BREAKDOWN: No sport is perfect, but NASCAR needs some fixing up

D

Digger

Guest
The 2007 Nextel Cup season will be remembered for many things.


Most of them are not good.


Jimmie Johnson's incredible run at the end of the Chase is historic even if it has robbed the sport of a fight to the finish. If he closes with five straight wins to become the first to do it since Richard Petty in 1971, it may permanently shift the balance of power at Hendrick Motorsports away from Jeff Gordon and into Johnson's corner.


But that's a battle that Johnson and Gordon can wage. Let's look at the things that went wrong for NASCAR in 2007 and ways to fix them.


1. The Chase has got to change its venues
I know this won't happen for next year with schedules already set. But some of the sites the Chase has chosen as the backdrop for the championship are just flat-out wrong.


The Chase starts in Loudon, N.H. In September, New Englanders are consumed with two things: the Red Sox and their pursuit of a pennant and the Patriots' pursuit of another Super Bowl. (Well, New England still seems to be selling out, something California can't do - Andy)


Kyle Busch's pursuit of points is not high on their list. (Nope, they cheer for Denny and Martin Truex, of and Junyer - Andy)


Starting the Chase here brings no fanfare to the sport. This problem may be resolved for NASCAR by Bruton Smith, who is likely to take an event away from his recently purchased Loudon track and shift it to Las Vegas, a much better place to make a splash at the start of the Chase. (Then what, take one away from Dover and move the next race to Kentucky or Martinsville's date being given to Iowa. Ridiculous, New Hampshire sells out, keep it - Andy)


The end of the Chase isn't much better. It finishes in the Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Miami markets. All these cities are home to four pro sports teams and have a lot going on in the fall. There were lots of empty seats in Atlanta and Texas. There will surely be some in Homestead, Fla., too.
(Yep, because the Dolphins are doing so well this year it's cracy, Homestead won't sell out, the Dolphins are in the racde for the divisional championship. :eek: ... btw, that was sarcasm ... Homestead's a great track, even though they are greedy communists, to end the Chase - Andy)

There is not a great variety in the tracks, either.

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage would like to have his second race moved from November to September. Maybe the second California race could be moved to November. Maybe someone would show up at the Fontana track for the later date rather than on Labor Day, when it feels as if the race is being held on the surface of the sun.


Personally, I think a season that starts in Daytona should end in Talladega. Get a little closer to NASCAR's roots.


2. Change the Chase's points system
I'm not saying this because Gordon is 86 points behind and I would like to see a more interesting finish, but I think the driver who leads the standings after 26 races should get 25 bonus points.


Ten points for victories is fine. That can stay. But one win shouldn't count for more than the consistency it took for a driver to be No. 1 after 26 races. Reward the regular-season winner with something that counts.


It's not as if that would guarantee the No. 1 driver of the championship. As you can see, Gordon would still trail Johnson by 61 points if this were in place.

(I agree. Jeff was robbed.)


3. More night races, please
First of all, there's something that is just cool about the way the cars look under the lights. Yes, I am including even you, Cars of Tomorrow. (And then get home at 3 in the morning more than twice a year :eek: - Andy)


There's something very uncool about butting heads with the NFL from September to November. (Not here, our local affiliattes pick the worst games that can be on television and show them, I'll take the racing - Andy)


I know NASCAR's audience is different and there are lots of college football fans among the fan base, too. (Which is why Nationwide should run short tracks where Cup drivers can't come in and invade on a friday night - Andy)


But if you want to do something about that roughly 10 percent drop in ratings, stop going up against the Cowboys and the Colts Sunday after Sunday. At least a lot of the college games are played during the day so you wouldn't be competing with them. (Or, you can put the dam race back on NBC, they at least show the race - Andy)


4. Fewer four-hour races, please
There is nothing magical about 500 miles or 500 laps. It's just a number, and with the caution fests that the COT has produced, we have seen plenty of 3½ and even four-hour races. (EFF YOU TIM! 400 miles is not long enough for me, give me a 500 and a 550. I want to watch the races for a longer period of time. Makes for great racing when they start in the day and end at night - Andy)


I know that sells a lot of advertising. It also causes a lot of channel surfing, too.


A three-hour race is a good race. There is nothing wrong with 400-mile events. (So, I pay $100 for a 3 hour race because you want them to be shorter. My local racetracks are selling out, and all we get for that is a 400 mile race, 2 300 mile races and one 260 mile race. What kinda crap is that - Andy)


5. Close up silly loopholes
What other sport would favor a system in which team owner Roger Penske can just take the points earned by Kurt Busch this year and hand them over to Sam Hornish Jr. in order to get him into the first five races?


