Auto Club Top Onnes

As outside observers of the NASCAR racing scene, we guess a lot. We watch and read and mostly put our own spin on what we have watched and read. But we don't know what's going on for the most part. You can get closer to the truth by talking and listening to others who are nearer to the action but rarely will you get the real, whole truth.

Scene Daily has this headline on one of it's posts today:

Junior not sure how he'll fit in with teammates

It's another attempt by those that cover the sport to find the "Kumbaya" moments in the story of a racecar driver. Here's the lead in;

Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't expect too many big bonding sessions between him and his new Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears.
My favorite racing film is the John Frankenheimer directed Grand Prix that came out in 1966. The movie is based upon the Robert Daley book, The Cruel Sport. The sub-title of the book is Grand Prix racing 1959-1957 and it is Daley's chronicle in words and pictures of those seasons from a very up close perspective. It is a fascinating read and I don't feel qualified to write a proper review. If you have any interest in auto racing and the people who drive the cars, read it.

One of Daley's many profiles is of America's first World Champion, Phil Hill. Hill is portrayed as "a gentle man in a profession devoid of gentleness." But when asked why he was not very friendly with other drivers he says:

"How can you be friends with a racing driver? You try to beat them all day on the circuit, and then at night you're supposed to forget all that? I think all racing drivers secretly hate each other anyway."

I believe that attitude is probably closer to reality than any notion of real closeness among teammates. People seemed shocked that, during his last seasons with Penske, Rusty Wallace couldn't seem to get along with Ryan Newman. Rusty was a guest ON PIT ROW last week. I wish I had asked him the same question that Daley asked Hill.