Is It a Requirement or a Necessary Evil of the Job?

As you know by now I am a huge NASCAR fan. Have been for as long as I can remember. I've always had a love affair of cars. I remember growing up at my local dirt track. My faith and love of racing are the 2 biggest parts of my life (unfortunately though, sometimes I wonder WHICH is more important???)

One of the draws of NASCAR to me is how accessible the drivers are. Where else can you go to any sporting event and get to meet the athletes/participants at almost any given time during the weekend? They all ALMOST always make time for the fans.

I am bringing this up in light of an incident involving Danica Patrick over the weekend at Pocono. She was walking to her car and was booed by some "fans" (now I'm no Danica Patrick fan at all, but I'm to the point I no longer boo the drivers at the track. They are all in a high-risk profession, they put their life on the line literally every time they strap into their car. Who am I do show my disapproval of them (Joey Logano and Danica Patrick?) She came up to the fans and gave them a piece of her mid and dropped an f-bomb. In that time she COULD have been signing for a few fans. In my opinion no one was right. The fans didn't need to boo her loud enough for her to hear it, she didn't (or did she..) need to come over and cuss them out.

So, the main point of this entry is: are drivers REQUIRED to sign autographs, or does it just come w/the territory of being a part of the biggest racing series in the country? I have seen drivers completely avoid fans (being mobbed would do that to even the most outgoing of personalities) and I have seen drivers go out of their way to make the day for some fans. I have had good and bad experiences, Mostly good. I am not a pushy person. I understand they can't make time for everyone, I'm sure I would get frustrated too if I saw a large group of people shoving things in my face for me to throw a 2-second scribble onto an item while I was trying to walk to where I was going.

I posted this topic on a page I have on Facebook, and this one person seemed to brag that they were known as the "autograph queen of Bristol" and that they were an "autograph hound". They ARE just people, and I'm sure most of the drivers feel weird about having grown men coming up and asking them to sign something.

November of 2015 I met Matt DiBenidetto for the first time. Didn't know much about him, almost didn't recognize him since he had his firesuit tied around his waist. I'm one of those, I get 1 or 2 items signed. Tops. I don't need a half-dozen items signed. Why? Where do I have room for it? What would I do with it? I had my race program and a green flag. After he signed one item, I asked if he could sign the other one too. His response was, yes, of course I will. Not all of them will be that accommodating. I have seen people get pushed to the ground because of trying to get that lucrative autograph. Really, is it really worth it?

I have gotten to the point, where I've been so fortunate to have met almost all the drivers over the years, do I really NEED their autograph again? Do I need an updated Paul Menard or Ryan Newman because they're there? After this incident and reading that person's comments on that Facebook page, I am really rethinking my autograph policy. Yes it's nice they take time for fans. I have seen the best and the worst. They ARE just people. Granted they are high-profile because of the profession they're in and the exposure. There is no law that says drivers HAVE to sign for the fans at the track. But I think they hesitantly understand the reason they are there is because of us fans. For me, I would rather strike up a conversation and take a photo than ask for an autograph. I'm respectful, well at least, try and be anyway.