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Austin Dillon emerges as Nationwide title contender; Danica Patrick is tied in the points with Tayler Malsam, so where's his coverage?
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Another bad day for Ricky Stenhouse, another good day for Austin Dillon.
The end result; Dillon is now the main rival against Elliott Sadler for the top points position in Nationwide, sitting just 8 points behind vs. Stenhouse's 27 point deficit.
The defending champ, Stenhouse's season has taken a bad turn lately.
Dillon is continuing his surge, and the kid has got talent. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the top spot away from Sadler soon, and if he wins the title he will be very deserving.
Dillon is not just in a racecar because he's Richard Childress' grandson. He is there because he's got talent. And pretty soon, I see him driving a black #3 in the Cup series for the first time since Sr. died -- and that, I believe, will be a very cool thing to see.
Sadler is not going to give up though, and will battle his teammate for the title, but one thing is clear to me: it looks like barring a Stenhouse resurgence, a Richard Childress team will be hoisting the Nationwide Series championship trophy this year.
Danica Patrick vs. Tayler Malsam
Looking at the Nationwide standings after Saturday's race at Michigan, Danica Patrick sits in 11th place, one spot behind 10th place Tayler Malsam. They both have one top 10 finish after 13 races.
Tayler who?, you say.
Goes to show that this sport is as much about marketing as it is about performance, though to be fair it's not exactly something NASCAR denies.
Still, you gotta feel bad for Tayler Malsam. Maybe I should give him a call? ... But then again, how many of you would want to read about it?
Therein lies the conundrum. ... We in the media know Danica is really not that much more special of a driver than many of her lesser-known competitors.
But, and this is a really big but, they are lesser-known, and most people don't care about them.
And for whatever reason, people do care about Danica, even if she has the same number of points as Tayler Malsam, is below Joe Nemechek and Mike Bliss in the points, and hasn't shown a hint of competing for a win lately.
So whether Tayler Malsam is overachieving, Danica Patrick is underachieving, both are true or neither is true, it's pretty much a given that Danica will get more media coverage. That's partly our fault, and it's partly the fault of the fans; we give them what they want to read, and I'm pretty sure it ain't stories about Tayler Malsam.
posted by Matt Myftiu at
7:07 PM
7 Comments:
I understand why reporters write about the underperforming Danica but why can't they report instead of promote? Find out how much money Pimp Daddy pays the Earnhardts and their Crew chief. Now that would be interesting.
Reminds me of the chicken and the egg. Myself and everybody I know don't recall clammering for information about the Marketing Princess, don't want to know, don't care. She is a creation of some deep pockets, not talent. So bring on the Taylors of the world in your reporting, it might help them with deserving sponsorship. Nas$$$ likes the money but the fans like racing.
I'd rather hear about Tayler Malsam. He's living up to the hype. If he becomes a superstar, I want to know about him now, not when he becomes the flavor of the day. Princess Sparklehorse has had her moment in the spotlight and we already know that she won't amount to more than a consistent top fifteen finisher.
I'd rather hear about Tayler Malsam. He's living up to the hype. If he becomes a superstar, I want to know about him now, not when he becomes the flavor of the day. Princess Sparklehorse has had her moment in the spotlight and we already know that she won't amount to more than a consistent top fifteen finisher.
Princess Sparklejhorse -- I like it.
Wow, where to begin. Let's start with a couple of quotes. Tayler Maksam: "...how many of you would want to read about it (him)?" You're supposing what the fans of the sport want. Bold move there. How do you know we wouldn't want to read about him? Another quote, this one about some of the other Nationwide Series drivers: "...they are lesser-known, and most people don't care about them." Again, who's "most people"? The fans, or the media? You don't speak for the fans, but you think you do. How do you know we (the fans) don't want to know about these guys (and gals)? Speaking of gals, where's the coverage of Johanna Long, who, with an underfunded team, once again outperforms The Bimbo? I wish the media would stop thinking it speaks for the fans. It only speaks for itself.
The media only covers the drivers that are affiliated with the cup teams. It would do the NNS a great service to also cover the guys/gals who drive for smaller teams.
Tayler Malsam drives for TriStar Motorsports, which isn't exactly Joe Gibbs Racing. They are a low budget team and he is managing to stay in the top 10 in points and run side by side with Danica every week. That should say something about him.
I'd rather read about these guys who are doing more with less, than read about the drivers who have top 10s & 5's handed to them on a silver platter.
If the media would cover some of these drivers, maybe a guy like Tayler Malsam could get some sponsorship opportunities and go to a JGR and show off his real talent. All I can say is he would be driving a lot better than what Brian Scott is doing in the 11 car.
I want to hear about Tayler Malsam and I'm sure the real fans of the sport, would like to be introduced to him as well.
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