Last week I wrote that California wasn’t your daddy’s NASCAR venue. I was wrong. It turned out to be not only your daddy’s but your grandpappy’s as well. Both would have loved what they saw, be it from a 1953, 1983, or 2013 perspective.
We had three cars dominate the front the entire day, as Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin seemed to just lend one of those positions to others over the course of the event. On the final lap, they were back in those spots, with Logano and Hamlin duelling for the win, as Kyle Busch rode behind waiting for what most of us expected. As the leading duo put metal to metal, Busch swooped by on the outside while the other two exchanged checkers for wreckers. Busch won, Logano came off the wall to finish third, Hamlin took a hard hit to the concrete on the inside to wind up 25th and in the hospital for lower back concerns.
With Hamlin out of action, there was going to be no post-race fight, ala the 1979 Daytona 500 festivities involving Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers. Wrong again. Tony Stewart got squeezed out on the final restart by Logano, and it was he who took a swing at the kid on pit road. Unschooled in hockey, Stewart did not grab the front of Logano’s firesuit, thus failed to do what Canadian ballplayers succeeded in doing against Mexico recently. So, to keep things lively, the television folks stuck a microphone in Stewart’s face and thankfully they played a bleeped taped version of Smoke’s smoking rhetoric. Basically, he said he had some concerns with Joey’s character but had some solutions in mind to help correct the young gent, though using a series of strong pronouns to get his point across.
Roger Penske is defending his driver, saying Tony blocks, too. The fact Stewart went from a top five to outside the top twenty probably had much to do with his reaction. He took a swing; in return Logano threw a water bottle at his face. Usually, unless the fellow’s name is Klitschko, a 41 year old is usually not the favorite when it comes to the fistic arts against a 22 year old. Then again, the 6 foot, 1 inch Logano is just a lightweight compared to the light heavyweights and cruiserweights he seems to become embroiled with. Maybe keeping those beefy crew guys around him might be a good policy to keep.
Here I thought we needed Martinsville to get the taste of California out of our mouths, but instead the Virginia track needs to just maintain the status quo. The racing might have been strung out at Fontana but there was racing to be had all over. Comers and goers exchanged spots, those you thought out of it returned from out of the darkness, and the finish was a true classic.
In the meantime, the lads and lassie take Easter off, so Hamlin has an additional week to mend, though I don’t think the extra seven days are going to cool off too many drivers who are experiencing a bit of overheating. In a sport that features the Busch brothers, Hamlin, Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski, to name just a few, it would seem a young man from Connecticut has been voted the driver most likely to get his ass kicked by his peers. I sure hope he enjoys the next two weeks.
Okay, it is time to start whining. Bristol usually gives us a good show, and last Sunday it was great. Fontana usually does not, and it is next on our dance card. Maybe it is best to dwell on what was than on what could soon be.
Denny Hamlin punts Joey Logano on the track, Logano tries to punt Hamlin off of it. The crews get involved, folks get pushed. Oh, the humanity! I’m trying to like Denny for telling NASCAR he won’t pay a $25,000 fine, even though we know he will pay it one way or another. Joey, well he has never been my cup of tea, either. Give each of them some style points for trying to add to the day’s excitement.
Danica did nothing at Bristol. Mike Bliss did less than nothing. Tony got a rub then a bang, as his day was in the crapper early. Jeff Gordon had the lead, then the wall, then a whole bunch of Matt Kenseth up his tail pipe.
Kasey Kahne finally got off and running with about five to go, taking the win after putting some distance on the quartet of Rowdy, Keselowski, Kurt, and Clint battling it out for runner-up. Hey, Junior finished sixth, which was a popular result for NASCAR’s most popular.
Jimmie and Denny finished outside the top twenty, while Joe Nemechek started the race and once again finished the race. You don’t have to be good to be out there, but you do have to try. Mr. Bliss, three laps does not a try make.
That brings us back to this weekend. I think I have seen one race, one, that proved somewhat entertaining on that California track just east of Los Angeles en route to San Bernadino. Since the brother-in-law’s family moved to that vicinity there is always the chance we might make a NASCAR week out of it one day. Maybe with this new car a new era might be about to dawn where the sun sets a bit later than anywhere else, except for Sonoma. Maybe.
Still, it has something going for it. As I head out in a few minutes to shovel that foot of snow off of my driveway, I’m sure that something will come to me. Enjoy the week.
