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Petty questions racing's new points system
By: Greer Smith , STAFF SPORTS WRITER 01/20/2004
Richard Petty, winner of seven championships in NASCAR's top division under a variety of systems, voiced reservations about the impending change in the points system format.
The sanctioning body is expected this morning to announce a format that calls for a 10-race "playoff" among at least the top 10 drivers after the first 26 races, with point totals reset to almost zero. It will be the first time that the champion of the division that began in 1949 will not be determine from point totals of all the races.
Petty is unsure if mimicking the "playoff" systems in other sports is a good thing.
"I have mixed emotions, Petty said Monday night. "NASCAR got where it is because we've done things different. We've not had playoffs, or drafts, or the same things as sports. Now, we're jumping into the pool with every body else. Now, we're going to be a small fish in a big pond."
But, Petty realizes the sport must have changes to grow.
"Tradition is great to build a base," Petty said. "If NASCAR had held to tradition and not done anything to go forward, we'd still be running at Charlotte fairgrounds. So you have to try different things, but you don't want to get too far away from your traditions."
Jeff Green, who came aboard to drive Petty's No. 43 in September, was less enthusiastic about the point system proposal.
"I didn't see anything wrong with the old system," Green said. "But, it doesn't matter what system they use. I'm going to be running as hard as I can every lap."
Petty faces the new format coming off a dismal year in which his son Kyle had no top ten finishes in the team's No. 45. John Andretti had Petty Enterprises' only top 10 for car No. 43 before he was fired in June, leading to a series of driver changes that ended in Green's hiring.
In an effort to change the downward trend, Petty said he and his cousin and longtime crew chief Dale Inman, who came out of retirement recently, are taking a more active role in managing the race shop. "We are doing things different than last year because what we did last year didn't work," Petty said. "The reason we came back is that there is 24 hours in a day and Kyle was trying to do 28 hours worth of work. We sit down with Kyle and ask what is his plan and then we go out in the garage and make sure it gets done."
Petty said Inman is allowed to crack the whip.
"We brought Dale back as a straw boss," Petty said. We've got our system lined up as far as who is supposed to do what. Sometimes they don't work together quite enough. We brought Dale in to get people to communicate a little bit better. The deal for him is to get them on the same page at the same time."
It's good to see that a racing legend like Richard Petty is keeping a open mind about this whole deal and not making a hasty decision. It's great that the best crew chief of all time is back at PE to help turn things around.
By: Greer Smith , STAFF SPORTS WRITER 01/20/2004
Richard Petty, winner of seven championships in NASCAR's top division under a variety of systems, voiced reservations about the impending change in the points system format.
The sanctioning body is expected this morning to announce a format that calls for a 10-race "playoff" among at least the top 10 drivers after the first 26 races, with point totals reset to almost zero. It will be the first time that the champion of the division that began in 1949 will not be determine from point totals of all the races.
Petty is unsure if mimicking the "playoff" systems in other sports is a good thing.
"I have mixed emotions, Petty said Monday night. "NASCAR got where it is because we've done things different. We've not had playoffs, or drafts, or the same things as sports. Now, we're jumping into the pool with every body else. Now, we're going to be a small fish in a big pond."
But, Petty realizes the sport must have changes to grow.
"Tradition is great to build a base," Petty said. "If NASCAR had held to tradition and not done anything to go forward, we'd still be running at Charlotte fairgrounds. So you have to try different things, but you don't want to get too far away from your traditions."
Jeff Green, who came aboard to drive Petty's No. 43 in September, was less enthusiastic about the point system proposal.
"I didn't see anything wrong with the old system," Green said. "But, it doesn't matter what system they use. I'm going to be running as hard as I can every lap."
Petty faces the new format coming off a dismal year in which his son Kyle had no top ten finishes in the team's No. 45. John Andretti had Petty Enterprises' only top 10 for car No. 43 before he was fired in June, leading to a series of driver changes that ended in Green's hiring.
In an effort to change the downward trend, Petty said he and his cousin and longtime crew chief Dale Inman, who came out of retirement recently, are taking a more active role in managing the race shop. "We are doing things different than last year because what we did last year didn't work," Petty said. "The reason we came back is that there is 24 hours in a day and Kyle was trying to do 28 hours worth of work. We sit down with Kyle and ask what is his plan and then we go out in the garage and make sure it gets done."
Petty said Inman is allowed to crack the whip.
"We brought Dale back as a straw boss," Petty said. We've got our system lined up as far as who is supposed to do what. Sometimes they don't work together quite enough. We brought Dale in to get people to communicate a little bit better. The deal for him is to get them on the same page at the same time."
It's good to see that a racing legend like Richard Petty is keeping a open mind about this whole deal and not making a hasty decision. It's great that the best crew chief of all time is back at PE to help turn things around.
