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NASCAR continues to dumb-down the racing fans

Even Bill Veeck, the baseball showman who never met a gimmick he couldn't shake a stick at (or his peg leg), wouldn't try to sell this: an all-female pit crew.

Annika at the Colonial is one thing. Getting a bunch of women gussied-up to perform over-the-wall in a Truck series race is a farce.

But give Texas Motor Speedway general manager Eddie Gossage credit. He openly admits the Aaron's Dream Team -- the dressed-in-pink crew for Shawna Robinson -- is nothing more than a publicity stunt for Friday night's O'Reilly 400K.

And that's the problem: The Truck series has deteriorated to where gimmicks are needed to sell tickets. What's next, Mike Tyson vs. Butterbean in a pie-eating contest? Or Joe Millionaire vs. The Bachelorette in a loser-leave-town mud wrestling extravaganza?

For many years mainstream America gave the common folks of NASCAR a hard time because we rooted for 180 mph rolling billboards. How many times have you heard drivers mocked because they went on camera and answered a question with, "Well, the RC Co'coler-Moonpie Chevy really ran well today, but it was just one of 'em racin' deals ... "

Then by shrewd marketing of a great on-track product, NASCAR began creeping into the yuppie culture. Soon thereafter, Madison Avenue took notice and voilá!, we're at the Hollywood Hotel, boogity, boogity, boogity.

But now too many diehard stock car fans have gone the way of the Buick in NASCAR. Nonetheless, the Daytona braintrust believes the influx of big-spending corporate types is more than making up for the loss of the grassroots fans. Maybe in the short term, which seemingly is as far as Bill France Jr. and Mike Helton can see.

And just how well does Robinson think her two-month-old crew can do? She says they're all sticking their necks out. But honestly, these women can only hope to hang on for their lives, which is what Robinson is doing with her racing career.

Robinson concedes the stunt was to attract a sponsor (Aaron's will actually sponsor the team for three races), and other drivers have taken notice. Truck series driver Brendan Gaughn, who is fifth in points, said it was "an ingenious plan" and if men have an issue "they need to grow up."

This isn't a battle of the sexes. It's NASCAR selling its soul -- again -- for a quick buck. After all, these are the same folks who bring us the famed Aaron's 499.

"Ingenious" isn't the word I would use.

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for SI.com.

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