Bristol, Tennessee is where the lads (and lassie) are venturing for this weekend’s Cup action. Matt Kenseth arrives from Las Vegas with his birthday wrench and his 25th career victory. He has a pair at Bristol and most often leaves the place with a Top Ten finish. Over the past four years, half of the eight run there has been taken by Kyle Busch, with Brad Keselowski holding a pair, Jimmie Johnson with one, and Denny Hamlin claimed the race last August. As to what Denny thinks about this new Gen 6 car, he really loves turtles.
There was more passing at Las Vegas, we are told. Lots more. Twenty-two lead changes, the most in six years there, and 2300 passes compared to 1300 a year ago, we are told. So, there were more than 8.7 passes made per lap? I wonder, if car A is trailing car B at one scoring loop, B puts its nose ahead by the next scoring loop, only to stall out and trail as they pass over the next, does that constitute two passes but with nothing really changing? Just wondering.
The wallet is low on cash to afford some things. You can learn to do without, to prioritize what you need to afford and what you don’t need. You can add cash to your wallet by picking someone else’s wallet, and just keep spending. While the U.S. government decides which way to go, things are just being cut, so likely no more fly overs before NASCAR races, no more tours of the White House for kids. Yet, golf vacations are still a go for some. Life is good when you are on top of the heap.
Just one extra entry seeking a place to race at Bristol. Scott Riggs is the man who needs to time in among the top 36 in qualifying or he will be parked come Sunday. That probably won’t be enough to set record ratings for the time trials.
The time has come where 2013 points could decide who makes a race and who does not. The lowest on the totem pole among those we might miss would be Danica Patrick (31st) and Ryan Newman (32nd). Neither will be in danger this week, or in the foreseeable future.
The television announcers can go a long way in making a race. FOX has the all-star team, which helps explain why it again provided the high ranked televised sports event over the weekend. Is Mike Joy the best lap-by-lap man in the nation? Probably not, but no one has yet found the guy who is and put him on television.
Is there a better duo to provide color than Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds? They are solid, but I like the additional banter Wally Dallenbach Jr and Kyle Petty provide that keeps me watching. Those two are pure entertainment. Nobody touches Jeff Hammond as the roving reporter/tech guy, while Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, and Steve Byrnes are on top of the pit action.
I miss the recently retired Dick Berggren, but ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch and Jamie Little, along with SPEED’s Wendy Venturini and TNT’s Marty Snider can get the job done. On the desk, you have Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip, and that is it. The ESPN crew might be nice people, and I think Alan Bestwick a natural on that desk, but I simply can’t listen to Rusty or Brad, and I miss nothing when I don’t. I expect solid coverage into June, slipping to tolerable to July, to be followed by four months of God awful. What do you think?
Finally, Brad Keselowski was asked how he would feel if a gay person worked on his team. The champion responded that “if you can win, people will want to be part of what you can do.” That has got him some attention from the Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church. Along with some uncomplimentary tweets, they plan to picket an upcoming race, possibly in Kansas next month. There are some things that disgust me, such as folks riding a float playing with their nipples, regardless as to their gender or sexual orientation. Same goes for public displays of french kissing. People who cheat on their spouses. People who fail to raise their kids right. Punks of all ages who substitute reasoned debate with vulgar demonstrations of their own immaturity. One does not have to agree with those who differ from themselves, in fact they should be able to voice their opposition. However, I believe the amount of respect one should expect is equal to the amount of respect one gives to others. Enjoy the week.
Two races down, along with a trio of exhibitions for good measure, so what do we know now about the Gen 6 car? Starting with cosmetics, it at least looks like a car one might drive down the street.
If I wanted a cow catcher, I would buy a steam locomotive. At least that front platform ledge disappeared a couple of years ago. Would I want to seen driving one of these new cars? Sure. In fact, I like it better than the showroom models. It is very sleek, while the cars on the road appear too boxy in comparison. Just tone down the safety features to save me and mine at 80 mph, instead of 200, put in the seats and all the gizmos for me and my crew to travel in comfort and style, and better the gas mileage from the racing version and we are talking about one sweet ride.
Has the Gen 6 car bettered the racing? It has not fixed everything, as when one passes a dozen cars to get up front it still would be nice to be able to pass that final one at the head of the pack. Imagine that little hiccup while out on the highway, and if it does not happen there it should not happen at Daytona. I thought they had engineers who understood this stuff and who could figure this all out. To be fair, they do and they are, but it is not going to happen overnight. Since 2001 it has been a whole lot about driver safety, and now that they have made great demonstrable gains in that area, the focus is starting to turn to better racing.
