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NASCAR- How bad do you got it? Clever marketing slogan and an apt question for NASCAR Nation. From what I’ve seen, most have it pretty bad, and for the most part, that’s not bad.

It’s interesting to learn how different fans came upon their favorite driver, and the reasons are pretty diverse. Some go for the hometown boy. It helps that now we have a sport where drivers are from such far flung locations as Wisconsin, Southern California, New Jersey, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, and places you’d expect like North Carolina (home to NASCAR), and Florida (home to the legendary Daytona track). Folks have a lot to pick from. Others identify with particular personalities. I selected Jeff Gordon dues to his clean cut Christian lifestyle (which he was not shy about when he first started), his focus behind the wheel and because he was a Cali boy like me. Some of the ladies (especially the younger ones) root for drivers they think are hot. Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Junior come up a lot there. If you prefer the more mature driver, you’ll see votes pop up for Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. Others are partial to manufacturers. If you don’t believe that, check out all the venom thrown Toyota’s way. And yet others think a particular kind of sponsor is cool. Budweiser has a lot of fans, and some are still in shock that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (the rugged manly driver) is no longer the “face” of Bud, and he’s replaced by the boyish looking Kasey Kahne.

You get all kinds of reasons, but one thing NASCAR fans agree on is they LOVE their drivers. It’s a merchandiser’s dream. I can only imagine the (dare I say?) BILLIONS spent on mugs, posters, miniature cars, tee shirts, hats, tank tops, jackets, and yes, even costumes (my little guy is going out as Junior on Halloween). What’s next, NASCAR toilet paper? Hmmm, wiping my nether regions with Tony Stewart, kind of amusing if you ask me. People report getting all kinds of crazy when their drivers win, and they are sad or furious when something bad happens to them. Such misfortune has spawned the most outrageous conspiracy theories known to mankind. JFK conspiracy? That’s nothing compared to NASCAR loading the deck in favor of Hendrick Motor Sports golden boys Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, over say he slightly less (in the opinions of some) photogenic and congenial Tony Stewart or Robbie Gordon. I won’t even go down the road of how some have speculated that DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt has sabotoged the engines of her estranged step-son. It’s crazy what a passionate fan will dream up. It’s like the days when the ancient Greeks would blame a volcanic eruption on Zeus, because he was mad that his wine tasted bad! We laugh, but we do the same doggoned thing.

If you’ve been to a few NASCAR message boards, then you know that such passion can give rise to conflict. I admit to getting very upset when a Yahoo Answers! poster called my favorite driver a…….loser? I argued back that it would stink to be her when Jeff Gordon won his 5th Cup. I was also quick to point out the 79 wins and 4 titles. I could be postulating a conspiracy theory of my own when I say that I found it curious that my “thumbs down” count seemed unusually high that day. I’ll admit to being bothered. Why should I care what some (more than likely) 15 year old thinks? I dunno, but it made me think about how fans of the same sport treat each other.

In the wake of it, I’ve developed my own code of conduct. Really, it’s a re-adoption of a code that has gotten lost when being angered by what I feel are childish comments on a message board.

1) Be proud of your driver. In doing so, think for a moment how your conduct reflects on the driver, and other fans of the same guy. I’ll be the first to say I’m ashamed of how some other Gordon fans behave towards Junior Nation. I’m not talking about linguini spined political correctness, but give a person a right to like who they like, even if you can’t stand the guy.

2) Talking smack ain’t necessarily trashy..if you keep it in context. Comments that are to the effect of “My driver is better than yours” is no big deal. A little teasing about Gordon and Kahne being pretty boys isn’t really all that nasty. While not really true, calling Earnhardt fans hicks isn’t out of bounds on some level. But it goes WAY too far when people call Gordon or Earnhardt gay, or call Kahne a “porn star.” I really hate non-NASCAR fans calling fans of the motorsport inbreeds. There’s a line there, and I think most reasonable people know where it is- yet it gets crossed a lot!

3) And please, for the love of Mike, don’t HATE me because I root for a driver that is alternately loved and reviled. Just because I root for the Rainbow Warrior DOES NOT mean I’m gay, a yuppy, or that I necessarily hate the Earnhardts and Earnhardt fans. Actually, I root for both. Me liking Gordon does not make me a bad person. IF you’re off the side of the road with a flat, I’ll pull over and help you. If you’re being attacked, I’ll defend you. And I will NOT, I repeat NOT dislike you if you prefer Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick over my favorite, even though I think there are times the two of them are petulant jerks. It doesn’t make you a bad person. I honestly think there are some who can’t separate the two.

How refreshing it would be if we focused a little more often on what we have in common. We love auto racing and NASCAR in particular. Our pastime is reviled by many as being the sport of choice for morons, hicks and goons. We’d help ourselves a lot if we’d think a little more often about how our behavior reflects on like-minded people. Let’s enjoy the race. I’ll root for the #24 Dupont Chevrolet, you can root for the #9 UAW Dodge, the #20 Home Depot Chevy, the #17 De Walt Ford or whomever you want. Anyway, if you’re anything like me (and I bet you are on this score), you have more than one driver you root for.

Sure, tease me about how “pretty” “Jeffy Pooh’s” car is. I might return a barb about how Tony Stewart looks a bit like the Great Pumpkin in his racing suit (that comes close to crossing a line, but I think most will give me a pass). Let’s have fun with it, enjoy our common bonds during our virtual barbecues and let’s not throw a bunch of mud on each other. We have more than enough outside our community doing it.

Why can’t we be friends?