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It wouldn’t be NASCAR without the legends by Jeff Hammond
FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW’s three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

Updated: December 27, 2008, 3:01 PM EST 131 comments add this RSS blog email Print I am trying not to be negative but there are a lot of things out there that have me very concerned about our sport. There are already rumors about teams starting to park cars in the Sprint Cup series. I am also hearing there are possibly issues at DEI-Ganassi with some guys not getting paid. Then you also have the Pettys and their situation. I was by one of their shops today and noticed a lot of equipment and cars were already moved out and looked like it was headed back to Level Cross.

It is just tough times all the way around. I am hoping like in the Pettys’ case something can get worked out soon. They have lost Bobby Labonte but I know they have drivers that will drive for them if they could secure sponsorship. We are all holding our breath because one of the most recognizable numbers and families in the history of NASCAR may be in trouble.

In that same vein you have the Wood Brothers — iconic family and car number in our sport. They have already announced they will be forced to only run a limited schedule in 2009. All these organizations are facing the same hurdle. They need an infusion of money to get them collectively back to where they can be competitive. We’ve got to figure a way to get them back to where we see them up front like all those years in the past.

We expect the Roush-Fenway cars to run well and to fight for a top 12 position in the Chase. We expect that from Hendrick and Gibbs, too. Why shouldn’t we expect the same from the Pettys or the Woods? On any given Sunday you should see that No. 43 and that No. 21 up front but it is not happening. Neither has been able to put together a serious charge. And to me, that is a sad state of affairs.

You know, I never thought I would be able to envision NASCAR without the legendary Junior Johnson or Bud Moore but, unfortunately, we have seen it happen. The reality is that I can see the possibility without the Pettys or the Woods in NASCAR. It’s just a sign of how our sport has evolved. This didn’t happen overnight. It has been a slow process.

I liken it sometimes to fighting a disease. Sometimes you just can’t find a cure and that’s the problem. Dale Earnhardt Inc. is in the same boat. Unfortunately they have been on a slippery slope downhill. Hopefully the Ganassi merger will be what’s needed to shore them up and get both those organizations to where they can get literally back on track.

I honestly don’t think race fans have a full understanding of how bad it is. I also don’t think the new fans can fully grasp the possible concept of a Richard Petty or the Wood Brothers not being in our sport. These are literally pieces of the foundation of our sport and a tie to the past. It’s just very scary that we haven’t done a better job of keeping people in tune with our sport. These are the folks that made it what it is. Let me give you an extreme example: It would be like the New York Yankees closing down and not playing baseball anymore.

We did a better job of shining a light and honoring our past during the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500. We did it recently by having Cale Yarborough be part of the NASCAR awards banquet. These new fans got to see and learn about this guy who 30 years ago was dominating our sport.

We need to do a better job of honoring our past heroes in our sport. We should be talking history at the same time as we shine all the glory on today’s superstars in our sport.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8982042/It-wouldn’t-be-NASCAR-without-the-legends