Busch can qualify on the past champion's provisional. But the fact that Busch is successful and has two ways to qualify shouldn't be used to get Hornish into races and knock out someone more deserving.


That rule was used by other teams this summer. This sport should be about the driver earning his way in, not a team owner's ability to manipulate the rules.


Other than that, I think everything will be just fine as long as Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus don't mind running every race with a restrictor plate on their engine next year.


Tim Cowlishaw is a columnist for the Dallas Morning News and a contributor to ESPN's NASCAR coverage.
 
Alright ill be the first to say it in this thread.


NO MORE NIGHT RACES!

Yeah i know it looks cool and that, but im one of the people that believes that would seriously hurt weekly racing at short tracks. Why go sit in the stands and pay to watch racing when you can stay home every friday and saturday night and watch it for free on tv.

promoters have a hard enough time fighting other major forms of entertainment they dont need nascar taking more of their fan base.
 
basscatcher89 said:
Alright ill be the first to say it in this thread.


NO MORE NIGHT RACES!

Yeah i know it looks cool and that, but im one of the people that believes that would seriously hurt weekly racing at short tracks. Why go sit in the stands and pay to watch racing when you can stay home every friday and saturday night and watch it for free on tv.

promoters have a hard enough time fighting other major forms of entertainment they dont need nascar taking more of their fan base.
Click to expand...

They should put up Jumbotrons at the racetrack. Watch NASCAR and local racing live! Irwindale does it. :idunno:
 
I wouldn't watch Nascar at our local track. I would be watching the racing I love on dirt. I do take the headphones and listen to some of the Nascar race until my brother races. Then I put on the real headphones. :D
 
AndyMarquisLIVE said:
1. The Chase has got to change its venues
Click to expand...

I like the idea of having one of the superpeedways in the chase, but not both, and not for the finale. But you are right about starting it with a lot of fanfare at one of those two tracks. Starting it at Loudon, even though they sell out, just doesn't seem to do a lot. It's a fairly new track, with the first race in '93.


Personally, (and I've felt this since they move removed the Southern 500 in favor of an extremely boring, half emtpy race track in California) they should hold the final race of the year at Darlington, name it the Southern 500, and bring some meaning back to the last race of the year. And by adding the championship to it, that much better.

2. Change the Chase's points system
Click to expand...

While i agree it was a pretty hard hit losing 300 points in one fell swoop like that, I think the chase, and the way they stacked them up this year is closer to what they wanted to begin with. It's pretty popular opinion that wins should be worth more, and by stacking up the 12 by virtue of wins did just that, made winning races more beneficial. And at the same time, the one with the most wins (almost twice as many as Gordon) has the points lead and will likely win the chase.

3. More night races, please
Click to expand...

100% disagree here. More night races just means less people hitting the local tracks. Yes, by now many tracks are closed, but I really don't want to see anymore night races, I think there are two many already. My local track's cars look great under the lights.......

4. Fewer four-hour races, please
Click to expand...

Yes sir! Even Phoenix, wich is only 500K, lasted from 3:00 until almost 7:30. It's getting rediculous, and they really do seem to be taking longer and longer. The cynic in me says that this is simply to induce more ad revenue:cool:
 
Add a road track to the chase. Thats all I want. One more road race in the season and put it in the chase.
 
The races are too long. And, with the COT they could get longer since they don't go as fast. I know we can't expect to see thrilling side by side racing, especially on TV, all the time but is asking for a few times a race really that much. I will agree with a much much earlier post that they need to back off the cars some and use a wider shot to show more of the racing. But, then you wouldn't be able to read the sponsor decals. And, especially those in the car.
Which brings up the point how is watching a driver in the car from the passenger seat racing. You may see out the side window him pass someone or they pass him but its not showing me racing. I don't need to see his eyeballs, feet, gear shift or what ever else. I don't need the camera beneath the car showing the travel rate of the shocks/spring package. I would question whether I really need to see out the back of the car to the cars following him. Now out the front I can buy, somewhat. If he's catching someone or if its to give me an angle of a wreck that wasn't captured otherwise. But, even then mostly all you see is the smoke. I don't need to see the smoke. I've seen smoke. I know you can't see too well thru smoke. But 2 or 3 times every race they have to show me what usually Harvick saw as he drove thru the smoke.
I don't know...
 
I agree about the wider angle bit, it drives me nuts to only see one or two cars the entire race. (and they even are usually showing a car I'm interested in...)

But I do like the in-car shots. I just like knowing what these guys are doing is just a little bit harder than my drive down I-40. Smoke over and over, sure, that's a little over the top, but the first time usually makes me say "woah. glad that wasn't me..."

