevrolets learn quickly not just the expense in terms of travel, tires and repairs, they learn just how much work goes into maintaining a Winston West team, but then making it to the top and hard work have always gone hand in hand.
With a multi-billion dollar TV deal going to the Winston Cup, teams in the Winston West felt the sting of neglect as they were tossed the scraps of a disorganized TV deal. The series could easily draw larger crowds with a little enhanced exposure on the part of the sanctioning body, but maybe something that the teams and sponsors do not understand is how dedicated we, the fans are to this sport. We may not be in the stands, but it does not mean that we don’t follow the series. Many of us can only afford to go to a few races, but we follow the news of the drivers, crews and sponsors.
I will honestly say that when Bill McAnally was running the No. 2 (or was it an 02?) Mega Power car I faithfully took my car to Jiffy Lube because they had a Mega Power ad.
McAnally was also one of the first drivers to participate in the RacingWest question/answer surveys. I can remember to this day his stating that he was an appliance repairman. I was very impressed with the fact that someone could place a service call and there would be this star of the Winston West to make the repair, for it was just about the same time that the Winston Cup started having “airs” about who they were.
Now for over 10 years I was a personal secretary to Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren, managing their ranch and handling their personal affairs. I entertained the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino, Michael Jackson, Drew Barrymore, Donna Summers, Michael Cimino, Martin Scorcese, Peter Bogdonavich, the list goes on. Calls came in from Donald Trump, Enzo Ferrari, Robert Evans, Luciano Pavarotti, Elizabeth Taylor, Giovanni Agnelli and Cary Grant.
How is that related to the Winston West? It is related because these names and the people behind them impressed me less than the stars of the west, Roy Smith, Jimmy Insolo, Rick Carelli, and on it goes.
When the Winston West ceased qualifying in the Winston Cup races at Phoenix, I gave up my season tickets. A large percentage of watching the Winston Cup races at Phoenix was watching one of “our guys” make the field.
But now I have wandered from my point that regardless of the “attendance” at the race, we still support our drivers. I have relayed this before (albeit I used Simi Valley and I had actually meant Thousand Oaks) when the NAPA Auto Parts store was closed at 6pm in Thousand Oaks, we did not go to the open Pep Boys store a few blocks down; we waited for the next day. After all, NAPA had a picture of Brendan Gaughan up and they were supporting what we believed in.
It took me awhile to understand Bill Sedgwick’s sponsor. But it finally clicked. I saw 24 Hours on the car and it aroused my curiosity, but at the time I had no idea what 24 Hours was. Then I saw 24 Hours Fitness as the title sponsor for the Vegas race and the name stuck. I associated 24 Hour Fitness with not only Sedgwick, but as a supporter of the Winston West series. I mistakenly believed that they were a local organization in Vegas that was sponsoring a local event. Recently on my way to Simi Valley (Calif.) I was driving down Olson Road and there on my right was a 24 Hour Fitness Gym. I don’t go to gyms (I should, but that is another story), however I do have plenty of contacts that do utilize gyms and I will be more than pleased to suggest they try the conveniently located 24 Hour Fitness.
Perhaps if one thing could be improved, it is the need to educate new fans on what the Winston West series is. New fans would fill the stands. Those of us that are staunch followers of the series will always be, but fans that are new to racing do not understand the history, prestige, and beauty of the Winston West. And the dates need to be more evenly dispersed on the schedule. I know NASCAR did an ad for the series, but where is it played? Has anyone seen it? Word needs to get out to bring new fans in. These cars are worthy of the tracks like Pikes Peak and Sears Point, but seats are going to have to be filled before the tracks will want to pay for a race. If a track can fill seats for its local show then there is no excuse that NASCAR cannot fill seats for the Winston West. People need to know what the Winston West is and they need to learn about its stars. And, yes, there needs to be change.
Everyone is suspicious of change, but for the NASCAR Winston West Series to continue some changes will more likely than not be necessary. Change is what has kept the series alive for nearly 50 years. Like tides in the ocean, the series rises and falls, but it survives the roughest storms and with each new tide of change come improvements (or mistakes that are corrected).
The series is steeped in history dating back to it’s roots in 1954, when the legendary Hershel McGriff won the first pole and Dick Rathman in a 1952 Hudson the first race. Names like Petty, Allison and Earnhardt have all been included on Winston West entry lists at one time or another in the series history books.
The Winston West has given us stars we miss like Jim Robinson and stars that have moved on like Ron Hornaday, but the important thing is that the series has given us stars. A number of current drivers were helped by their experience in the Winston West, including today’s leading rookie and perhaps today’s biggest star in NASCAR, Kevin Harvick.
Changes are on the horizon for the Winston West series, but not it’s obituary. Like a butterfly from a cocoon it is ready to emerge. Is the series just a stepping-stone? Maybe. But you won’t find a better step up than the Winston West.
Can it continue to be the premier Series in the West? As popular as NASCAR is there is no excuse for it not to be. It is all a question of the responsible parties getting the word out about the NEW Winston West, welcoming old stars back and encouraging new stars to stay. And for the stars that take the step up, it is a chance for us to look forward to their occasional guest appearance, for like Kevin Harvick, some drivers will move on, but like Hershel McGriff, some will return as legends.