The racing itself has not been bad at all. I have long thought races at Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, and Bristol to usually provide the most excitement, while I can remember only one at Fontana worth watching. This season I am rating the races to see if what I perceive is really the reality. Daytona I gave an 8.5 out of 10, while the slickness of track, the short cut, and the unexpected tire failures prompted me to give Phoenix the same. Whether it was the car or the tracks that weighed the most heavily in my enjoyment gets tested again when they roll into Las Vegas.
Even though I thought the Nationwide at Phoenix rated a 7, which still is pretty good, I also wonder how much the presentation on television influences my experience. For example, Mike Joy is not exactly Mr. Excitement, but his voice and expertise behind the microphone adds a lot. As much as I loved Allan Bestick on the Inside Winston Cup program where his boyish enthusiasm was a great asset, he vocally lacks the maturity and authoritative strength to keep you glued to three or four hours of race action. The personnel on FOX are better to watch, better to listen to, and they tend to provide real insight compared to those on ESPN. I doubt we will see much difference from their Nationwide crew to what takes over the Cup presentation on ESPN/ABC this summer. At least then the cars and drivers will be the same.
Daytona has its formation racing on those high banks, Phoenix had some quirks in its track design that brought some interesting moments. On Sunday, we will see what hand Las Vegas is able to play. Enjoy the week.
Jimmie Johnson has his second Daytona 500, Chad Knaus has his first, and Dale Earnhardt Jr finished second again. Some will remember the race more for Danica Patrick starting at the pole, leading some laps, staying up front all day, and finishing eighth. Still, even more people will remember the weekend at Daytona for what took place the day before at the end of the Nationwide race.
A score and more fans left the track on Saturday to either receive, or only after they had received, medical attention following Kyle Larson’s car going up into the fence to leave everything in front of the firewall on the grandstand side of the wire. Could this have been prevented? Sure. Just as fans getting run over standing at a curve watching a rally or off-road race could have avoided injury by being in a place where an out of control car would not barrel roll over them. The dangers of sitting in a spot a few feet from where 3200 pound cars running 200 mph might be bounced into your lap near the finish line seems rather obvious, too. It all comes down to the amount of risk one wishes to take.
In 1955, a wreck at La Mans caused flaming pieces of a car to fly into the stands, killing one driver and 83 spectators, while injuring more than 120 others. It was the worst disaster in motorsport history. As to why so many were affected is rather straight forward. They had all gathered in a location that made them vulnerable to be caught up in what took place on the track. It was as simple as that, as was what happened at Daytona.
If one charted out all areas debris has, in the past, entered the grandstand areas, and banned spectators in those areas, then that might be a start. Then we can look at areas where debris could conceivably be flung out to endanger fans, even in freak situations, and keep them out of there as well. Then we can try to convince those fans that such moves are for their safety. We can try, but we know how those same fans will react. They want to be close to the action, and they will claim to accept the risk of such an unlikely event happening to them, at least until disaster actually strikes. It does not take a genius to figure out that the closer you sit to the track the better the odds are that what happens on the track won’t stay on the track.
At Daytona, for example, I have sat about 40 rows high on the backstretch. The odds of getting hit by anything there were low, but not impossible. The odds were sure a lot less than had I been sitting five rows up near the start finish line, yet there remained the chance. Still, does anyone want to sit anywhere near trackside at Talladega when Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards are racing to the finish? Yes, a whole bunch would.
Where are the danger areas? Well, consider that Dale Earnhardt’s car was turned nearly 90 degrees, yet was still traveling at about 160 miles per hour at the moment of impact in his fatal accident. Also consider that at Talladega, Carl Edwards had his car lifted, then clipped even higher, to send it sailing a dozen feet up into the catch fence. So, if you take a 3200 pound car traveling at 160 mph and launch it 12 feet into the air over any wall at any part of any two mile track, you tell me how far that car or parts of that car might rocket into the wild blue yonder? That is your danger area. To eliminate the danger, you would have to eliminate a heck of a lot of seats and access areas, and still something might be missed. A few seats might be removed, but very few. The fans won’t stand for it.
NASCAR and those who operate the tracks they race on will work to make it a safer experience, but they will never totally eliminate all the risk we must accept when we attend a race or make our seat selection. Other than putting the fans back, way back, from the action or covering the track with a bubble they can not absolutely remove all danger. Freak events can and have happened. At best, NASCAR might increase the odds against injury to you and I, but they will never be able to totally eliminate the possibility. That is the risk we assume when we buy a ticket.
