Converge Weekly

Elliott Sadler’s newborn son wasn’t home from the hospital before Sadler, like any proud dad, was showing off photos. Thing is, Sadler also shared them with fans on Twitter.

A few hours after Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500, fans could see a picture of the trophy in his motorhome via Twitter, posted along with the message: “Oh my God! I can’t believe it. The Daytona 500. Here is a pic of the trophy in my bus.”

Kyle Busch, who as recently as last year proclaimed he wasn’t a fan of social networking, has relented, even announcing his engagement via Twitter.

Drivers are racing to Twitter and other social networking sites as fast as they race on the track, giving fans a behind-the-scene look at the sport. While many driver comments on Twitter can be mundane – Busch noted earlier this season that he and his fiance couldn’t find an ice cream shop in Las Vegas – some share their insights not only into the sport, but into the people around it.

Kasey Kahne succinctly described his 34th-place finish last weekend at Auto Club Speedway on Twitter: “Huge mistake today. Can’t believe I spun out like an idiot. Need to get my (expletive ) together now!”

Go to Twitter after a Cup race and you can find several comments from drivers on their race. Nearly half of the drivers in the average race field are active on Twitter. A few others maintain Facebook pages.

Even as the momentum grows for more drivers, their wives, crew members and others in the sport to join Twitter, there are some who refuse.

You won’t see Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart providing tweets – what a message 140 characters or less on Twitter is called – anytime soon.

“I actually have enough productive stuff to do with my life other than sit there and tell everybody what I’m doing every minute of every day,” Stewart said.

Earnhardt, too, is no fan of social networking.

“I use social networking through our partnerships, but I never really enjoyed doing it on a personal level,” he said.

It’s that personal contact that Juan Pablo Montoya says he enjoys. He has more than 130,000 followers on Twitter – more than any other Cup driver. He’s shared his love of remote-controlled airplanes, noted times he’s taken his oldest child to school, and a few weeks ago complained about the parking spot for his motor home at the track. He also says how the car is handling at times.

“A lot of people have no idea who I am or how I am, and a lot of people wanted to know maybe a little bit more about me,” Montoya said. “You share with them cool things that you see, and when you’re pissed off, you tell them that you’re pissed off. I think it’s a cool way to get people that follow you and want you to do well to get a little more involved with you.”

Scott Speed’s dad can relate. When he wants to know what his son is doing, he just checks Speed’s Twitter account. Speed’s tweets are among the most irreverent among drivers, teasing McMurray for his 8:30 p.m. bed time, having fun at his wife’s expense and sharing other humorous situations. Only Michael Waltrip can rival Speed for offbeat tweets.

“It’s an entertaining way to get stuff out,” Speed said. “When I’m bored, I just go on Twitter and I’ll have like 150 or some responses, and I can pick which one I can respond to. You’re winning over a lot of fans who are able to see that all this stuff you say on TV and the stuff that is portrayed about you, there is a personality behind it, too.”

That’s among the biggest benefits for NASCAR. Drivers are beholden to car owners, sponsors and the sport, and that’s led to a cry from fans that stock car racing has become too vanilla, noting that drivers don’t want to offend anyone. Twitter provides a platform where some drivers feel they can be more care free.

In recent weeks, points leader Kevin Harvick displayed photos he took on a trip to the San Diego Zoo, mourned the death of his dog and celebrated the U.S. hockey team’s victories in the Olympics. Denny Hamlin vowed on Twitter shortly after tearing his ACL in a pickup basketball game in January that the injury wouldn’t detract from his title aspirations.

Social networking also can help drivers in their racing career. Kenny Wallace used Twitter and Facebook last year to get sponsorship for a Nationwide race in Montreal. His regular sponsor couldn’t be on the car since the race was outside the U.S., so Wallace posted a note on his Facebook page asking fans to suggest Canadian companies to sponsor his car. One idea was to let fans sponsor his car. Eventually, Wallace did. For a contribution of $20, fans got their names on Wallace’s car for that race and he raised enough to compete.

He continues to interact with fans on Twitter. His Twitter account features about 25,000 followers.

“It’s like therapy for me,” Wallace said. “I like to talk and get my point across. Facebook and Twitter makes me happy. It gives me something to do.”

And for many fans it’s given them something more to read about their favorite drivers.

Source: hamptonroads.com