Is this really necessary?

The idea of using restricter-spacers similar to the ones used in the Truck Series in all the Nationwide Series races is one for which the jury is still out, as far as I'm concerned.It is supposed to save the teams money on building engines, allowing the same engines to last for two races rather than one.
The actual reasoning for that is controversial. Some teams have expressed concern that running the engine wide open, even at lower rpms, will do nothing to save the engines.
In these days of concerns about sponsorship, especially in the Nationwide series, it is gratifying that NASCAR is trying to find ways to cut costs, to make sponsorships less expensive, and to help the teams develop, but they changed something that would have worked well for them as far as revenue goes. That is, the quality of the racing.

It will get better as the drivers get used to it, but it was also the cause of several accidents, during both practice and the Sam's Town 300. There were nine cars taken out of the race due to accidents, and at least seven of them were due to misjudgement on the part of the driver in relation to the performance characteristics of the cars. There were also several mechanical failures involving either the engine or the transmission.

The Nationwide series had a chance to have its day in the spotlight. The cars were actually faster than the Cup cars, without the spacer plates, the drivers felt comfortable in the conventional cars, and the racing promised to be excellent this season.The spacer plate seems to have taken away that promise. There is no passing on the straightaways, as we have seen in the Cup cars, because the cars do not speed up coming off the turns, but slow down. Letting up off the throttle causes problems in the cars being able to make the turn, and, as in restricter-plate racing on the Cup level, causes problems for traffic closing from behind.
But, like many a crew chief, NASCAR itself has never heard the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
There is a need to make sponsorship cheaper, and that would benefit the teams, but it would be benificial to ensure good racing that would draw the crowds and the viewing audience, as that is what will capture the interest of the sponsors. NASCAR needs to find that fine line of balance between the two.
(photos by Mark J Rebilas/US PRESSWIRE courtesy That's Racing.com)

Dealing with rain delays and whatever

The biggest problem with rain delays during a race is keeping oneself entertained. We could enjoy some of the commercials we may have missed during last week's race (advertising writers managed to capture perfectly Juan Pablo Montoya's perceived personality for his Juicy Fruit Gum commercial, by the way). We were entertained during the ESPN 2 rain program in which the three Wallace brothers, Rusty, Mike, and Kenny interviewed each other, and during the Fox rain program with Mike Joy's incessant "old" jokes targeting the venerated journalist, Dave Bergeron. We even enjoyed it when Kyle Busch took over a mediocre interview from Matt Yokum and interviewed himself, and, in the process, named the "gopher cam's" gopher graphic "Skids."
But most of the time, we were bored.
Being bored motivated us to think and find something to rant about. So we decide to rant about the love of mediocrity.
People tend toward mediocraty, especially the NASCAR "fans" who complain that it isn't like the old days; that it is "all about the money."
There are claims around the web that NASCAR "let Toyota have more horsepower (from their engines) than Chevy, Ford, and Dodge."
This is similar to claims that NASCAR "let Hendrick Motorsports win sixteen races last year."
These claims are true, but the idea they convey, that of special privilages to certain teams or manufacturers, is wrong.
The fact is that NASCAR has a set of rules and specifications for the engines and cars that all the teams must follow. I don't know much about engineering or the mechanics of engine building, but it seems to me that, under these rules, NASCAR "lets" any team build an engine that produces as much horsepower as the Toyota engine, and it "lets" any team win as much as Hendrick Motorsports does. All they have to do is work to be competitive with the top teams in these catagories. To make special rules pertaining to one team, or one manufacturer in order to lower the standard to enable the other teams to compete, would be completely unfair, and would exploit mediocraty. In order to exist as a sport, technology and expertise must be constantly improving, rather than degenerating to the level of the least talented of the competitors.
Another truism seen around the Web is "NASCAR is all about the money."
To quote Tauc, from Stargate SG-1, "Indeed."
NASCAR was founded for the money, as many fans seem to have forgotten. According to a Speed TV program about the history of the Daytona 500 and NASCAR aired during the Daytona Speed Weeks,. stock car racing was in a serious decline at the time "Big Bill" France founded the sanctioning body. According to the sources on that program, it is unlikely that stock car racing would even exist outside of local tracks outside small towns dotted across America, if at all. Without NASCAR, there would be no Auto Club Speedway, nor would there be Darlington, Lowe's, Daytona, Talledega, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Chicagoland, or Loudon, unless they were built for open wheel cars. Tony Stewart would probably still have been in the right place at the right time, as IRL split from CART, but unless one was an avid USAC fan, no one would have ever heard of Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, or Ryan Newman. Likewise, such names as Ned Jarrett, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, or Mark Martin would be known only to those who saw them race at their local tracks. Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr would have never been able to quit their day jobs, there racing careers would have been limited to that of a weekend warrior driving a car for some wealthy hobbyist who had $20,000 to spend on a Kia to race on Friday and Saturday nights. Frankly, even as far back as 1952, a race car was too expensive at $2,000 for the average racer to buy and maintain. He or she either had to race the family sedan, or hope that a racecar owner saw enough talent to hire him or her to drive the car.
Now the cars cost $200,000 or more. They do not look like the cars you buy from the show room, but neither do they look like any of the much lighter cars you would find on the open wheel circuits. They have fenders and roofs, and weigh around 3400 lbs. They are, technically, stock cars, albeit purpose built racing stock cars. In order to be competitive, the teams that field these cars need money, and that money has to come from sponsors. A sport, such as NASCAR, must continue to grow and build just like any other business, in order to have continued existance, and in order to do that, it must have money.
To quote from Mark Yost's 2007 book, The 200 MPH Billboard:

NASCAR takes care of its sponsors better than any other major league sports in America. Primarily because NASCAR--the executives, the drivers, and the fans--realize that sponsors are the lifeblood of the sport. They understand that the sponsors are the ones who pay the bills and allow the whole thing to happen.
"I put the sponsors right up there with the fans," said Richard Petty, "Without either of them, I wouldn't be able to do what I do."

Now people seem to think that the debacle last weekend in California, due to the weather somehow means that greed has somehow taken over common sense. These are the same people who feel that if we do not live in the southeastern part of the United States, we should either have to travel there to see a race, or read about the race, after the fact, in a magazine or newspaper, just as we did in the old days. They believe that they have more of a right to watch a NASCAR race at Rockingham (because ARCA is somehow beneath them), along with 40,000 other people, than 65,000 Californians--who had to call in sick to work--have to see a race in their part of the country.
They cannot face the fact that NASCAR is not the same sport as that which features the weekend warriors on the local tracks, but is a national passtime, and is for everybody who is interested, not just a small segment of the population in the rural South.
Granted, it was a travesty for NASCAR and Fox to try to run the Auto Club 500 on Sunday, but that decision more than likely lost money than gained money. There was no broadcast while we were waiting for work on the drying of the track or the postponement of the race. The local Fox affiliates ran their own programming, collecting their own money from their own advertisers. Fox Sports kept us updated through the night with fifteen second spots, for which they had to pay.
NASCAR has a product to sell. They sell the product to Fox Sports, to the ticket holders, and to the sponsors. Fox Sports, in turn, has to sell the product to the television audiences and their own sponsors. These business organizations had an obligation to present their products, so they did their best to do so. (End RANT)
Once the track was actually raceworthy, and the cars were able to race on Monday, it turned out to be a better race than we have seen at Fontana. There were 33 lead changes, and there was plenty of wheel to wheel racing for position throughout the field. There were long green flag runs, and very exciting green flag pit stops. There was a hint of Hendrick domination, as Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon--who seemed to have unbeatable cars early in each green flag run--finished third and fourth, but Roush-Fenway driver Carl Edwards was the second winner in two races. Whether or not speedway racing on a 2 mile long intermediate track is your can of beer is up to you, but the race at Fontana showed us that there is plenty of good and competitive racing yet to come Racing we wouldn't even see if it weren't for NASCAR's "greed."

Ravin' about the Humpy Show.