:cheers:
 
Someone has to pay for the telecast. Currently it is the Sponsors and their decals must be shown. Now, if you would like to go to pay TV, then perhaps something could be done, but I still doubt it.
 
So you're willing to sacrifice seeing side by side racing to having the camera showing their eyeballs and how they react to sun, other cars, etc.
Well once I see it once I don't need to see it again. If Nascar wants to be like the stick and ball sports ask yourself how often the camera zooms in on Tom Brady's eyes and keeps it there while he is executing a play. Maybe they will show his footwork but that's going to be on a replay between plays.
And, if you think watching their hands grip the steering wheel shows you how hard there job is it doesn't. Being in the car just makes everything seem so surreal because you don't have a sense of what is going on around them. It's like a hen party when you're trying to watch MNF. Sure you know there's cackling somewhere and occasionally maybe you recognize your wife's voice but it's not enough to get your attention. Watching them going 190mph a foot or less from several other drivers tells me all I want to know.
 
The TV coverage must improve. Show racing instead of a drive you want to showcase. If there is not much racing taking place at a certain time, then do your showcase.

Night races do hurt local tracks. I have seen it for several years. Adding more will only hurt your product in the long run. Instead of having kids that might see something and become interested at a local track, they're stuck at home watching it on TV, which isn't the same thing.

I would agree with doing something different with the points system for the Chase. Why should one Chaser get max points for winning a race and leading the most laps while another Chaser, who might be the second highest Chaser, finishes 10th and have 8 other drivers get more points than he does and they are not in the Chase?

Better yet, go back to what you were doing in 1998 and go from there. That seems to be the high point.
 
VaDirt said:
Yes sir! Even Phoenix, wich is only 500K, lasted from 3:00 until almost 7:30. It's getting rediculous, and they really do seem to be taking longer and longer. The cynic in me says that this is simply to induce more ad revenue:cool:
Click to expand...

Cautions, red flags, poinmtless debris cautions for plastic bags going on the grass, Dover had three red flags. :eek:

I mean, I go to Dover because it's known for having some awesome finishes (1994, 2001, 2006, 2004 spring) but the amount of time they spend under caution (whick amazed me at the two races I went to that were on ABC) was long. I guess they do that to make sure none of the fans miss the restarts. But 6 laps under yellow (1 minute to complete each lap) at a 1 mile track because a car spun adds up each time they do it. :rolleyes:

And, the races start too late, especially with ABC.
 
vanzetti said:
I agree about the wider angle bit, it drives me nuts to only see one or two cars the entire race. (and they even are usually showing a car I'm interested in...)

But I do like the in-car shots. I just like knowing what these guys are doing is just a little bit harder than my drive down I-40. Smoke over and over, sure, that's a little over the top, but the first time usually makes me say "woah. glad that wasn't me..."

:cheers:
Click to expand...

The in-cars a great for a quick replay of a wreck or a close call, but it's way over used, IMO. To use it in one car to show 3 or 4 laps of racing just ruins the telecast.
 
muggle not said:
The Carousel????? Please explain.
Click to expand...

The "carousel" at Laguna Seca is a crazy tight S turn. But it's also completely blind. Uphill up a long fast straight that veers very slightly to the right, and suddenly a sharp, blind left/right S that goes down hill.

http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/...California/Monterey/Mazda_Raceway_Laguna_Seca shows a satellite shot of the track. The carousel is the S turn at the right of the image. Zoom in and you can see a little better, but it still doesn't do it any justice of how tight and blind it can be.
 
VaDirt said:
The "carousel" at Laguna Seca is a crazy tight S turn. But it's also completely blind. Uphill up a long fast straight that veers very slightly to the right, and suddenly a sharp, blind left/right S that goes down hill.

http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/...California/Monterey/Mazda_Raceway_Laguna_Seca shows a satellite shot of the track. The carousel is the S turn at the right of the image. Zoom in and you can see a little better, but it still doesn't do it any justice of how tight and blind it can be.
Click to expand...
We raced at Laguna Seca and what you are describing is the Corkscrew. matter of fact our driver came upon a car that was sideways in the middle of the Corkscrew and miracously avoided hitting it. Another car wasn't as fortunate.
 
muggle not said:
We raced at Laguna Seca and what you are describing is the Corkscrew. matter of fact our driver came upon a car that was sideways in the middle of the Corkscrew and miracously avoided hitting it. Another car wasn't as fortunate.
Click to expand...

Yup, you're right. Got my names mixed up. I know that the carousel is a turn name somewhere though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom