Topic of the week: What do you want from NASCAR this year?
I have to give two answers to this question.
My first response -- and Darrell Waltrip, Mike Joy and I spoke about this recently -- is for NASCAR to allow some of the emotions to come back to our sport.
As long as that driver doesn’t use that race car for retaliation, and as long as he doesn’t get on national television and blatantly use profanity, I think we need to let some of the emotion come back. Our sport saw big growth because of the emotions of Donnie Allison, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500 – it’s what helped really jumpstart our sport.
I realize we can’t let things get too out of hand because the sponsors that pay the bills for these teams wouldn’t want that. What Kurt Busch did at Dover when he ran into the side of Tony Stewart’s car on pit road was absolutely out of line – he endangered crew members by doing that. As much as I love Kurt to death, he deserved to be fined, parked for that race and put on probation. You don’t use your race car for things like that.
But you know what? If you have a beef with a driver and you pull into that garage area and want to have a little confrontation – and I’m not saying taking tire irons and walloping each other – but if drivers go at it a little bit, let it roll. That’ll make that fan want to come back next week.
I was so relieved after Watkins Glen last year that NASCAR did not do anything to Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick for their incident during the race. They didn’t do anything. They pushed and shoved a little bit out on the racetrack and created a little bit of excitement, but it was “no harm, no foul.” I was so disappointed in the spring Bristol race of 2006 that they fined Jeff Gordon for shoving Matt Kenseth after the race – that was ridiculous.
Let some of this emotion come back.
The other thing I want from NASCAR is willingness to change.
If this Car of Tomorrow is not right for running the full 2008 schedule the way it is, don’t make knee-jerk reactions, but also don’t be afraid to react. To me, that’s one thing that Bill France Jr. was awesome at. He wouldn’t make a knee-jerk reaction, but he damn sure wasn’t afraid to make a reaction, whether it was right in between two races or if it gave everybody some notice.
NASCAR, don’t be too proud to say, “We need to adjust on this race car. It’s not good racing right now,” if it indeed is not. I’ve got the faith that we are going to have good racing, but what we have to make sure that we have is not only good finishes – like both Daytona races last year – but we have to have good racing. We can’t just live off good finishes. We have to have good racing from the drop of the green flag to the drop of the checkered flag. Just look at the Talladega fall race. We had a good finish, but before that we had terrible racing. We need good finishes and good racing.
A little of this and a little of that is all we need to get this sport back on top, no question.
I agree with you 100% Larry. I don't want to see someone take a tire iron to anyone, but a little bit of emotion is a good thing. For the drivers and the team, as well as the fans. The only place I would disagree is the incident with Carl Edwards last season. He had plenty of time to think about what he was going to do. There was no sense in doing it where he did, unless it was just a publicity stunt.
What I really want from NASCAR is for them to start asking for fan input. I am sick and tired of having things pushed upon me as a fan and always being expected to accept it.
And I also want NASCAR to admit that they are wrong sometimes, it seems lately they think they are perfect even when everybody else knows they are not.
race
Pronunciation:
\'ras\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English ras, from Old Norse ras; akin to Old English ræ¯s rush
Date:
14th century
1chiefly Scottish : the act of running2 a: a strong or rapid current of water flowing through a narrow channel b: a watercourse used industrially c: the current flowing in such a course3 a: a set course or duration of time b: the course of life4 a: a contest of speed bplural : a meeting in which several races (as for horses) are run c: a contest or rivalry involving progress toward a goal 5: a track or channel in which something rolls or slides; specifically : a groove (as for the balls) in a bearing — see roller bearing illustration
If we're gonna call it a race then let it be a race, a contest of speed. The fastest cars race, the first to make 500 miles wins. Pretty simple.
I want start times back at 1:00 EST! We missed a lot of the races last year because of the crazy start times and the schedule this year doesn't look much better. NASCAR if you want television ratings to improve then give us consistent start times.
nicely written, Larry, and I agree with both those ideas.
