Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502220028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Is NASCAR going Hollywood?
Kyle Petty has his long black hair tied back in a ponytail, better to see the two earrings dangling from his left lobe. Geoff Bodine caused a stir when he showed up for the Daytona 500 with a beard and a diamond stud pinned in his left ear.
What's next? Dale Earnhardt dying his hair orange? Darrell Waltrip shaving his head into a mohawk? Rusty Wallace piercing his nose?
Don't count it. Winston Cup racing is still a bastion of conservative Republicans who look warily on men who wear jewelry or fail to make frequent trips to the barbershop. You're much more likely to see a ``Don't Blame Me - I Voted for Bush'' bumper sticker than an earring-wearing male.
``This is a Republican stronghold, a Republican-Jesse Helms stronghold,'' said the 34-year-old Petty, who describes himself as ``very, very conservative'' on some issues and an ``ungodly liberal'' on others.
``We're not going to have any massive dye jobs. I'm not piercing my nose or tongue or anything like that. I can't imagine Dale Earnhardt with a pierced ear or Darrell Waltrip with a pierced ear. That's too far-fetched.''
But times, they are a'changing - albeit at a snail's pace in the sport of speed. Petty was the trendsetter, getting pierced in 1981, but he quickly removed the earring after receiving endless ribbing from his competitors.
Petty, who scorned his fashion critics and got pierced again four years ago, likely got his maverick ways from his father. Richard Petty is a died-in-the-wool Republican when it comes to politics, but he was never afraid to buck the norm around the garage.
``He's always been different than the other guys,'' Kyle said. ``He had that big cowboy hat and those wraparound sunglasses.
That puts the Pettys in the minority on the NASCAR circuit.
``Go out and look at all the drivers,'' Kyle said. ``Look at their haircuts, the clothes they wear. It's all cookie-cutter, clone stuff. It's hard to be different in that crowd ... To go out on a limb and have an earring was bad.''
He tried to conform, but it didn't work.
``I tried to be like everyone else,'' Petty said. ``I cut my hair, but that wasn't working. So I just let my hair grow out again. It got to the point where it was long and I was getting a lot of flak.''
When his son Austin asked for an earring, Petty decided it was time to re-pierce his own ear. He now sports two pieces of jewelry - a loop and a stud - in his left lobe and plans on getting another in his right ear during the summer.
``Everyone was giving me so much flak about my hair,'' he said, ``I decided to get an earring again. Now they talk about my earring.''
Actually, most people in the paddock are buzzing about Bodine's new look. The 45-year-old grew a beard and pierced his left ear, where he now inserts a diamond stud on race days and a variety of metals fashioned into 7s - his car number - when he's not behind the wheel.
``I'm going through this mid-life crisis thing, so they've all been kind to me,'' Bodine said of the reaction he's gotten. ``They all looked at it, and I guess they just wondered, `What's going on with our car owner, our driver [he is both]? Is he all right?' ''
In spite of Bodine, Petty doesn't expect an outbreak of earring-wearing competitors.
``This is a conservative lot,'' he said. ``That's the nature of our sport. It's driven by outside money, Coors Lite money, Tide money, Proctor & Gamble money, Fortune 500-type companies. As a group, they appear to be conservative companies. ... We're forced to be a little more conservative to keep our jobs.''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB