BORING: Nextel Cup racing still dull in spite of rules changes
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
FORT WORTH, Texas
For the past two years, crew chiefs and drivers have complained that pit-road strategy - and gas-mileage strategy in particular - was taking all the fun out of racing, that stock-car racing was no longer about racing.
So NASCAR changed the rules, ordered Goodyear to make softer tires and ordered teams to bolt on shorter rear spoilers. The thinking was that tires would fall off in speed over a 100-mile run and that more racing would be put back into the hands of drivers and crew chiefs.
But it hasn't worked out that way.
What has happened so far, at big tracks such as those at Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Texas, is that the racing is more boring than ever. The cars are strung out more than ever. It's harder than ever to pass. Drivers are more reluctant than ever to get near each other, so there are fewer yellows. So there are fewer passes for the lead.
Sunday's finish of the Samsung/RadioShack 500 was a thriller, but only because NASCAR ran so many yellow-flag laps in the closing miles that dominating Kasey Kahne simply ran out of time to catch Elliott Sadler.
But the race itself was a dog. Even drivers and crew chiefs approached reporters in the garage, complaining about how the new soft-tire/low-downforce package simply isn't working.
Take Matt Kenseth, for example. He has had the hot shoe most of the season, with wins at Rockingham and Las Vegas, but Sunday, he wasn't even in the game.
And Robbie Reiser, Kenseth's crew chief, didn't have much to say after a 16th-place finish: "Think I'd rather be a reporter today.
"We just struggled all day, and I wish I could give you an answer. But if I knew, I'd fix it.
"We're just hit-or-miss. We either get it right on the money or we're no good."
Is there enough downforce on these cars, or did NASCAR go too far in taking downforce off?
"I don't really know, and it's not for me to complain right now; the rules are what they are, and it's up to me to work within that circle and get the cars to work," Reiser said.
NASCAR is talking about cutting another half-inch off the rear spoilers for the California 500 later this month, for even less downforce.
"I don't even have a handle on this, so I hope they don't throw another thing at me, but I have heard that, too," Reiser said with a nervous laugh. "Like I said, I'd rather be a reporter."
Kenseth said: "It was just a tough day. We didn't run very good and just about got lapped there. We did get lapped, but the next time under green, we pitted early and then got caught and lost two laps over that deal. We just never could get it back, and we just didn't run good. We had our setup too far off. We just have to do our homework and figure out what we're missing."
Jeff Gordon doesn't like the rules package, either. Gordon complained about the "aero" push and pointed out that Kahne was virtually the only driver who could pass.
"We don't really see the type of race we really like to see here," Gordon said. "When you get that car up front, it's amazing how it reacts. I had a chance to have that car up front here, and what a difference it made. The car drove unbelievably."
Kahne agreed.
"The aero push was huge," he said. "That's why we didn't pass Elliott. We were definitely better. If we had passed him, we would have pulled away. That was the story of the day.
"But I tried making the top work. I just about got it. But he was just a little too fast through the center of the corner, and I couldn't get beside him soon enough."
Texas Motor Speedway also has a reputation for extreme tire abuse, but Goodyear's new tires held up well. The only tire problem appeared to be Ryan Newman's right front: "I don't know if we blew it or if we cut it," Newman said.
Goodyear engineers were noticeably testy when questioned about tires after the race, basically passing the buck to NASCAR when asked about any talks about increasing downforce on the cars to make them more drivable.
Crew chiefs say that Goodyear was put in an unfair situation by NASCAR by being forced to give up a tire package that has been very safe.
Now there is talk that Goodyear may be under pressure to let NASCAR add more downforce to these cars and keep the same soft-tire line. That would make any tire engineer very nervous.
Goodyear officials won't say just what they're talking about with NASCAR executives right now in discussions of the single-file racing.
Could Goodyear OK NASCAR adding more downforce to these cars with this tire package, and not risk the tires blistering or tearing apart? Goodyear calls such a question "premature."
