I don't believe it would be fair to attack someone without them being
present to make the choice of whether or not to defend themselves. But,
a question was asked so I'll offer my own slightly abbreviated response.
I don't know NitWhit on a personal level. Over the years we've come into
contact occasionally through our involvement in Drag Racing, but we've
never said more than a handful of words to each other at any given time.
He could very well be an exceptional human being in his private life. I
don't know - or care - one way or the other, and even if I did it
wouldn't change how I feel about him professionally.
From personal experience and knowledge I have developed the following
opinions about NitWhit:
As a driver, I think he is nothing more than average. I have never once
seen anything remarkable about his performance behind the wheel. (And in
case anyone is wondering, no I'm not a fuel driver myself. I have been
in the past, but I'm not any longer.) I thought he did excellent work as
a photographer, and was perhaps one of the best in his field, but as a
driver he doesn't impress me at all.
With fans, I've never know him to do more than the minimum amount
required to get by. At the track, he'll work the ropes (grudgingly) only
as much as he has to, then he disappears. I know he has fans, and many
of them are diehards, so if they have no complaints then who am I to
disagree? But in a way I feel sorry for them because it seems to me that
they deserve more than they get from him.
Towards team crew members, he tries to be cordial. However, at the same
time, he has an aire about him, an attitude of 'I'm THE DRIVER aka THE
STAR, and you're just one of the lowly staff'. He goes through the
motions because he's smart enough to realize that his life rests in the
hands of the people who work on the cars, but if it weren't for that I
imagine he would snub them like he does most everyone else at one time
or another.
Towards the event staff, from The Safety Safari to the television crews
right on down the line, he's a reckless fool. He is literally an
accident looking for a place to happen. The next time you watch or
attend a race, pay attention to how fast everyone goes into the shutdown
areas. NitWhit flies into them faster than any other driver in any
professional category. That's incredibly dangerous and totally
unnecessary. To his credit, he seems to be getting better in that
department this season, but I'm still surprised that he hasn't hit
someone yet. Every time he makes a pass I wonder if this will be the one
where some poor soul gets hurt because of his stupidity.
With personal responsibility, I see little evidence that he has any.
Case in point, the infamous 'speeding away through the pits in a rental
car' fiasco. If he had run into or over someone with that stunt, I
promise you that the end result would have affected everyone who attends
the races in person, regardless of the sanctioning body. He was the one
behind the wheel, so he was the one to look to for answers as to why it
happened, etc.. What was his response? Little or nothing. Another
example is that for years on end, every time he lost a round and was
interviewed afterwards, the loss was NEVER his fault. Never 'I cut a bad
light', never 'I got it out of the groove', never 'I just blew it on
that one'. It was always 'the crew had to do this or that to the car and
they didn't get everything put back together the right way', or 'the
crewchief made the wrong call', or 'they lined me up in the wrong spot',
or 'the track wasn't prepped very well', or - my personal favorite -
'the chute levers came off in my hand! I don't know, but whoever works
on this car...!' (I've always believed that the chute lever incident may
have been a not-too-subtle message from someone in the crew to knock off
the nonsense towards the rest of the team. Could I ever prove it? No,
but if I could, and if the responsible party could be located, I'd treat
them to a dinner of their choosing.)
As far as how NitWhit conducts himself amongst his peers, that's an easy
one. Ask Ron Capps. Ask Bill Stephens. You'd be hard pressed to find two
nicer, more honest, down-to-earth, level-headed people. They are each
admired and respected in their fields, and they have had to deal with
NitWhit for many years, so feel free to ask them what they think of him.
But don't be surprised if they decline to answer you because of the
honor and respect they have for our sport. As a general rule, many of us
who have been around awhile believe that you shouldn't display your
dirty laundry in public. The only reason I've mentioned the things I
have in this post is because every bit of it is already out in the open
for the world to see. I'm not telling any secrets.
Obviously, I'm not a NitWhit fan. I find him to be at best a
disappointment, and at worst a pathetic embarrassment and a detriment to
Drag Racing. I wish he would move to CRASHCAR immediately, because I
think he would be an ideal fit in that world. But, these are all simply
my opinions, and to each his or her own. To those who like him, I say
more power to you. As for me, though, I feel that my time, money,
respect, admiration, and support should go to someone more deserving.
Thanks to Khonakong for asking the question.
LPC
---------------------------
Khonakong.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com (Von Fourche) asked:
I haven't followed drag racing long but I do know drag racing fans most
definitely do not like Bazemore. It's like, in order of seriousness:
rape, murder, treason, Bazemore! lol
What oh what did this guy do to tick off so many fans?
>> Stay informed about: Whit gets the boot! 
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