If you like to hear stories of racing, there is a new program on Speed TV that is made for you. The Humpy Show debuted Tuesday night and for me, at least, was an instant hit.
The program features race promotion legend Humpy Wheeler and a driver from NASCAR's past, along with a present star of NASCAR. Humpy's stated goal of the show is to "show the human side of these guys, and to bring the past and present together."
The premier featured Buddy Baker and, ironically, Kurt Busch. The irony is that much of the show's theme was about how the drivers deal with anger issues, and it was recorded before last Friday's altercation between Tony Stewart and the guest star.
The show was excellent, and is worth seeing. The discussion included stories about Buddy and Humpy boxing, Mrs. Lee Petty hitting Tiny Lund with her very heavy purse, and Kurt Busch losing a lap for each time he cussed the NASCAR officials for penalizing him--after he was already down 100 laps. It will be repeated this morning, Feb 13, at 10 AM
Eastern time. Be sure to set your TiVo, DVR, or VCR if you have to go to work, because you do not want to miss it.
Speaking of last Friday's altercation, If you haven't heard, both drivers were put on probation for six races. NASCAR didn't want to make it seem as though they weren't serious about letting drivers show their emotions, yet at the same time they couldn't let the pit road incident go unpunished. Since it was Dirty Kurty who started all the beating on pit road, doesn't this seem like a school suspending both the bully and the guy who got hit by the bully? Doesn't matter, Smoke is at his best when he is on probabtion. I'm not saying that he will win the next six races, but it should be remembered that he has won both of his Cup championships while under probation.
Meanwhile, I think both drivers will behave themselves. If Dirty Kurty wants to win a practice so badly, the other drivers on the track today (if it isn't raining) should let him do so. In fact, I will even predict that the elder Busch Brother will be the first driver in NASCAR history to win practice, just to make sure he doesn't lose his temper again.
Meanwhile, we have the Gatorade Duels to look forward to, and hopefully we will see more of the same kind of racing we saw Saturday at the Bud Shootout. Real racing is back at Daytona, and that is a good thing.

Is there a quick fix?

Everybody has ideas about how to repair the perceived problems in NASCAR. I say "perceived," because some of the problems are just journalistic pot stirring with no real basis, and I mean "everybody" because even people who don't pay attention to NASCAR have suggestions.
A lot of the blame goes to Brian France, some of it unjustified--"he is in Hendrick's pockets," some say--but much of it is justified. Why? Because Brian thinks like an accountant, without the savvy for NASCAR that his father and grandfather had.
So Brian felt compelled to spell out what he thought were the issues, during the Championship week in NYC. As quoted in this article by Daytona's Mark DeCotis, Brian made himself more of the problem:

"It would have helped if he (Dale Jr.) would have been competitive. He didn't win an event, and he certainly didn't make our playoffs. And that's unhelpful if you're trying to build ratings."

