Racin’ Ralph evokes passion from his ‘fans’

Racin’ Ralph Nason is a 61-year-old grandfather who has never been afraid to speak his mind.

And he just so happens to be very, very good at what he does.

Too good in the eyes of his long list of detractors.

The hugely successful stock car driver from Unity brings out the absolute worst in people.

During Sunday’s Oxford True Value 250, Nason was well on his way to a fourth consecutive checkered flag in the state’s most prestigious and profitable race when he got spun on lap 157. That cost him the win.

The roar of the crowd was louder than when Gary Drew crossed the finish line for the win 93 laps later.

Normally polite, mild-mannered people reacted like seven-year-olds who had just spied their very first bicycle under the Christmas tree.

Ralph Nason evokes passion. He is the man people love to hate. He will say whatever comes to mind and his my-way-or-the-highway attitude can rub people the wrong way.

“People can’t help the way they are,” says the refreshingly frank Nason. “If you win a lot of races, people get down on you.

“They can hate me all they want, but they’ve got to give you credit for what you are doing and what you can do. If they don’t give me, my family and my team credit for what we do, I don’t want to know them,” said Nason who always has a fast car thanks to son and crew chief Ron.

Nason recalls reading a piece in which stock car racing was listed “as one of the few inconsiderate sports from a spectator standpoint.

“They will pick on people. Look at [former NASCAR driver turned motorsports broadcaster] Darrell Waltrip. They used to call him ‘Jaws.’ They hated him. Now they love him. Same way with Geoffrey Bodine and Dale Earnhardt, God rest his soul,” added Nason.

The booing doesn’t bother him.

“Why should it?,” he asked.

“When the crowd is like that, it gives me more incentive to win. When you put that much more incentive into my system and we win the race, it makes them mad.”

He also knows he is a drawing card.

“Once they saw me get spun, they knew they were going to see some action,” said Nason, who impressive maneuvered his way to third.

“They got their money’s worth. I had three or four different fans come up to me after the race and tell me it was the best 30 bucks they ever spent,” said Nason. “There wouldn’t have been any competition if I wasn’t there. [Second-place finisher Scott] Robbins wasn’t going after Drew. Nobody was after anybody.

“When I’m in a race, I give it everything I have. I give them their money’s worth,” said Nason.

Like it or not.

Corkum excited about new home

He knows he probably won’t be playing in the Stanley Cup finals this coming season like he did this past spring for New Jersey, but former University of Maine winger Bob Corkum is looking forward to playing for the third-year Atlanta Thrashers.

“I’m pretty excited about it and my family is pretty excited about adding another chapter to the book,” said the 33-year-old Corkum, who signed a two-year deal (one year plus an option year). “I’m looking forward to working with the good, young talent they have. My minutes should be up. They don’t have the depth New Jersey had. Nobody has.

“I just want to contribute any way I can,” added Corkum, who had seven goals and seven assists in 75 regular season games between Los Angeles and New Jersey and a goal and two assists in 12 NHL playoff games with the Devils.

Atlanta is his seventh NHL team and his first game will be number 646 in his career.

“I talked to my [13-year-old] daughter Carley about it since she will be the one most affected by the move, along with [11-year-old] Kellen, and she was all for it,” said the father of four.