A little jibe and troll never hurt anybody. The famous sitcom South Park’s take on NASCAR back in 2010 did not either. Although it did rip into 6 popular names. The 8th episode of the series’ 14th season aired on Comedy Central back in May 2010 and was titled “Poor & Stupid”. In the episode, the lead character Eric Cartman tries becoming a NASCAR driver despite the lack of all the necessary attributes.

The joke was received with mixed reviews at the time and surprisingly, all the drivers who fell victim to the antics of the show were taking well to the gag.

Eric Cartman took down NASCAR in his pursuit of becoming a driver

The co-creator of South Park, Trey Parker, wrote and directed the episode “Poor and Stupid”. Though drivers and fans aren’t shown in a negative light directly, Eric Cartman’s prejudice and misconceptions cast them so. The plot of the episode follows Cartman who wants to be a NASCAR driver but is worried about being too rich and smart for it. Under the advice of his friends and the other lead characters, he enlists the help of the character “Butters” and the personal hygiene cream Vagisil.

Throughout the course of the episode, Cartman is seen trying his shot at becoming a NASCAR hero. In the course of the episode, he takes multiple jibes at icons including Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson and Danica Patrick.

In a press conference scene, Earnhardt Jr asks pointing at Cartman, “Excuse me! Who is this kid? Is he even a driver?” Responding to him, Cartman hits back, saying, “Bring it on, Earnhardt. You scared of competition? I am just as poor and stupid as you!”

Despite the episode’s NSFW content that included scenes along the likes of Danica Patrick being mowed down by Cartman’s car, the drivers were particularly receptive to it.

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Drivers enjoy the publicity despite being trolled

After a few murders and wrecks, Eric Cartman retires his hopes of becoming a NASCAR driver towards the end of the episode, claiming that he was still too “smart” for it. Apart from Danica Patrick, Dale Jr and Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon were also a part of it. Though none of the drivers, at the time of the episode airing, had watched it, they were still pleased to have been featured in a popular show.

Danica Patrick said, as reported by SB Nation, “I think anytime somebody takes the time to make fun of you, it’s a compliment. I don’t think anybody takes offense to that.” Not being bothered about being killed by a Vagisil-sponsored car on the show, she added, “I got killed, I was told,” said Patrick, who will also be on The Simpsons in 2010. “Well, you know, some days I feel like that might be the easy road.”

Jimmie Johnson, who was car-jacked by the wife of Vagisil founder Geoff Hamil in the episode, said, “I’ve had multiple text messages saying that I was on South Park, really from all of my friends’ kids. I’ve got to check it out. I heard that Cartman is in a very entertaining sponsored car. I haven’t seen it yet, and I can’t wait to.” One person who was happy to be on the show despite having no idea he was actually in it, was Dale Earnhardt Jr. The popular driver said, “I didn’t know I was on South Park. I didn’t! No sh*t? Nobody told me about that. Was it good?” 

The episode received fairly mixed reviews from critics with the A.V. Club awarding it a B – rating and IGN, 7 out of 10.

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