I've thought about this one for awhile. Best I can come up with is my
Team Sports upbringing. Once upon a time, most players stayed with their
original teams for most of their careers. So to cheer for the Rams also
meant Deacon Jones, and Merlin Olsen and Roman Gabriel. So my natural
inclination was to form 'teams' in Nascar. The Dodge/Plymouth team vs the
Ford/Mercury team. Then later, Chevy vs. Ford. So Petty defecting to Ford
that one season would have been like Deacon Jones signing on with the
Minnesota Vikings.(blech)
However, once the Dodge/Plymouth cars ended their Nascar participation,
I found I gravitated toward the formerly hated Fords rather than embrace
the Chevy's. I honestly don't know why, probably the individual drivers
of the time, Elliot, Allison Jr, and Kulwicki were more palatble than
Waltrip, Earnhardt the rest of the Chevrolets.
dave henrie