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Mr. Excitement Spencer is a much-needed breath of fresh air
With a few laps remaining in what had been a straightforward Subway 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, Jimmy Spencer did his level best to goose the proceedings. He ducked low, he darted high, he drove race-leader Mike McLaughlin every which way but loose in a last-ditch effort to win his first Busch Grand National Series race in more than two years. But as exhilarating as Mr. Excitement's on-track moves were -- he finished second -- it was what Spencer did off the track that truly elevated Saturday's race in the minds of those fortunate enough to be witness to it: After finishing a disgusted second to McLaughlin, Spencer strode into the infield media center -- remember Spike, the bulldog in the old Warner Brothers' cartoons? -- dripping sweat, angry eyes hidden by wrap-around sunglasses and went off. "That was just dirty driving," the smoldering Spencer said. "That's the sloppiest, dirtiest little S.O.B. I've ever seen. He won the race, but I wouldn't congratulate him for the win the way he drove that car." As good as that was, Spencer went it one better. "I know one thing," he said, "Mike McLaughlin drove a dirty race and I won't forget it. Jimmy Spencer never forgets." And on the small chance that the precise meaning of that statement wasn't crystal clear to everyone, Spencer offered a clarification. "I won't mess with [McLaughlin] here," he offered, "but somewhere down the road, you can believe something happens to that car with Jimmy Spencer behind it." Sure, that's a fine waiting to happen, but who cares?! To a press corps more accustomed to "The (fill in the blank sponsor) (fill in the blank make) ran great all day, I just hate like heck for all the guys back at the shop that (fill in the blank excuse). But we'll go get 'em next Sunday," Spencer is a dream come true. All hail Jimmy Spencer! In fact, the combination of Spencer's on-track escapades and his off-track candor establish him as the certifiable gold standard among drivers as far as the media is concerned. He may not be the most popular guy out there among his fellow drivers -- "When I tried to pass [for the lead]," Jeff Green said Saturday, "Spencer hung me out. It will come back around and it will be in opposite directions" -- but he consistently offers far and away the best story lines. But there's yet another reason for the rest of the racing world to be thankful for the likes of Spencer: He is quite possibly NASCAR's biggest nightmare. Face it, Spencer's loose-cannon qualities on and off track are precisely what make him one of the circuit's most colorful figures. Just try to imagine, as some reporters did Saturday, what today's NASCAR would look like if it had 42 Jimmy Spencers and one Robby Gordon ... the world would be a better, more interesting place. All hail Jimmy Spencer! Stephen Thomas covers NASCAR for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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