Elliott Sadler Sez "NUTS" To Paying Fans?

Just when I think the Sadler Fan Club cannot possibly manage to throw its’ paying members a more ludicrous curve, my 2009 annual Sadler Fan Club pack (for which I paid $30 – family membership fee) arrived the other day.

It’s a can of nuts.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. The Sadler Fan Club has been in a downward spiral with regard to fan-relations for years, but this latest “gift” from the Sadlers has us all scratching our heads in a mixture of disgust and downright wonderment! Since the 2006 “expired Tylenol” fan pack debacle, I completely expect the annual Sadler Fan Pack to be 1) late, 2) thrown together with little or no thought, and 3) bizarre – but a can of goobers? Seems the SFC has always patterned their fan-relations policy under the direction of Leona Helmsley!

The note inside the box, as well as the Sadler-adorned label on the nut can tells me this gob of goobers is a “gift” in appreciation for all my support as a Sadler fan. Funny, I always thought of gifts as being given free of charge! Instead, Sadler staff advised me that the legumes are in lieu of he normal race-themed fan club pack we typically expect and receive.

Calls to the Sadler Fan Club reveal that they are “doing things a bit differently” this year, and instead of annual fan packs offering their paying members NASCAR-related, driver-related, or even sponsor-related doodads, merch or souvies – we’re all getting the nuts. I call that different, all right!

Of course, our nuts were received with no advance notice from the SFC (that would involve advance planning and communication – neither of which are in great supply at the FC) – initially, members were led to believe they were actually receiving a heartfelt gift of Virginia’s finest gourmet peanuts from the grateful Sadlers. It was not until a fan club member inquired about the annual fan packs on the message board that folks were directed (as usual) to “call or email” the FC with questions and the nutcase was cracked.

Aren’t peanuts baaaaad luck in the realm of NASCAR? Granted, Elliott Sadler has a contingent of fans that truly belong in the “nut” category, but it seems that he and his staff have gone well out of their way to distance themselves in past years from the fans as a whole – so much so, in fact, that my initial thought upon receiving nuts from the Sadlers was: “I wonder if they’re trying to make a point?” It wouldn’t surprise me, and that’s just sad. I’m sure Elliott, Hermie (and all the other drivers) would recoil in horror if I brought my SFC “gift” to pit road for a chance autograph!

I do have to applaud Belmont Peanuts of Southampton, Inc. for growing some really crunchy goobers. I’m not a big peanut fan, but Dave likes them. I did notice, however, that Belmont offers the same can of nuts on their website for $9.95 retail, with a discount for wholesale and/or bulk orders. Seeing as how I paid the Sadlers $30 (up $5 from last year) for my “family” membership, I’m wondering why I couldn’t have helped them support one of their local businesses by ordering the nuts myself from Belmont – that way at least I’d have gotten my “peanuts worth” and two additional cans! I won’t have my annual bumpersticker or decal this year, so perhaps I can just tie the empty can to my antenna or hang it on a string around my neck to show my Sadler support!

So, as Elliott Sadler’s performance on the track has declined, so have the numbers in this fan club “peanut gallery” – particularly those willing to “shell out” membership fees each year to fund fan club events that only those near Charlotte or Emporia can attend (unless they’re as well off as the Sadlers themselves)!

I’ve always harbored the suspicion that the Sadler family wished to say “NUTS!” to the fans – I guess I was right!