I guess the one thing I want this year (and I did a post on it) would be to convert the new car to be able to handle wet weather on the road courses....I still can't find a single reason why NASCAR couldn't do this.
Good stuff Larry Mac. And I totally agree. If the COT isn't working and the racings not there, let them tinker a little more and get the car right. After all, if the racings not good, the rest of the sport suffers.
I agree with pretty much every comment posted. Would add one thing. Alot of the 500 milers need to be shortened, plain and simple. Not the marquee races, Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, etc. But 4 1/2 hr races are ridiculous.
I agree with the three of you. Would also like to add that for me I want to see the cars on the track, all of them during practice, qualifying and racing. Less on screen grahpics and frills. Races shown on time without bouncing around the channels to find which on is actually showing the races. I am one of those that missed the start of the Rolex 24 hr race while some kids program played on. I would prefer TV analysts that have a chemistry and support one another on air but more important learn the correct names of the drivers. Everything surrounding NASCAR has gotten so expensive that even though I have 3 tracks within driving distance I will not be attending racing this season. I really like FOX and SpeedTv coverage of racing the other networks really need to bring their coverage up to par. Also if one of the Networks can not cover practice or any other portion of the weekend racing please make arrangements at the start of the season to allow another network such as SpeedTv to provide the coverage. Some of us have upgraded our cable coverage to be able to watch all the activities and it is very frustrating to know it is once again on another channel(which we do not have)/or not on at all.
I agree with these comments, too. I too was annoyed with NASCAR for fining Gordon last year. Emotions are a good thing. I think Robin (the guy over on wind tunnel) said -- a little hate is a good thing. Let's have some real rivalries out there, and quit with all this -- oh yeah, we're all great friends. Doesn't need to be physical aggression, but a little "hate" is a good thing.
Also, consistent earlier start times, less pre-race and more good green flag racing.
On TV, let us see the field with wide angle shots, not just the lead cars or even worse, one single car with no one around -- that's not racing, it's a parade!
As Larry said, there needs to be good racing, not just "good" finishes. Otherwise, I'll continue my habit of watching the start and coming back for the last 30 laps.
If the IROC car doesn't race well, then NASCAR needs to make the changes to make the racing good.
I agree with you Larry, the emotions need to be allowed as long as the drivers don't use their cars to make their point. Additionally NASCAR has to start listening to the teams as well as the fans with respect to things that are working and things that aren't. I'm all for doing whatever is necessary in the name of safety. The drivers and teams must be protected from harm, no doubt about it. But fining someone for a gesture or using a curse word in the name of an action deemed to be "detrimental to stock car racing" is absurd. The last thing I would say is that I agree with the other posters about the television coverage and start times of the races. The pre race shows are excruciating. Shorten them to 30 minutes, provide a few headlines from the week, and let's get on with the race. And, here's a whacky thought, cover the ENTIRE sport, not just Hendrick, Junior, Hendrick and more Junior. Enough already. There are 43 drivers on the track every week, each with a story about how they got there and what their team has accomplished. Yet the media focuses on only a handful of the "Stars" of the sport. In my mind they are all stars, considering the majority of the population are not race car drivers.
I agree that emotions have to be vented, or reporters leave drivers alone until they cool down. The COT is getting very close to being like IROC, every car exactly the same and no changes allowed. It's going to get boring before it gets better. And, one other thing, get rid of "I love me" Rusty. He is so annoying that I watch the race on "mute".
Nascar needs to change the qualifing to some sort of fastest 35 cars on time set 1-35 run a 25 lap last chance qualifier for the last 7 or 8 spots depending on giving one provisional for previous years race winner. The other must fix is no more green white checker so jeff & J.J win more races. Make up their mind on 500 miles or if last 20 laps caution laps should not count. LET THEM RUN!!!!!!
Larry - Nice post here. I see FOX is setting the example of blogging to the topic of the week. I agree with your two suggestions, and also concur with klvalus about changing the scheduling of the track (Klv #3).