• Mike Mulhern can be reached at [email protected]
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
FORT WORTH, Texas
For the past two years, crew chiefs and drivers have complained that pit-road strategy - and gas-mileage strategy in particular - was taking all the fun out of racing, that stock-car racing was no longer about racing.
So NASCAR changed the rules, ordered Goodyear to make softer tires and ordered teams to bolt on shorter rear spoilers. The thinking was that tires would fall off in speed over a 100-mile run and that more racing would be put back into the hands of drivers and crew chiefs.
But it hasn't worked out that way.
What has happened so far, at big tracks such as those at Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Texas, is that the racing is more boring than ever. The cars are strung out more than ever. It's harder than ever to pass. Drivers are more reluctant than ever to get near each other, so there are fewer yellows. So there are fewer passes for the lead.
Sunday's finish of the Samsung/RadioShack 500 was a thriller, but only because NASCAR ran so many yellow-flag laps in the closing miles that dominating Kasey Kahne simply ran out of time to catch Elliott Sadler.
But the race itself was a dog. Even drivers and crew chiefs approached reporters in the garage, complaining about how the new soft-tire/low-downforce package simply isn't working.
Take Matt Kenseth, for example. He has had the hot shoe most of the season, with wins at Rockingham and Las Vegas, but Sunday, he wasn't even in the game.
And Robbie Reiser, Kenseth's crew chief, didn't have much to say after a 16th-place finish: "Think I'd rather be a reporter today.
"We just struggled all day, and I wish I could give you an answer. But if I knew, I'd fix it.
"We're just hit-or-miss. We either get it right on the money or we're no good."
Is there enough downforce on these cars, or did NASCAR go too far in taking downforce off?
"I don't really know, and it's not for me to complain right now; the rules are what they are, and it's up to me to work within that circle and get the cars to work," Reiser said.
NASCAR is talking about cutting another half-inch off the rear spoilers for the California 500 later this month, for even less downforce.
"I don't even have a handle on this, so I hope they don't throw another thing at me, but I have heard that, too," Reiser said with a nervous laugh. "Like I said, I'd rather be a reporter."
Kenseth said: "It was just a tough day. We didn't run very good and just about got lapped there. We did get lapped, but the next time under green, we pitted early and then got caught and lost two laps over that deal. We just never could get it back, and we just didn't run good. We had our setup too far off. We just have to do our homework and figure out what we're missing."
Jeff Gordon doesn't like the rules package, either. Gordon complained about the "aero" push and pointed out that Kahne was virtually the only driver who could pass.
"We don't really see the type of race we really like to see here," Gordon said. "When you get that car up front, it's amazing how it reacts. I had a chance to have that car up front here, and what a difference it made. The car drove unbelievably."
Kahne agreed.
"The aero push was huge," he said. "That's why we didn't pass Elliott. We were definitely better. If we had passed him, we would have pulled away. That was the story of the day.
"But I tried making the top work. I just about got it. But he was just a little too fast through the center of the corner, and I couldn't get beside him soon enough."
Texas Motor Speedway also has a reputation for extreme tire abuse, but Goodyear's new tires held up well. The only tire problem appeared to be Ryan Newman's right front: "I don't know if we blew it or if we cut it," Newman said.
Goodyear engineers were noticeably testy when questioned about tires after the race, basically passing the buck to NASCAR when asked about any talks about increasing downforce on the cars to make them more drivable.
Crew chiefs say that Goodyear was put in an unfair situation by NASCAR by being forced to give up a tire package that has been very safe.
Now there is talk that Goodyear may be under pressure to let NASCAR add more downforce to these cars and keep the same soft-tire line. That would make any tire engineer very nervous.
Goodyear officials won't say just what they're talking about with NASCAR executives right now in discussions of the single-file racing.
Could Goodyear OK NASCAR adding more downforce to these cars with this tire package, and not risk the tires blistering or tearing apart? Goodyear calls such a question "premature."
• Mike Mulhern can be reached at [email protected]