Way to go, Mr. France, you just disenfranchised the rest of the 66% of NASCAR fans who are Dale Jr fans.
Now to be fair, that quote was taken out of context. But, nonetheless what Brian meant to say is still pretty disingenuous. This is the kind of thinking he used when he, the NBC sports producers, and Nextel Racing officials came up with the Chase for the Championship, that people won't watch racing if the competition level isn't up to their expectations. He figures that his ratings are down because Dale Jr wasn't in the Chase.
Part of the drop in television ratings is due to the fact that there are other ways to watch a NASCAR race from home using the Internet. Another part is the ineptness of the broadcasting effort on the part of ESPN/ABC in the second half of the season. These are things that neither Brian France, nor NASCAR can do anything about.
Unlike Brian France, the officials in NASCAR who really are in a position to fix things need to look at three real problems and hope that the TV ratings and attendance fix themselves.
Throwing out complaints that are based on personal gripes, dislike of certain drivers or teams, and conspiracy theories, the three main issues I see that need to be addressed are as follows:
1. The main thing that really grates on our nerves, because it is so useless and disruptive, is the provisional rules for the top thirty five in owners points. When six of the top ten qualifying times are not good enough to be in the race, something is definitely wrong. There are now more than forty three teams that try to make the field every week, so the reasoning for the provisional rule is obsolete. This rule has led to a lot of fan frustration and disenfranchisement. If NASCAR would just get rid of it, it would help things some.
2. Make the CoT racier. Many fans are bored to death thinking about parity and the way it was manifested in the fall Talladega race. The testing at AMS didn't seem very promising either. Though it made for one of the most exciting road races in the history of Watkins Glen, the prospects for exciting racing on the speedways and superspeedways with the CoT don't look very promising. Maybe the tire testing Goodyear will be doing with the car during the off season will amount to something. Almost all of the handling problems drivers had with the car were due to the hard compound on the tires Goodyear insisted on providing. It would be easier to fix the tires than to wait for the drivers to learn to deal with it.
In addition to the tires, the CoT at Talledega was absolutely boring. After Watkins Glen, I had high expectations for the car, but perhaps they were too high. Perhaps some way to reduce the speed other than restricter plates could be found? These cars need something to help them pass, as they are not as aero dependent as the old car, so drafting will never be much more than drafting. I thought NASCAR wanted to discourage bump drafting, but with this big, boxy car there is no way to gain a position unless you are bump drafted. Please, NASCAR, try spacers, or a smaller engine, or something that will allow these cars to have the torque they need to actually race at the superspeedways. Racing need not be about the Big One, so there is no reason to set conditions to create an inevitable multi car wreck. Some fans enjoy crashes, but the majority would rather see more racing and fewer cautions.
3. My last fix is partly serious and partly tongue in cheek. It would do a lot for making an even playing field if NASCAR would follow its precedent of putting the biggest cheaters in the position of finding and penalizing cheaters. For example, according to this article Gary Nelson was the third place cheater in NASCAR history, as far as number and severity of penalties. What did NASCAR do with him after he retired? Since he knew so much about cheating, they put him in charge of race inspections. The same thing with fifth place cheater, Robin Pemberton, who was more recently installed of NASCAR President of Competition. Personally, I feel that if NASCAR is really concerned about a level playing field, they should immediately make Chad Knaus Vice President of competition. After all, at the time the article about the top five cheaters was written, Knaus was one major penalty away from replacing Pemberton in the top five. We could find out for sure, then, if Jimmie Johnson really is that good.
But seriously, NASCAR isn't about to do that, and it really would not be fair. What would be fair, is instead of trying so hard to find something wrong with the cars, NASCAR could be just a little more lenient as far as technical innovation goes. Let the crew chiefs be just a little more creative, and the competition will certainly be tighter.
There is another issue that people still complain about but is no longer a factor--the phantom cautions were ceased shortly after My Favorite Driver's "WWE" comment about the bogus officiating used to tighten up the field.
So, maybe NASCAR is in mind to follow my suggestions, since I am not the only one making these suggestions, they could actually hear these ideas. Perhaps they do make these repairs, and gain back the confidence of race fans.
Perhaps the best thing they could do right now is practice creative use of Duck Tape when Brian France attempts to speak.

What NASCAR really needs

Since Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfuntion during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2005, the networks have been very touchy about what is said and done on broadcast television. Not only has it made network executives nervous, but it has given NASCAR officials ulcers whenever drivers are being themselves. But don't we think that these officials have gone a little too far?
Jeff Owens, of NASCAR Scene posted an interesting article on Fox Sports on MSN, in which he suggests that fines and points deductions have taken the personality out of the sport.

"According to many fans, NASCAR has totally sanitized the sport of all color and personality.

It has done this by cracking down on drivers who show any hint of temper or emotion.

Take a swing or a shove at someone and you pay a big fine. Spin somebody on purpose and you get fined and possibly suspended for a race. Defy a NASCAR order and you get all of the above, plus a tongue-lashing like you haven't seen since kindergarten.
And God help you if you let a curse word slip on TV. Do that and NASCAR may: Suspend you for a race; take away valuable championship points; make you film a public service announcement; and fine your mother"

Not only do I agree with him here, but I have to think that maybe this is the real reason for the decline in television ratings.
We want to see our drivers as they really are. Part of being a NASCAR fan is arguing with other fans of other drivers about how your driver was right about that altercation, and the words or actions by the man himself prove it! We thrive on the controversy about what Jeff says about Matt, or Kevin's observations on Juan Pablo's driving ability. If the drivers have to keep a tight reign on what they say or do, for fear of being penalized points, we are deprived of that portion of the entertainment.
We know that NASCAR broadcasts have not always been so sanitized. Owens writes:

"Many of NASCAR's biggest stars would never have survived in today's climate.