Why, oh why, does NASCAR insist on allowing start and park entries? It is like inviting the Kannapolis Intimidators to take part in the odd MLB weekend schedule. I may be a bit off, but I really don’t think you should mix the minor leaguers with your major leaguers in the hopes that the experience might turn one of them into the next big thing.
But it has happened before, they say. You don’t want to miss out on the Richard Childress, they claim. So, Childress ran a bunch of races and parked well before the end of the contest, and did so for years and years? Not quite.
It was September 14, 1969 that Childress took his Chevy out in the 44th race of the season, at Talladega. This was the year of the driver’s strike, when the stars boycotted the race. He only ran 80 of the 188 laps before an axle put him out. 36 cars took to the track that day, with Childress finishing ahead of 13 of them in 23rd. Not a start and park effort, albeit against weaker opposition that featured only a handful of name drivers..
Three years later, he tried again. He attempted to qualify in 15 events, starting all but one of them. Childress managed to still be running at the end in just three. He ran at Richmond, but managed only 8 laps before finishing 29th out of 30. Maybe a start and park. A couple weeks later he was at Darlington, finished 37th out of 40 in running just 56 out of 492 laps. Maybe a start and park.
In April, Childress was at Bristol where he finished the race, though he was 97 laps down. Yet, that proved good enough to be 18th out of 30 in a contest that saw Bobby Allison beat out Bobby Isaac by four laps, and Richard Petty by nine, and those were the closest to him. Definitely not a start and park.
It was not the most successful of seasons, though he did finish 19th out of 40 entries at Michigan that year. He finished ahead of 8 cars per race, on average, and completed just over a quarter of the laps scheduled. Maybe there is an argument that Richard Childress started out as a start and park practitioner, making them easy big bucks. All $7540 of them, or in 2012 dollars Richard Childress over the course of 14 events made the equivalent of under $45,000 in today’s currency. No wonder the boy is a millionaire.
By the way, Childress did not enter a Cup car as an owner again for another four years. He drove for others, rang up 20 Top Tens over that time. However, he was not a Cup owner again until 1976 when he ran the full 30 race schedule, claiming 11 Top Tens. Definitely not a start and park. Previous to that, he owned a Cup car for a single race in 1969, 14 more in 1972, and waiting four more before coming back for real as a true major league competitor. How does the Childress story relate to today’s start and park operations? It does not.
Joe Nemechek ran for the Nationwide title, but ran for cash on the Sprint Cup circuit. He has started and parked for much of the past three seasons, taking in more than $8-million in “earnings.” His average finish is 40th, completing less than 20% of the scheduled laps, in 104 races over that three year time frame. Again, how does this relate to the path taken by Richard Childress? Again, it does not.
Unless those 15 races, the one in 1969 and the 14 more in 1972, provided Childress with the knowledge, the contacts, and the improved equipment that he rolled out with in 1976, his start and park experience did not contribute much of anything to his eventual success. I appreciate teams starting up and testing themselves against the big boys. Should they fall short, however, we should expect them to return to the drawing board and another series to be better prepared, rather than to return again and again to the Sprint Cup pay window.
Having start and park entries in Sprint Cup is like having the first batter in every MLB game face a Little Leaguer on the mound, before we pack the little fellow off to the bench. It is like having a WWE battle royal where the first couple of wrestlers in the ring are your mom and mine, to be followed by the Rock, the Undertaker, and Triple H. It is like having me show up to compete in a world class gymnastics competition, or diving, or a marathon, or…well, you get the idea.
There has always been start and park entries in NASCAR, we are told. Why, I ask? Picking up more than a quarter million for running ten laps doesn’t make much sense to me, especially if they don’t have the tires to even attempt to run it all. Makes more sense to have them pay up before hand, to pay the $20,000 to lease the rubber for the race (teams lease, not buy, their tires). As Sunoco gives out its fuel for free, the goal then is to keep the car clean and available to “race” again for these start and park folks. So, let us confiscate those cars finishing outside the Top 40 for four weeks. That is an easy $250,000 or more hit, even if it is temporary. Finish near the bottom then you better have another car in the inventory if you want to race anytime soon. I think that just might solve the problem. If a final three finish had cost Richard Childress the use of his car for a month, back in 1972 such a rule would have cost him once, that first race of the season and only his second as a car owner.
