Is "Madhouse" True to Short Track Racing?  Yes!

Did NASCAR Media and Fans Become Too Good for a Madhouse?

By Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com

It has been a while since I was excited about a new television show…I simply do not watch a lot of non-sports TV. The opening night of Madhouse, the new show on the History Channel about the racers at Bowman Grey Stadium, was on my short “Must See” list but I was expecting to be disappointed. Instead I was amazed at how the show brought the characters of short track racing alive! Checking out the media reviews on Monday I was astonished to see how negative the reaction was to the show. Did NASCAR media and the fans become too good to enjoy a Madhouse?

Highlight Reel Mentality

Like it or not folks, we live in a highlight reel world! Madhouse fed that mentality by playing up the crazy side of the racing scene at Bowman Gray Stadium. This wasn't being touted as a racing recap show folks; this was a behind the scenes peek at the world of BGS. NASCAR uses that same formula every week with NASCAR Images making every pass look like the pass of the century. Madhouse used the same formula.

Southern Modified Racing

While I have never attended racing at Bowman Grey Stadium, I have been lucky to catch some southern modified racing at other tracks in North Carolina and Virginia. This is a unique breed of racers that is clearly a throwback to the rougher roots of NASCAR. The racers not only beat and bang on the track, but find unique ways to engineer solutions to fix-it problems back in the shop. Madhouse did a great job of showing the redneck side of southern modified racing. Why does red neck have to be a negative term for so many?

Support Your Local Short Track

Ten minutes into Madhouse I recognized so many people from my local short tracks!.Every track does have its white knights and their black hats. The fans that rush to the catch fence to flip the black hat the one finger salute also show up every week. Spend a night back in the garage area for four straight weeks and if you don't see a fist fight or scuffle you have a boring track! Now I am not condoning idiotic behavior of coming close to running over track officials, but this stuff does happen. The healthier the track's attendance the better job they have done in playing up the rivalries. Good rivalries also breed great racing!

Talladega Infield

Many of those complaining about the image Madhouse sends to non-race fans also talk up the insanity that is the Talladega infield! Does everyone attending a race at 'Dega show up with a Rebel flag minus their front teeth and rasslin' in the mud? No. But if you walk around long enough you will see some people eligible for their spot on PeopleofWalmart.com! Just as these extreme examples of 'Dega race fans show up on every picture about the track, the outlandish folks at Bowman Gray Stadium also stand out on Madhouse. When was the last time you saw the protester on the evening news with a sign that said, “Please lower my taxes now.” Instead you see the guy screaming at the top of his lungs, “Blank you Obama!”

Our Roots are Showing

NASCAR racing's roots do go back to the moonshiners and that culture still exists today. Stories of drivers shooting at the flag man because he had the nerve to flash the black flag ARE stories of our sport. One wife of a famous driver did carry a brick in her purse and knew how to use it! NASCAR spends so much time running away from the roots of our sport that we should embrace.

Football fans often call the NFL the “No Fun League” and would love the characters that live at Bowman Grey Stadium. While I am certainly not advocating a return to the “Wild West” days of NASCAR if our guys and gals got their finger nails dirtied up a bit that would be good news for the sport. Perhaps we have just gotten too good for a sport whose roots were definitely red neck and we hate it that our roots are showing.

Get the latest news from inside the world of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on BAM Spirit and catch our American pride! Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen are joined every week by the folks that make BAM Racing go. Our midweek edition of Doin' Donuts will look at the latest news, views and nonsense with just the right amount of sprinkles. The fun begins at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com