About 30 seconds after — or maybe even before — Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up his 15th consecutive NASCAR Most Popular Driver award, speculation flared, then quickly flamed out, about who would take his place. The flash consensus: Chase Elliott, Bill’s 22-year-old son.
Chase Elliott, however, has yet to win a Cup race in 82 tries. There could be a new leader emerging in the court of public opinion: Earnhardt’s successor, and we are not talking about Alex Bowman, who does not even want to be called The Showman.
We are talking, of course, about Dewey Ryder.
Mountain Dew posted on Twitter and Facebook its newest full 3-minute commercial Thursday featuring Ryder and Earnhardt at the Martinsville racetrack — Ryder as goofy and clueless, Earnhardt as the straight guy, smirking, puzzled and ultimately dismissive.
The immediate response the commercial received on social media was quite positive. Viewers generally thought both Ryder and Earnhardt were entertaining and funny.
That was good, because Dewey Ryder is supposed to be funny. He is a fictitious driver played by the comedian Danny McBride who wears a fire suit with mesh sleeves and short pants and has no idea how to drive his stock car, let alone what to do to make it legal.
“@DaleJr and Dewey are the NASCAR power couple that Danica and Ricky tried to be,” one viewer tweeted, referring to the former couple Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
You can judge the commercial on its own merits right here.
This is clearly a spoof, and one of the many things that I have always liked about NASCAR and its drivers is that they also are good sports who poke fun at stock-car culture. Remember Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby? Dale Jr. was in that movie, too.
There have been naysayers, as expected. In essence, some said Dale Jr., whose car was sponsored by Mountain Dew, was a good spokesman for the soda and did not need to be replaced even though he retired. Some seemed to be highly offended, or didn’t get the joke.
Whatever. What I found very interesting about the responses on Twitter, the brand of social media that tends to be used by younger people, is that they were almoat all upbeat. The reaction on Facebook (older folks) was generally positive, but much more negative than Twitter.
Some people wanted to know why Bowman, 24, didn’t replace Earnhardt in the Mountain Dew commercials, since Bowman will now drive a car with a Mountain Dew logo on it. McBride tends to be a hit-or-miss comedian, although he does do a pretty good job as Dewey Ryder.
Well, not many people outside NASCAR know who Alex Bowman is, and more people outside NASCAR know who Danny McBride is. Maybe the Dewey Ryder character will serve as a transitional spokesman from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Alex Bowman. Who knows.
Maybe Mountain Dew, a citrus-flavored, caffeine-loaded PepsiCo product that was invented in 1940 by two bottlers from Tennessee, will get out of the racing business altogether and focus future ad campaigns on other leisure activities. Kids don’t drink as much soda now.
But NASCAR has, and will, and should, take the links to hip or cool stuff when it can. Logan Lucky, the 2017 heist film/comedy starring Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig, had a kooky NASCAR theme (and drivers in cameo roles) and got a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
NASCAR is plodding through Death Valley right now, with live attendance and television ratings continuing to sink — and no relief apparently in sight. Dewey Ryder, the fictitious driver, does not make fun of NASCAR as much as he is just goofing around with its traditions. If it gets people interested in stock-car racing, great.
Maybe NASCAR, with a new cast of drivers and personalities, doesn’t need a Most Popular Driver this year, just some candidates who can grow into the position and responsibility.
Maybe enough fans will write in Dewey Ryder this year to cut a break for the young guys like Chase Elliott, my choice candidate Ryan Blaney or whoever. NASCAR could use a break for a cold soda right about now.