Those who start and park do so for the money, and as long as they keep their expenses down and don’t wreck the car, they can continue to dip into the well for as long as they can qualify for a race. What we also know is that the exercise has not and will not produce the next Richard Childress.
The 2013 campaign opens up this month with its pre-season events, including the Shootout and the Duels at Daytona in less than three weeks’ time. So, what is the big story coming into the new year?
It is the car, stupid. Coming into the new Sprint Cup season, the big selling point is the new Gen 6 as the Car of Tomorrow became so yesterday after just six seasons. Moving away from a design that made the COT look nothing like the showroom model vehicles you and I could buy, the new auto more closely looks like a real Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry. Their designs prevent two car tandems at tracks like Daytona and Talladega, and that is a good thing. However, will they somehow make the races at the 1.5-mile cookie cutter tracks more visually stimulating, or will we get more boring events with nicer looking cars?
While we are quick to blame the racing, it is up to the announcers to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Most just remind us that we are watching a pig. There is something majestic about a great announcer. I could never tire of listening to the Dodger’s Vin Scully, or Danny Gallivan of the Canadiens, while NASCAR boasted Chris Economaki and Ken Squier. Iconic voices that drew you into the action, voices who knew how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, if need be.
Still bummed that Dodge is gone. Sure, I may have driven Dodges over much of the past twenty years, but more than anything I was looking forward to seeing something that actually looked like a Charger this season. It looks like I’m back to watching reruns of them Duke boys.
Big team switches for this season has Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the #17, as Matt Kenseth is now in the #20, while Joey Logano moves on to the #22. Kurt Busch continues on with the #78 while Danica Patrick runs full-time in the #10.
Awesome Bill from Dawsonville might be finally done. After 828 races over 37-years, including 44 wins and a Cup title in 1988, 57-year old Bill Elliott figures he might have run his final race on the circuit. He was in just two last season and hasn’t run a full campaign since 2003. Voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver a record 16 times, Elliott plans to spend his time assisting his boy Chase chase some driving dreams of his own.
Juan Pablo Montoya was the finishing driver for Chip Ganassi’s Rolex 24 at Daytona victory recently. I mention this only because I can happily report that no jet drivers were harmed in the running of that race. The Columbian signed a new deal with Earnhardt-Ganassi, but gone are their own engines, to be replaced by the tried and true brand from Hendrick.
Jet dryers might be on their way out, too. Drying with compressed air could be the new thing, at least at Daytona this year. It should cut down on the flames if you know who does you know what again.
In 2013, the Top 36 cars in qualifying make the race no matter where they are in the standings. The next six or seven will make it on points, with one provisional reserved for a past champion if one should need it. At least that comes into play after the first three events, where what they did last year might help save someone’s bacon.
Track owner Bruton Smith would like to get rid of the start-and-park entries, but how? One suggestion could be to alter the payout to cars to better reflect the number of laps they ran. Start and park after twenty laps, and you might lose a chunk of change. As for being wrecked early, well that would sure suck for somebody. What do you think?
Some owners try to pick up a few bucks in Cup, with no intention of actually racing. This does not include the Wood Brothers or James Finch, who do not enter every event but try whenever they do. You got to respect teams like that.
Start and park outfits are merely striving to strike gold, we are told, so that one day they might actually be able to run with the big boys. However, can anyone remember a single such under funded team that actually made it over the past twenty years? I don’t. Robby Gordon at least tried, but as time went along his involvement dwindled to the point he only ran three races last season. This year he is expected to run none.
At this moment, Dale Earnhardt Jr is unsponsored for 13 races. If even Junior has trouble getting sponsors to pony up, imagine how some of the others might be fairing.
There are upgrades planned for Daytona. That is good news, as I can tell you the washroom facilities haven’t changed much over the past 50 years. We still are not certain if the drip, drip, dripping we saw coming down as we went up into the stands was fresh water or the recycled variety. All I know is what goes into the trough does not stay in the trough.
I know, you probably thought coming into the 2013 Sprint Cup season, the big story in NASCAR was going to be the Patrick – Stenhouse romance. Yah, right. Why do some care? Well, Danica Patrick is a 30-year old beauty (31 in March) who, in a seven year IndyCar career, had a win in 2008, claimed three poles, finished third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, and holds the record for 50 straight races still running at the finish. Did I mention she is also damn good looking? She and her husband of seven years are in the midst of divorce proceedings, making her a free agent. Enter two-time Nationwide champion Stenhouse. Of course, nobody gives a damn about Stenhouse in this story, unless he happens to run much better than his paramour in their rookie Cup seasons. From what we’ve seen thus far, my money would be on the guy with the good looking girlfriend.
