Driver Fans Versus Team Fans

Well, there is one race left in the 2023 NASCAR Cup series season.  Therefore, there is one race left in Kevin Harvick’s career.  Harvick has not only been a major force and voice in NASCAR for the past two decades.  He’s been a major personality in NASCAR.  Harvick is a driver with a lot of fans, due to his personality and public persona.  Thus, his retirement has to be somewhat concerning for NASCAR.  Clearly, the topic of driver fans versus team fans has come up as a result.

Well,, just loaded the last hot rod.. It’s been a very emotional day to say the least. So proud of KH and every single person on this race team. It’s hard to believe it’s almost over, but man have we done some incredible things as a team.. .. 👊🏼👊🏼@StewartHaasRcng@KevinHarvick

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) October 31, 2023

Jeff Gordon believes that teams should work on cultivating team fans.  This would be beneficial to the sport, because team fans are loyal to the team.  Then it wouldn’t be such a big concern when a superstar level driver retires.  I have encountered many Harvick fans online who state that they are done with the sport once Harvick is done.  Furthermore, often when a co-worker finds out I’m a NASCAR fan, they tell me they stopped watching when Dale Sr. died.

On the surface, it definitely seems like Jeff Gordon has a very valid point.  Still it is not as black and white or cut and dry as it seems.  There is going to be overlap.  Superstar drivers bring new fans in.  I would even argue that superstar drivers can be key in turning driver fans into team fans.  Also I believe that since NASCAR seems to be determined to micro-manage their sport (with this next-gen car), some of this responsibility for fan loyalty falls on NASCAR more so than the teams.

Auto Racing is a Unique Sport

Auto racing is somewhat of a unique sport.  Yes, it is very much a team sport.  Without the team’s hard work each and every week, the driver wouldn’t be in competitive equipment.  If the pit crew isn’t able to change four tires and fill up the fuel tank in 10 seconds or less, it doesn’t matter how fast the car is or how good the driver is.  This is especially true in the next gen days of rule book enforced “parity.”

At the same time, the driver is very much the focus or face of the sport.  You could argue the crew chief is up there as well, despite the fact that the goal of the next gen seems to be to make the crew chief less important.  We no longer have lengthy practice sessions.  The vast majority of the work that the team does is not televised.  You may get some insight into the team’s work from an interview with a crew chief, but for the most part, the pit crew is the only part of the team (other than the driver) which has their work televised.

Of course, Jeff Gordon is correct that teams should work to cultivate team loyal fans.  Personally, though I think you have to ask, how do they go about doing that? The entire presentation of the sport is focused mostly on the driver.  Teams can do a lot with social media, but if NASCAR wants to lock in fans via team loyalty, they’re going to need to do something a little different.

How Driver Fans Become Team Fans

Barring NASCAR and their TV partners doing something a bit different, one way that team loyalty is cultivated is through driver loyalty.  Given how the sport is so interconnected, it doesn’t make sense to separate these two types of fans into two categories.  Perhaps, it is something more like a stage process.  The driver pulls new fans and said fans become team fans over time.  Of course, this requires the driver to be with a team for some time, and even then, when a superstar driver switches teams, many fans will still go with them.

Still, in such cases, NASCAR isn’t losing fans overall.  Joe Gibbs may lose Kyle Busch fans to Richard Childress, but the fans are still in the sport. Retirement is really the only situation in which NASCAR has to worry about losing fans.  The question is, “Do Kyle Busch fans remain RCR fans when Kyle Busch retires?”

Kevin Harvick as an Example:

Since Kevin Harvick’s upcoming retirement has helped bring about this conversation, I believe we should look at his example.  There is no doubt that Kevin Harvick is a superstar driver that has a high level of fan loyalty.  While there are some fans that may say they are done after this year, I think that it is just as likely that more fans will stay with Stewart-Haas Racing.  Yes, there are some more vocal fans that may be upset with the state of SHR for Harvick’s final season.  Still Stewart-Haas has done a wonderful job sending the legend off.

#4EVER The Closer@KevinHarvick is one of the smartest, most versatile racers ever. But The Closer will be known for much more than getting the job done on track.

He’ll be known for the impact he’s had at our team, in our sport, and on those around him. pic.twitter.com/rVOb4DAmT0

— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) November 2, 2023

Of course, every Harvick fan would have loved to see a 2020 type regular season, but it’s hard to hold anything against Stewart-Haas, as a Harvick fan, because of their #4EVER campaign.  This has been the best retirement tour that a team has put on for a top driver that I can think of, at least. In that sense alone, you can see that Stewart-Haas is showing loyalty back to a superstar driver that was instrumental in the development of the team.  Harvick fans will remember that.  I know I will.  In Jeff Gordon’s world of a focus solely on team loyalty, is a #4EVER campaign something that even happens?

As a Harvick fan, I know I won’t forget the year one championship made possible by Stewart-Haas, Rodney Childers, and the #4 team.  This especially applies to any fan that has been a fan from his first cup season.  There were a lot of good times at RCR, but there was a lot of frustration as well.  That 2014 championship and all those SHR wins catapulted Harvick up from a great driver to a legend.

