"We've lost drivers being heroes": Rick Mast delivers reality check on NASCAR’s shift of heroism toward team owners

In a recent podcast interview, former NASCAR driver Rick Mast gave his thoughts about the current state of the appeal of drivers in the sport. Comparing it to his time in the Cup Series, Mast argued that the stardom of the drivers has decreased.

Responding to a question asking if the attention is now drawn more towards the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Jordan, both of whom own NASCAR teams, the former driver says that fans no longer worship the drivers like they used to and agrees that the heroes are now the ones who own the teams.

In an appearance on the Kenny Wallace YouTube channel's podcast interview with Charlie Marlow earlier this week, Rick Mast gave his thoughts on the loss of stars on the track, saying:

"We've also lost some of the appeal of the drivers being heroes to the fans" [13:24]

While Rick does give credit where credit is due, talking about the drivers:

"I'm not taking away anything from these guys now, they're very talented, they've all got personalities.” [15:08]

However, Mast said there's a key difference between the drivers of today and the drivers during the time he was in the Cup Series:

“There's a disconnect somewhere between these drivers and the fans that we used to have in the 90s. That connection is just not there and I'm not sure in today's media world, with social media and with everything that goes on - how do we do that?” [15:16]

Rick Mast competed full time in the Cup Series from the 1991 to the 1999 seasons, driving for a variety of teams. However, his longest stint was with Precision Products racing from 1991 to 1996, with whom he scored seven Top-5 finishes, along with 27 of his 36 Top-10 finishes.

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Why did Rick Mast leave NASCAR?

NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Rick Mast during practice for the Daytona 500 - Source: Imagn

Rick Mast retired from the Cup Series in 2002, after the driver faced health issues related to being in a NASCAR vehicle. During his final season in the sport, Mast was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisioning, which he learned about later. Describing the feeling, he said (via Motorsport.com):

"Worse and worse and it just got to the point to where I couldn’t start feeling better after being in the car.”

While Mast had to step away from competing, his diagnosis caused a rise in awareness for the NASCAR organization and it's drivers in regards to the harmful effects of carbon monoxide. He added:

“I have to give NASCAR credit, when we showed them the results of the testing that was done on me, they jumped right in and started looking at ways to make things better. NASCAR never once pushed back and they could have faced some bad press if some of the tests results came back bad on the testing they were doing. They tested carbon monoxide reading at race tracks – in the pits and grandstands to see who was exposed.”

Thanks to Mast's diagnosis, there was new technology brought into place that reduced carbon monoxide exposure by 27%.