NASCAR has done a great job of trying to make a series based on a circuit of cookie cutter tracks, cookie cutter drivers and cookie cutter cars.
But that's not what the majority of race car fans want.
Nascar has done such a great job of making all the cars equal that aerodynamics allows which-ever driver gets out if front in clean air an advantage. We see 30 cars racing for 2nd place in dirty air rather than seeing 30 cars racing for the win.
Nascar has done such a great job of dictating car rules that its more about the car than the driver.
I think most fans would like to see NASCAR roll it back a touch so that the drivers skill is showcased.
One thing I do not understand, NASCAR dictates the rules so as to make the cars safer on the high speed tracks yet the rules for their different divisions that run at on those high speed tracks are different.
I still like to refer to their divisions as the Grand National, and the Sportsman, because the names change with different sponsors, so why not just create the rules the same. If the Sportsman cars are safe at the high speed tracks then why create a different set of rules for the GN ? Just to increase the costs ?
I think NASCAR allows teams to "buy" wins because when it comes right down to it, outside of a wreck, damaging the car, bad pit stop, the team with the most money wins most of the races.
Look at the rules, win and fail post race inspection, there is no disqualification, Nascar just docks a team some championship points and fines them some money, but yet they get to keep the win.
Follow that up with the fact that sponsors pay big dollars to be seen on TV and running up front gets the most air time.
Geez, Maybe it would be worth it to build illegal cars, run out front , getting lots of air time, win the race, get docked some points and some money. I mean if the sponsor gives you tens of millions to give them air time, then isn't that the smart why to go ?
Welcome to todays NASCAR.
I think if people did some research they would discover that the #24 and #48 teams were fined more than any other teams during the years they were winning everything.
NASCAR is all about the money. Bill France, who created NASCAR, stated it was not a sport, it was entertainment.
NASCAR knows that it has to have " Stars" so as to promote their " show" .
The have to make sure these "Stars" are competitive. They have to win poles, they have to be running in the top 10, they have to lead laps, they have to get a fair amount of air time.
That's just good business if you are in the entertainment business.
And NASCAR makes a good chunk of change on the sale of licensed souvenir sales.Back years ago, the race teams sold their own souvenirs and got to keep all the money, but NASCAR found out it was a multi- billion dollar business so they had to get their cut. NASCAR is all about the money, its an entertainment business and if their stars are making money for racing in NASCAR, NASCAR simply wants their cut, that's just good business. Ever notice how much driver turn over there is ? Sure the Stars are taken care of, at least as long as the drivers souvenir sales maintain a good profit. Once the sales slip, its time to bring in a fresh face.
You think I am full of it ? Lets talk about Danica Patrick, she was a talented driver and drove for the top team, ( at the time), she never won a race but man, but man she could draw sponsors and produced tons of money in souvenir sales. She lasted a very long time and when she left Hendricks Tony Stewart was quick to pick her up, and made comments that she brought in lots of sponsorship money. Its all about the money.
But once her souvenir sales started going down and she was not able to win, she was gone.
Ever notice when one Star fades, suddenly there is a new Star on the scene right on time ? It just good business.
Think about this, if all of NASCARS divisions that ran at the big tracks had the same rules, The Grand National, The Sportsman and now ARCA, there would be over 100 cars at each race trying to make the field.
That would make great racing it would be very competitive, but would the STARS of NASCAR be able to even make the show ? If they did make the show could they be competitive ?
Seriously, if an ARCA race car is safe on the big tracks why not standardize those rules, why have more expensive cars to run in the Sportsman series and even more expensive cars to run in the GN series ?
Well, do they really want a backwards big ole ugly driver that can't talk without stuttering or cursing every other word to win ? No they do not. That would not be good business.
So, to play the game, its entertainment, its about the money then lets allow the drivers the ability to catch and pass the leader. Having a taller rear spoiler gives better handling and reduces overall speed. Thats good, now allow more different gear ratios in trans and rear end, and allow each team to have a bottle of NO2, Nitrous Oxide. ( except when qualifying ( unlike the old days, wink, nod )
Allow small fins on the leading edge of the front fenders in order to reduce understeer, push, so cars can pass.
Also allow different compounds of tires, a soft and a hard. Allow teams to mix and match them.
This way if a caution falls near the end of the race the leaders will need to put on some gumballs. But will it be two or four ?
This goes hand in hand with my other suggestions, cars re-align after a caution in the order they entered the pits, with the exceptions, gas only, 2 tires, 4 tires.
On the restart, it would be using the Delaware restart, allowing the drivers to choose which lane to start , inside or outside. It would start with lead cars that did not pit, then cars that pitted only taking fuel, then cars only taking 2 tires then cars taking 4 tires then the lapped cars
This eliminates cars winning the race in the pits by having a split second faster pit stop, usually by leaving a lug nut loose, or just flat leaving it off.
This greatly reduces dangers and risks of injury ( even fatalities ) in the pits for crew members and officials. Also loose lug nuts coming of a car at speed is a danger to the fans.
FANS WANT TO SEE THE RACE WON OR LOST ON THE TRACK NOT ON PIT ROAD. NASCAR actually bragged about races being won or lost in the pits, that just shows how out of touch they really are. The Track was designed for racing, the pits was not. Why by a ticket if you can't see the pits if that's what its all about . It would then become the pit crews not the driver that would be the Stars.
On restarts, it needs to be lengthened from green, white, checkered, which is only two laps, to three laps as it takes cars a lap to get up to speed at the faster tracks.
Also, go back to starting 43 cars, especially on the big tracks. The "Start and Park" teams ( about 6 or so ) are entry level teams that need some exposure to attract more sonsorship/advertisers with drivers that are needing some experience and some exposure themselves. It also allows new crew members the ability to get some experience pitting a car.