E
Eagle1
Guest
.............. More Exciting and Fair
By Jodie Strait
November 11, 2004
Lately it seems that NASCAR has decided they need to handle all aspects of racing in order to keep it "exciting" and make it fair. They have floated trial balloons like the RNC and DNC. We, of course have The 'Race for the Chase for the Chase for the Championship', they have talked about taking over selling merchandise, allowing the top thirty-five to automatically qualify for races and now we are hearing about slowing down pit stops to make things more fair.
Now normally I would get all upset and talk about how unfair it is to try to be fair, but not today. Nope I am going to embrace the NASCAR way. And as a gesture to show my new attitude I have come up with ten ways to make NASCAR more exciting and fair. Here goes:
1... Do away with pit crews. -- If Morgan Shepherd can do it, by golly so can Ryan Newman. Can't you just see it, 450 laps at Bristol and caution comes out. Will the driver have the endurance to climb out and take four fresh tires? Perhaps he can only muster two? Oh yeah, that is drama.
2... Allow the spotter to only say 'Colder, Warmer and Hotter.' -- Let's see the drivers drive with some skill. Can you imagine what restrictor plate racing would be like with a spotter screaming "HOTTER, HOTTER, HOTTEST", right at the start of The Big One?
3... Set the field by the results of a playground game. -- Sack races, egg and spoon, Simon Says, all of these would work and would allow drivers to show off some nifty skills. Think of how the networks could do play-by-play. I sure hope they have slow motion replays.
4... Polls for Penalties. -- Have an instant poll for any penalty done by the fans using their Nextel phones. This one is really great. First, it gets the fan into the game. Second it takes the blame off of NASCAR. Third and finally it gives the sponsor a bang for their buck. Can't you imagine the thrill?
5... Rotate pit stalls every 20 laps. -- The key here is to not let the drivers know so they will have to drive slow and careful. This will make pit stops even more exciting. Miss your pit stall and lose a race.
6... Choose your car at random. -- The epitome of fairness. Forty-three cars will be lined up and at the drop of the green flag the drivers will run and choose a car. This way everyone has a random car and therefore a random chance at winning.
7... Invert crew chiefs. -- Since chemistry is part of the game why not spice it up by trying to make more Love Connections. Changes can be done at any time of the race and will be initiated by either Mike Helton or Brian France. A translator will be available for any driver/crew chief that have dialect issues (insert your favorite Ward Burton joke here).
8... Cancel the 'lucky dog pass' and replace it with *deserves it* award. -- Depending on the circumstances, a driver will be put back on the lead lap based on criteria only known by the hierarchy of NASCAR. Get put down a lap or two due to a tire going down? A yellow flag in the middle of pit stops? If you give NASCAR a warm fuzzy, by golly you will get your lap back. My poor Robby Gordon will never have a shot.
9... Reset the points every 5 races. -- If you loved the 'Race for the Chase for the Chase for the Championship' you will REALLY love this. Can you not feel the tingle of excitement? This way even MORE drivers will have a shot at winning. Have a few bad races - heck have thirty bad races and you still can have a chance to win. Now that would keep every sponsor, and fan happy.
10... Choose the champions by the monetary value of endorsement deals. -- Let's face it if it ain't Jeff Gordon or Dale Junior, does it really matter?
By Jodie Strait
November 11, 2004
Lately it seems that NASCAR has decided they need to handle all aspects of racing in order to keep it "exciting" and make it fair. They have floated trial balloons like the RNC and DNC. We, of course have The 'Race for the Chase for the Chase for the Championship', they have talked about taking over selling merchandise, allowing the top thirty-five to automatically qualify for races and now we are hearing about slowing down pit stops to make things more fair.
Now normally I would get all upset and talk about how unfair it is to try to be fair, but not today. Nope I am going to embrace the NASCAR way. And as a gesture to show my new attitude I have come up with ten ways to make NASCAR more exciting and fair. Here goes:
1... Do away with pit crews. -- If Morgan Shepherd can do it, by golly so can Ryan Newman. Can't you just see it, 450 laps at Bristol and caution comes out. Will the driver have the endurance to climb out and take four fresh tires? Perhaps he can only muster two? Oh yeah, that is drama.
2... Allow the spotter to only say 'Colder, Warmer and Hotter.' -- Let's see the drivers drive with some skill. Can you imagine what restrictor plate racing would be like with a spotter screaming "HOTTER, HOTTER, HOTTEST", right at the start of The Big One?
3... Set the field by the results of a playground game. -- Sack races, egg and spoon, Simon Says, all of these would work and would allow drivers to show off some nifty skills. Think of how the networks could do play-by-play. I sure hope they have slow motion replays.
4... Polls for Penalties. -- Have an instant poll for any penalty done by the fans using their Nextel phones. This one is really great. First, it gets the fan into the game. Second it takes the blame off of NASCAR. Third and finally it gives the sponsor a bang for their buck. Can't you imagine the thrill?
5... Rotate pit stalls every 20 laps. -- The key here is to not let the drivers know so they will have to drive slow and careful. This will make pit stops even more exciting. Miss your pit stall and lose a race.
6... Choose your car at random. -- The epitome of fairness. Forty-three cars will be lined up and at the drop of the green flag the drivers will run and choose a car. This way everyone has a random car and therefore a random chance at winning.
7... Invert crew chiefs. -- Since chemistry is part of the game why not spice it up by trying to make more Love Connections. Changes can be done at any time of the race and will be initiated by either Mike Helton or Brian France. A translator will be available for any driver/crew chief that have dialect issues (insert your favorite Ward Burton joke here).
8... Cancel the 'lucky dog pass' and replace it with *deserves it* award. -- Depending on the circumstances, a driver will be put back on the lead lap based on criteria only known by the hierarchy of NASCAR. Get put down a lap or two due to a tire going down? A yellow flag in the middle of pit stops? If you give NASCAR a warm fuzzy, by golly you will get your lap back. My poor Robby Gordon will never have a shot.
9... Reset the points every 5 races. -- If you loved the 'Race for the Chase for the Chase for the Championship' you will REALLY love this. Can you not feel the tingle of excitement? This way even MORE drivers will have a shot at winning. Have a few bad races - heck have thirty bad races and you still can have a chance to win. Now that would keep every sponsor, and fan happy.
10... Choose the champions by the monetary value of endorsement deals. -- Let's face it if it ain't Jeff Gordon or Dale Junior, does it really matter?
Sure, why not.
