Category: Flashman’s Take

The old joke is that I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. Well, Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway wasn’t that bad, but it seems the little skirmish between Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears seems to have taken away from what was a fantastic finish.

The racing was good throughout. It may not have been at the front, but back in the field, it was fierce. Harvick was the first dominator and then it was Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. Gordon led the most laps—173 of 400, but it didn’t seem like that much. He always had others trying to pounce and get by him. My selective memory was of the 2012 champ, Keselowski always being there, especially on short runs. Finally, Matt Kenseth came from the depths of the field to make a charge near the end of the race, and the show began.

Regardless of your prejudices on driver manufacturer, driver, or team, it was a great show. Let’s face it; it’s going to be a Penske and Hendrick show for awhile. Hendrick, the most well financed team will always be up front and Penske seems to have figured out the new rules and you can see the No. 2 and No. 22 cars every race. Roush-Fenway and Richard Childress Racing just haven’t figured out the situation enough to be competitive, but they will. Among the Hendrick cars, Gordon’s No. 24 team and Earnhardt’s No. 88 car are doing well. The same can’t be said for the No. 48 and No. 5. Yes, that will change. It always has. With a lot of lip service from the media, the Ganassi and Richard Petty Motorsports teams have come close, but pale in comparison with the Hendrick and Penske teams. The Gibbs cars just seem to be a tad off. Denny Hamlin was not a factor on Saturday night which shocked me. Kenseth came on at the end only to make others mad and faded at the end. Kyle Busch had to take four tires to make a run which was too little and too late. Roush-Fenway is just lost right now. It took pit strategy to get Edwards in the top 10. Greg Biffle is struggling and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is another nationwide champ who isn’t doing much.

The result is competitive racing regardless of who is in front and who wins, if not from only a few teams. Yet, I can’t help but think that Joey Logano has finally come of age. I keep watching him and he always seems to be around at the end. Statistics say he’s only had five finishes in the top-five this year, but he’s always there. The same could be for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon. Logano, only 23 (soon to be 24 in May) is not much older than the favored “next great thing” duo of Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon. It’s a plus that Logano has what appears to be better equipment right now than either driver. Also consider that Logano has five more years experience than either of those drivers. Maybe because the 23-year old Logano has been in the top series of NASCAR so much he is considered a veteran, but he is showing the kind of dominance that Gordon and others have shown at a young age.

The fight? Oh, yeah—I forgot. Casey was upset with Marcos and Marcos must have been upset with Casey. Casey didn’t say much and we haven’t heard from Marcos. Casey grabbed and pushed Marcos and Marcos retaliated with a right hook. Casey had a swollen eye, and even though he said you couldn’t forget things like that, said the punch was good considering that most post-race fight were swings that missed. In other words, it’s no big deal, or is it? We will find out at Talladega. Maybe.

We now have seven different winners in seven races. I’m sure no one at the sanctioning body dreamed this would happen, but it did, and I’m sure we will see repeat winners as the season goes along. The trouble is Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kasey Khane, Clint Bowyer, and a couple of surprises haven’t won. If they do, that puts the number at 16, and that’s going to mean the win and in scenario will be all or nothing for the Chase. Of course, I’m sure some in the group of winners will win more than once, so winning might not get someone in the final playoff. It should be interesting from here on out.

Rain continues to plague the circuit. So far we’ve had rain at Daytona, and a threat of rain at Phoenix, Bristol Texas, and Martinsville. Daytona and Bristol became night races, Martinsville had to have a double header on Sunday, and Texas had to go on Monday afternoon. Surely, the weather will turn around for the rest of the season.

Joey Logano’s win at Texas was exemplary for a couple of reasons. His car has been fast all season. In fact, the Team Penske Fords have been up front all year, but today, Logano dominated the last part of the race. So much so, even a last lap caution putting him back in the field didn’t stop him from passing the two cars in front of him and moving away to a win. Maybe Sliced Bread is finally reaching his potential

On a sad note, I worked today and couldn’t be in Texas. About the halfway point, a client came in to pay a bill. I was shocked because he was always talking to me about the races, and it was unusual to see him at my office when the race was in progress, so I asked him why. He answered that Dale Jr. had gone out early so he had no interest in watching the race. All of a sudden it occurred to me that maybe that was what was wrong with NASCAR’s declining television ratings and attendance problems. The question has to be asked. If the retirement of one driver decreases the numbers that many, including the media and even the sanctioning body think it does, is it healthy for the sport? If the success of only one driver is all that a majority of the fan base is concerned with, do we have a healthy sport? Is the reason everyone is praising the racing this year only a product of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. running at the front? I think those are valid questions, and if so what is going to happen when that driver retires from the sport? That’s really food for thought.

The racing has been good this year. So far, it has been dominated by the Fords and Chevrolets with each brand winning three races each. Toyota has only won one race, but the cars have been competitive, and that’s totally different than the last few years when Chevrolets dominated and Fords were less than competitive. We’ve also seen the emergence of Kyle Larson and seen signs of life at Richard Petty Motorsports. This is all good news in the competition department.

Back in prehistoric times when this writer was following the sport from Hank Schoolfield’s Southern Motor Racing newspaper, I can’t remember any fan leaving in the late stages of the race if The King, Fearless Freddie, The Silver Fox, or Cale didn’t have a chance to win, and yet last Sunday I saw the sea of green below the press box head for the exits when Kurt Busch passed for the win and drove away. NASCAR needs to cultivate more winners so that new fan relationships can be made. This season and the competitive racing may just do that. At least it looks hopeful. The health of the sport demands it

It’s hard to judge a season by two races, especially if one race is at Daytona and the other is Phoenix, two tracks that are atypical of the rest of the series. One is a restrictor plate track where almost anyone can win and the other a quirky one-miler with flat corners. Some are experts at restrictor plate racing and others are experts at the flat tracks, but these two races do not give us a barometer of what 2014 will be.

It looks like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is off to the start his fans want. He’s finished first and second in the two races, and all of NASCAR is filled with joy, but I wonder if depending on one driver to be successful is the sign of a healthy sport or a symptom of a dying sport. One has to remember that the death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. started a slow decrease in attendance and television viewership. While the media has had a love fest with the memory of the number three and basically ignored the rest of the field, maybe it’s time to concentrate of those other drivers that might be making progress. You know, maybe like 42 very good drivers out there. It’s just a suggestion.

The fact that Kevin Harvick won early may put to rest the question about the Stewart-Haas Racing teams being a time bomb waiting to happen for now. It’s also noteworthy that both races have been won by Hendrick Motorsports Racing teams or satellite teams. I found it almost interesting that Rick Hendrick was shown on the race broadcast congratulating Harvick early and often. Is this a fifth team or did old Rick figure out a way to by-pass NASCAR’s rule of four teams per owner. Supply them the chassis and the engine and walk away. Same with Jack Roush and Richard Childress who supply multiple teams their engineering.

So what will happen at Las Vegas? The Fords dominated early in the track’s history. Fords has won seven races at Vegas, but Chevrolets have won six. Dodge and Toyota have won one each. All-time winner at Las Vegas is (surprise) Jimmie Johnson, but among active drivers, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth have won two each. Unless the Fords of Team Penske or the Gibbs Toyotas can find some speed, my pick is Johnson. Of course, like I said, it is early, but the season shows momentum. That momentum is clearly with Hendrick cars, as it has for as long as I remember. The Penske cars are strong and the Childress teams aren’t far behind, and the Gibbs teams which showed so much promise at Daytona seems to be lagging behind. As is the usual, Rick Hendrick’s teams haven’t missed a beat, and that’s my pick for Vegas.

When the powers that be began to announce what we already know—that NASCAR was going to change the Chase to have excitement equal a “seventh game moment,” but that won’t happen unless there is violence. Americans love violence. They left baseball because there wasn’t enough violence and sided with the NFL. It’s complicated, but the truth rings true.

I’m an old man, but I have a twenty something son. He loves the NFL and cheers when a defensive player nearly decapitates the quarterback if it’s on his team. He loves the WWE. He loves to see the big guy throw the other “rassler” out of the ring. He ignores baseball because the only time anything exciting happens is when the catcher blocks the plate and has a collision or a fight erupts. He loves the dunk, but hates games where teams play and no one gets hit in the mouth or no one talks trash. Richard Sherman’s tirade with Erin Anderson was talked about for a long time while the game was not. That’s why most of the things NASCAR changed will not be enough to bring the multitudes back to the sport.

It’s been a long litany of changes. After the lull of the mid 2000’s, NASCAR thought a change in who won the championship would bring back the excitement. Those of us lifers thought it was silly to have a ten-race playoff. Immediately, one driver dominated the proceedings. Bristol changed its usual excitement by changing the track which was the hottest ticket in sports. No longer is that the case. Tracks that had good racing were replaced with tracks that historically did not have good races. Dominant teams continued to dominate. Where once there were many winners, two teams won nearly half of the races. One manufacturer dominated and the others floundered.

And yet, we fiddle with a championship that really is not the problem with the lack of attendance and enthusiasm. We want violence. We want to see only one lane at Bristol where a faster car has to bump the guy holding up out of the way, We want the “big one” at Daytona and Talladega. We want to see the underdog win. We want to see the participants get hacked like Richard Sherman. We want more YouTube video of the confrontation between Tony Stewart and Joey Logano posted than another ho-hum runaway by any number of drivers. We want more Martinsvilles and fewer races at Kansas, California, Chicago, and New Hampshire. We want more violence.

Many of us are racing purists that want to see a good race, but the masses want that violence. So many still remember the late Dale Earnhardt, who raced like it was his last and made sure that they knew he was coming to the front, even to the point that he was willing to move the one in front of him to get him out of the way. That’s the violence I’m talking about. The NASCAR that kept growing didn’t need a new points system, a Lucky Dog, or a double file restart. They only needed competition and just a little bit of violence. NASCAR is trying to bring back that excitement, but it’s missing the point. Instead of making constant changes, competition needs to be addressed. Maybe, we should quit making the championship the end-all, and maybe putting less emphasis on these drivers being gentlemen. The sponsors want their drivers to be a corporate spokesman, but at what cost?

Tracks are removing seats and fans continue to stay away from the tracks and the television screens. Maybe the competition should be evaluated and the emphasis on the championship should be addressed. I’ll give credit for those that be for trying, but only when NASCAR addresses that thirst for violence, will it be worthwhile. The requirement to do that is to re-think the series, and it appears that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

It took me awhile to collect my thoughts after the 2013 NASCAR season. What did I think of the racing? I didn’t think much of it and it has nothing to do with who did or did not win the championship. I couldn’t care less about that. Once upon a time, winning races mattered, but today it’s the Chase from February until November.

The problem of the Chase takes away some of the appreciation of other drivers who had good seasons, but realistically those who had no chance at a championship. For example, let’s look at the season turned in by guys like Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, 2012 Champ Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, and Martin Truex, Jr. They all won this year, and yet who paid any attention to them?

Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards won twice this year, but did it mean anything? Apparently not, because there wasn’t much coverage of them on television. The whole season revolved around six time champ Jimmie Johnson (6 wins), Matt Kenseth (7 wins), Kyle Busch (4 wins), Jeff Gordon (1 win), and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (0 wins). Even Kevin Harvick, despite his four wins was under the radar most of the season. Once upon a time a win, even a lone win by someone like Ricky Rudd or James Hylton was special. Today, you don’t even have to win to get national coverage. That is, unless you happen to be Austin Dillon, but that’s another story. Try to find a diecast in your local Wal-Mart for anyone but Johnson, Earnhardt, Gordon, Edwards, McMurray, or Stewart, good luck!

I was in the press box at North Carolina Speedway when Matt Kenseth clinched the 2003 championship. The No. 17 crew celebrated, but not many people noticed. All the attention was on Bill Elliott who won the race. Elliott was escorted to the press box for media interviews, but nowhere was Kenseth to be found. It was the win that mattered. Yes, Kenseth celebrated at a race later on, but he was forever to be chastised as the champion who only won one race. He was the father of the Chase, something that I imagine he’s not too proud of, if truth be told. It all changed in 2004. After Kurt Busch won in 2004 and Tony Stewart’s win in 2005, seven of the last eight championships have been won by Hendrick Motorsports or satellite teams. Six of those championships were won by Jimmie Johnson and the other by Tony Stewart, whose team had a technical alliance with Hendrick.

Prior to the Chase, 25 of 55 champions were from different drivers. From 1980 until 2003, we had 14 different champions. What does it tell me? Lots of people dominated, but not everyone ran all the races. It just wasn’t that important. David Pearson and Fred Lorenzen had tremendous winning percentages. They didn’t run all the races (I can remember a time when there were over 50 races each year), and didn’t care. The win was more important. Today, we start counting points and calling people out at Daytona. The most exciting races I saw this season included Brad Keselowski’s tremendous moves at Charlotte at the fall race and Carl Edwards’ dramatic win at Richmond. Neither win had anything to do with the Chase. Neither mattered because it was all about the points.

Railing on about NASCAR’s playoff system falls on deaf ears. Someone somewhere is convinced the system is the way to go. Never mind tacks eliminating seats or somewhat lower television ratings, baseball, football, and basketball have playoffs, so it has to be the way to go, right? Here’s a hint. I travel to races about 10 times a year. I camp like so many do. Most of them are flying Dale Earnhardt flags. Why? It’s because although he won seven championships, he was exciting to watch.  I’ll always remember Benny Parsons as he yelled, “here comes Earnhardt.” I remember the late 60’s and 70’s when King Richard Petty was going through the field in the late laps.

Today, it’s all technology and money. That’s what is turning off fans. It’s hard to express the thrill of a Trevor Bayne win at Daytona or a David Ragan win at Talladega, not to mention a McMurray win anywhere. Only problem is, when you count up the points afterward, it’s still the championship that matters. We’ve created a monster and there is no turning back.