A Modest Proposal to Lowes Motor Speedway and NASCAR
Racing is full of tradition and few events bask in tradition like the Coca Cola 600, but let’s add something to the tradition for a little extra color. Think about the Indianapolis 500. Part of its tradition is to have Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle – a North Carolina character, no less) singing “Carry Me Back to Indiana.” For the Kentucky Derby, it’s the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” and for the second jewel of the Triple Crown in Baltimore, Maryland, Maryland’s state song, “Maryland My Maryland” is sung often by the Naval Academy Choir. Incidentally, there is much controversy to ditch the Maryland anthem, particularly by African Americans as subsequent verses of the song chronicle Maryland’s defiance to the union in the Civil War.
Here’s our suggestion for Charlotte, why not present James Taylor’s classic, “Carolina in My Mind” as a prerace anthem. Get J.T. to sing it live if possible, but surely lots of pop and country singers would relish the chance to sing such a lively and beautiful song.
Racing is full of tradition and few events bask in tradition like the Coca Cola 600, but let’s add something to the tradition for a little extra color. Think about the Indianapolis 500. Part of its tradition is to have Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle – a North Carolina character, no less) singing “Carry Me Back to Indiana.” For the Kentucky Derby, it’s the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” and for the second jewel of the Triple Crown in Baltimore, Maryland, Maryland’s state song, “Maryland My Maryland” is sung often by the Naval Academy Choir. Incidentally, there is much controversy to ditch the Maryland anthem, particularly by African Americans as subsequent verses of the song chronicle Maryland’s defiance to the union in the Civil War.
Here’s our suggestion for Charlotte, why not present James Taylor’s classic, “Carolina in My Mind” as a prerace anthem. Get J.T. to sing it live if possible, but surely lots of pop and country singers would relish the chance to sing such a lively and beautiful song.
Now if we could come up with a suggestion for the Daytona 500 and to get Orioles’ fans to stop screaming “O” during the “National Anthem” we might be getting somewhere
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