Dale Earnhardt? He'd be broke from paying all the fines levied for rough driving. Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers? They'd be banned for life for fighting.

Darrell Waltrip and his legendary tongue? Well, let's just say he wouldn't be able to afford a TV, much less have a career in broadcasting.

And NASCAR officials are scratching their heads wondering why TV ratings are sinking."

Granted, we don't want to see a situation where the main attraction of NASCAR is the altercations and grudge matches. But we were highly entertained and interested in the six month long feud between Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch a few years back. That is another thing that we wouldn't see happen in today's NASCAR.
I say bring back the personality, but don't let it get out of hand. As Owens concludes:

"Obviously, NASCAR can't totally ignore violent incidents that endanger lives and publicly embarrass the sport. But it can give its drivers a bit more leeway when it comes to stirring things up and showing raw emotion.

Drivers and officials concede that NASCAR today is as much entertainment as racing.

So let them entertain."

Amen

Our sensors are reading an anomaly

After around forty-five laps in the race, the ESPN on ABC race coverage broke for a commercial. I went to use the facilities, and, when I returned, the pre-race show was on. The drivers were just going to the introductions, and then there was a caution on lap 54. My question is, did this happen on everybody's television, or have I really gone nuts? As one who has spent a lifetime studying and experimenting with the Spiritual side of existence, I understand that, in the realms of Spiritual consciousness, there is no such thing as linear time. I wonder, have I transcended into that reality?
Cawsnjaws, an off-beat NASCAR blog, presents excellent stats on the coverage/advertising ratio of the broadcasts. There may be some sort of explanation there. For now, I will proceed as if I have, indeed, left the physical plane, and there is no such thing as linear time, so this post may be difficult for some to read.
The best interview during the race was the one with Jeff Green, after the "Big One," with fourteen laps to go. Green explained that there were many different races going on, which most fans realize, but don't really pay much attention to. We should appreciate his composure, his sportsmanship, and his reluctance to place blame on any single driver or incident. The Green interview was probably the most rational part of the entire broadcast. A close second was the interview following the Big One, during the red flag period, between Rusty Wallace and Carl Edwards. Rusty asked Carl if he was concerned about the tires, with all the debris on the track, and if he would pit to get new tires. Carl started to answer, then, realizing who he was talking to, asked with genuine curiosity and respect, "What would you do?"
I liked that.
The Monster Mile had claws and teeth, Sunday. There were thirteen or fourteen cautions and over 66 caution laps. During the last half of the race, there were as few as seven cars on the lead lap. The separation between the cars that were running well and the cars that weren't was huge and well-defined. The Monster didn't care who was running well and who wasn't--attrition came indiscriminately. Most notable was Denny Hamlin, who got himself into trouble several times, ultimately destroying his car and moving himself to the tail end of the top twelve in points. Kyle Petty, angry because he was one of Hamlin's victims, suggested that considering Hamlin's illness, he shouldn't have tried to race both the Busch and the Cup series. By putting himself through such a grueling test, Kyle said, he had "lost his focus."
Petty, always rational, was probably right, which makes NASCAR From The Bleachers right, and me wrong. Until somebody tells me that ABC's temporal glitch happened on their TV as well as mine, I will maintain that I am irrational anyway.
Matt Kenseth had a good car that allowed him to race Denny Hamlin for the lead, early in the race. When Denny started having problems, it looked as though Kenseth had the car to beat. Electrical problems threatened, but Kenseth ran well for most of the race. Then, toward the end of the race, the engine expired. Teresa Earnhardt, the one who exists in the fantasies of Junior Fanatics--not you, Antonette, the real "out there" fanatics--apparently thought she could give her favorite driver, Martin Truex, Jr., an edge by sabotaging the other Chasers, because the problem was--all together now--a BENT VALVE. Truex, however, was one of the twelve drivers involved in the Big One, and his car quickly disintegrated after that.
So, Evil--not the real one--Teresa's plot was foiled, much to the delight of the foil-hatted ones.
Jr., himself ran well, and I once again became appreciative of his ability to handle a car that was less than perfect.
Did you know that I've been labeled a "Jr. Basher," in the That's Racin'.com forums? Apparently, you're not supposed to start a sentence with "If he doesn't win," when referring to the move to Hendrick Motorsports.
So, for those who don't believe that I believe in Jr, I will write this:

If the magical power of HMS is great enough to turn less-than-mediocre drivers, like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, into champions, think what it can do with Dale Earnhardt, Jr, the greatest driver in all the many Universes. In fact, Jr. will be so good that NASCAR will make a new rule that says that once a car is twenty laps ahead of all the others, every lap until the end of the race will be counted as a victory. Therefore, it won't just be thirty-six Cup races Jr. wins next year, he'll be awarded with 112 victories, the most ever in one season. And, he won't ever have to worry about sponsorship again, because he'll be sponsored by God.

That should make up for my version of ABC's commercial interruptions.
I was pleased to hear the comparison of the Busch Series and the Cup Series to the American and National leagues in baseball, rather than the minor and major leagues. I've been implying that comparison for some time now, except I didn't put it that way because I don't watch much baseball. I like the Colorado Rockies, so I'm not a baseball fan.
Anyway, back to the race. It was a thrill to watch Mark Martin racing for the lead--it always is, because his racing style is so unique. It was also interesting to see "Bad Luck" Biffle do so well. Can he finally put that bad luck behind him? A good racing Biff makes for good racing.
After all the smoke cleared, Smoke, who had been running most of the race around p-20 and a lap down, finished in the top ten. That's what patience can do for my favorite driver. Tony Stewart used every bit of his skill to thread through the wreckage of lap 386, and it paid off. Friday, he had stated that his goal in this race would be to close the gap between his points and those of the championship leader. Now, in second place, three points behind Jeff Gordon, we can say he met that goal.
After Carl Edwards scored a 9.8 out of a perfect ten on his Victory Backflip, I must admit that the race was, overall, pretty good. I just wish somebody could figure out a better way to cover it on television.

The Number 24

The number "24" means a lot this time of the year. One of my all-time favorite television series 24 has started with a bang, literally, and even in its sixth season, it still has the edge that made it popular in its first season. The plot always contains tribute to Murphy's law, and we who watch it are always wondering "what else can go wrong."
Indeed, we should, because the show is notorious for killing off those we have come to think of as main characters, characters we have come to know and like, and we are justly shocked when they get killed. Every hour of the show represents an hour of "real time," which makes it unique among action programs. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger, ensuring that you will go back for more.
This coming weekend is another event in which the number 24 is significant:
Saturday and Sunday is the 24 Hours at Daytona race, which has marked, for me at least, the official start of the racing season. Actually, the Chili Bowl would be that marker, but for the fact that there is no television coverage for that event.
The 24 hours, though, will be covered by Fox Broadcasting Network as well as Speed TV. The Fox coverage is the first by a major television network for this event.
If you think, because it is an endurance race, that the drivers will avoid racing in order to save their cars for the long run, you haven't seen this race lately. With drivers like Tony Stewart, Max Angelelli, Jimmy Johnson, and Casey Mears, the race is really a race--for twenty-four hours. The teams are made up of three or four drivers who take turns in two to three hour stints. The trick is to travel the longest distance in twenty four hours. In order to do that, you have to race, and that means passing other cars, which, to the NASCAR fans, is a big part of racing. Fox coverage will begin at 1:00pm Eastern Time, and will last until Speed TV's coverage starts at 2:30 PM ET, Saturday.
There are a total of seventy one entries for the race, so I will not post the entry list here, but it is available at Racing One.com.
There is also another 24, that of Jeff Gordon, who, in a little more than 24 days will begin his fifth "Drive for Five" (Championships). I just mention this because it fits in with the theme of this post.
I'm ready to watch some racing.