Driver Responsibilities Versus Team Responsibilities:

Of course, promoting a driver isn’t necessarily a team’s responsibility.  Again, let’s look at Harvick’s example.  Harvick has stated that early in his cup career, when there were bad days (or even bad years), that you had to do something to keep your name in the conversation.  By far, I believe, that the driver has the biggest responsibility for not only promoting themselves, but also for cultivating and maintaining a persona, as part of that.

Driver Responsibilities:

Dale Earnhardt didn’t just get the nickname “The Intimidator,” nor was it simply applied to him.  It wasn’t just some empty corporate trademark.  Dale Earnhardt went out there and created “The Intimidator,” the same way a rock (or country music) star would go out and create an image, persona, or even a character for themselves to play on the public stage. Whether it’s Dale Earnhardt, Tim Richmond, Tony Stewart, or Kevin Harvick, these drivers didn’t just “play music” (to stick with the analogy).  They crafted an image.  Every superstar has done this.  It’s a combination of racing, performance art, media manipulation, and great advertising.

These superstar drivers are your Hank Williams Jr, Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, etc.  They are the epitome of the Nietzschean approach to life as an opportunity to overcome one’s self and become something larger.  Of course, teams should do what they can to promote team loyalty.  That is without question.  It shouldn’t be an either/or situation though.  If a team has one of these superstar drivers, they should do what they can to promote (and keep) them, as long as it’s mutually beneficial.

A driver can choose to not project a persona and focus solely on driving, of course.  Still, such a driver will need to pull off Jimmie Johnson level success on the track to gain fan loyalty that a slightly less successful but more colorful driver would gain.  Winning is great, but you’re not going to win every week.  It certainly isn’t on the team to keep the driver relevant during those weeks (or years even).

Team Responsibilities:

The team is the band.  (I am going to stick with this analogy, because I think it works better than trying to compare a NASCAR team to a football team.) If Kevin Harvick is Sammy Hagar (or David Lee Roth depending on your vocalist preference), then Rodney Childers is Eddie Van Halen (except they get along much better).  Everyone on the team is instrumental.  The team should be spotlighting everyone involved whenever they get the chance.

The problem is that I don’t think this is the type of “team fan” that Jeff Gordon is talking about.  Jeff Gordon wants the type of fan that will always root for the team regardless of not only who is driving the car, but also regardless of the crew chief and the pit crew.  I think Jeff Gordon is actually talking about organizational loyalty over individual loyalty, rather than team fans and driver fans.  I’m just not sure how a team achieves that, other than consistently hiring the best and most interesting individuals.

I may be biased by my own personal existential philosophy and political leanings.  I have always been more of a driver fan.  Then again I’m a huge Rodney Childers fan as well.  His response on X to being suspended by NASCAR in 2022 after Talladega was classic.  It came at a time when his entire team was understandably upset with NASCAR over the crappy parts of the next gen car.  I don’t believe a team has a responsibility to promote any individual on said team, but I do believe the team-as-an-organization has a responsibility to allow individual personalities to flourish.

That’s what I love about Stewart-Haas Racing.

NASCAR’s Responsibilities:

I think NASCAR has a huge responsibility here.  After all, they benefit the most from all the team/organization/owner fans and driver fans.  They benefit from the individual performance of the drivers on (and off) the track.  While I am not sure how a team like Hendrick Motorsports creates fan loyalty regardless of driver, crew chief, and pit crew members, I think I am sure of how NASCAR can maximize exposure for the good that they have.

That answer is simple.  Get out of the damn way!  That is NASCAR’s responsibility, in my mind.  Let the next generation develop the way drivers like Harvick and crew chiefs like Childers developed.  No one wants an authoritarian governing body.  The next gen car, the gimmick tracks, the so-called “parity”, and all this crap such as not letting the teams modify the parts, just stop it.  Stop micro-managing the sport in this obsessive-compulsive fashion.  You’re ruining it.

Jeff Gordon wants more team fans.  You’re not going to achieve that by making the crew chief and pit crew less and less relevant.  So far, from where I’m sitting, the next gen car is a total failure, if the goal is creating team fans.  Organizations don’t automatically have personalities, that’s why they hire them.  If “team fans” mean, putting the spotlight on other members of the team, I’m all for it.  If it means you expect me to watch the race because I want this or that team owner to win without caring about the personalities that make up the team, then kick rocks.

Conclusions

I like the attitude of Stewart-Haas Racing.  Harvick may be retiring at the end of this season, but they still have Rodney Childers.  They still have Tony Stewart.  They still give the individuals who work for them the room to become something more.  Stewart-Haas Racing still gives drivers second chances, even though their manufacturer doesn’t always allow it.

Driver fans can become team fans, but it’s more than that.  Stewart-Haas Racing is a team that knows who they are, even as an organization.  That’s how you create team fans.  The team, much like a driver, has to develop an identity beyond just the name and numbers on the car.  Like it or not, the individuals that make up a team play a huge role in developing that team identity.  The team has to not only allow said individuals to develop their own way, but it has to stand by them, especially when no one else will.

Stewart-Haas Racing isn’t the only example of this.  They just happen to be the example of a team that suits my personality as a fan.  RFK Racing is another example.  Hendrick Motorsports is as well.  I just think it’s an over-reaction to start trying to add another layer of micro-management to try and cultivate a specific idealized type of fan.  There will always be those fans who leave the sport, but I think that issue has less to do with driver fans versus team fans than people think.  I think it has much more to do with casual fans versus hardcore fans.