Put Darlington back in Labor Day weekend, Get Rockingham back in the schedule (don't think we should lose any more short track racing), and also adding a road course to the Chase would add a twist to the final 10 races. Although all three changes may be a bit much to expect...one of them would be nice.
1. To do away with Toyota and bring back the likes of Buick, Oldmobile, Pontiac and Mercury. Why should they start pushing Japanese makes and put our American car manufacturers out of business?
2. (As stated earlier) Bring back "The Rock", Rockingham.
3. Do away with one of the road course races.
4. Replace a Road Course race with a DIRT TRACK race for points!
5. Take off the restrictor plates at Talledega and Daytona!
6. Stop interviewing Jeff Gordon so much. Nobody wants to hear his nasal comments!
7. Keep up the interviews with Dale Jr, Tony Stewart and always interview Kevin Harvick when he's mad at someone like Juan Pablo!
8. Get rid of some of these "International" drivers that can't speak English.
9. Do away with the COT (Car of Tomorrow) and replace it with a REAL STOCK CAR that looks like those in the showroom of the dealerships!
10. Return the last race of the year to Atlanta Speedway where it belongs!
Let the driver's have emotion, nothing wrong with a little bumping & ####ing. Let them vent there frustration to each other, as long as no one gets hurt. Kurts still recovering from jimmy slapping him like a little girl.
A softer goodyear, consistant grip so the driver's have confidents to let it fly.
Nascar need's to let the team's work outside the box to get the C.O.T. to turn.
Shorten the pre-race, LET'S GO RACING!
Save the whale's?! SAVE SHORT TRACK RACING
I like the look of the C.O.T. Larry & D.W. GREAT JOB ON THE PRE-SHOW
Larry
You touched on the problem and since you are now part of the establishment you just don't "get it". You mentioned the fact that you can't do anything unseemly because the sponsors wil not allow it. "There you go"!! You/we have to realize that the sport we grew up with is gone the way of the "doodoo". Could you imagine Cale Yourbourgh,Davie Allison,Fireball Roberts etc. giving a S--t what a sponsor thinks. The days when the drivers were the sport are gone. Drivers now are just pretty-boy passengers collecting their obscene checks!
1. Less commercialization. Seems all NASCAR is out for is the big bucks. Put a cap on teams and that would make the racing better, smaller teams would be more competitive. If NASCAR would reinvest in their fans, they wouldn't need all the corporate money, the fans would be willing to sponsor the sport.
2. All foreign make vehicles out of NASCAR, this sport was built by American auto makers and that is what should be racing in NASCAR. If they want more makes of vehicles in NASCAR, work with the American auto makers to make them more attracted to NASCAR, ahhhhh that would create big money, see #1.
3. Get back to your roots NASCAR. NASCAR was born and bred in the south. You have now tried to take it to places where racing is just the next big fad. Yuppies don't really like racing, they like it temporarily because it's hip. Open tracks like North Wilkesbourogh, and Rockingham back up. Invest some of the billions of dollars you are making each year in these historic tracks and upgrade them and they would always sell out, unlike the yuppie friendly tracks in Cal., Pheonix, and so forth.
4. You want to build new tracks, build more short tracks. That is where real racing is done. You want to see a crowd of fans, look no farther than Bristol, Richmond, and Martinsville, always sell outs.
5. Let the drivers settle their differences. That does not mean let a driver wreck another driver at a track like Daytona, or Talledaga, not at those speeds, but when they get to the short tracks let them go at it if one driver has a grudge against anoth
I want to see the top 35 go away. Only 36 and down REALLY qualify, that rule is ridiculous. Earn your way in, So what if gordon does not make the race, let him feel the pressure of the lower teams. The only reason why Waltrip won the pole at Tall. was because only 12 or 13 teams TRIED to qualify. EARN IT, EARN YOUR SPOT ON THE GRID!!!