NASCAR likes to brag about how popular it is…or was. Averaging 100,000 fans for each of its 39 days of action is pretty impressive (including the Shootout and Duels in February along with the All-Star events), but that still averages out to just one race per week over 39 weeks. In fact, the 3.5-million fans it attracted in 2012 is down about a million (or more than 20%) from what is was in 2005. Then compare it to the 2430 game schedule in baseball, the 1230 games basketball and hockey (720 this lockout season) offer, and the 256 for NFL football, and those boys are able to provide us with a lot more highlights and thrills any given week. Major League Baseball attracts nearly 75-million fans annually, the NHL usually is over 20-million, and both the NFL and NBA are over 17-million. In short, NASCAR can not afford to continue to bleed off fans.
Revenues is another measurement, maybe even more important than warm bodies. Television has sure helped in that department, as along with marketing and sponsorship the NFL generates $11-billion in revenues, MLB $7-billion, the NBA $4.3-billion, and the NHL $3.3-billion. I have not seen any definitive totals for NASCAR, but $3-billion seems an accepted number, with about half a billion of that coming from television. It is said that in North America, there are four major sports. I might amend that by saying there are two, football and baseball, with three other significant pro entities. NASCAR would rank fifth among the five.
Which brings us back to the Gen 6 car. Will it prompt closer racing, will its design help make the product more visually appealing to both long time fans and those new to the sport? The last I heard, Rusty and Brad will be back so we can forget about an upgrade in the announce booth. There is a reason NASCAR has responded to fan criticism, as they want them to return and bring new blood with them. It was not going to happen the ways things were. Better cars for better racing for better entertainment for better attendance adding up to better revenues. That is the storyline for NASCAR going into the 2013 season. Enjoy the build up.
[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]Well, that was rather anti-climatic. We gathered in front of the television to watch the action from Homestead to see if Jimmie Johnson could make up the 20 points he trailed Brad Keselowski in the season finale for the Sprint Cup title. It even got interesting for a few minutes, then frustrating for Johnson fans, then downright ugly moments later. At least Keselowski was happy.
Keselowski not only defended his lead, he built on it. He avoided running out of fuel, watched misfortune strike his only challenger, and finished 15th to claim the 2012 championship. In fact, even if Johnson had maximized his day it would not have been enough. As it turned out, the new 28-year old champion could have won it even if he had sat in the stands chewing down hotdogs.
When the rear gear burned up on Jimmie’s car, the only guy happy about that turn of events on the Lowe’s team had to have been the rear tire changer. With just over 50 miles to go, Johnson was pretty much where he was behind Keselowski as when he began. They stopped for tires and fuel, but a lug nut was left behind. End of the day, one thought, but we were wrong. When the car filled with smoke a few laps later, that was truly the end as Johnson went to the garage while the engraver finished putting Brad’s name on the trophy.
With Jimmie going up in smoke, while Kasey Kahne and Junior, even though he finished 10th, on nobody’s radar last Sunday, at least Jeff Gordon left happy. He even managed to beat Clint Bowyer, as in out running him rather than wrecking him, to win his second of the season and 87th of his career. I think it has been real nice of Team Hendrick to loan out their championship the past couple of seasons, but does anybody think they are done quite yet?
Danica Patrick is back on the market after it was announced that her seven year marriage is over. That is all I will say on the matter, as I don’t want to give my wife any ammo to kick my butt back out onto the market. She could do better while I probably would end up with a cat.
So, the nine month odessey is over and we have a new champion. 2013 brings us a new car, and hopefully that will equate into more passing, more excitement, more visual stimulation than the televised version produced for much of the campaign. I know that being at the track, surrounded by that special atmosphere, is a far different experience than what we get watching from the couch. Still, the numbers in the stands continue to drop, and the television audience has plummeted by 25% over the past five years. There once was a time my extended family would get together to watch a few races each season, but that no longer is the case.
Sprint Cup has just one offering per week and if it is not stimulating enough to watch there is no backup plan. That is not the case in baseball or football, where there are often more than one game to chose from at the same time. If the game you are watching isn’t doing it for you, one on another channel just might, but in NASCAR what you see is all you get. If one car dominates, if the action is just a series of cars going round and round with little or no drama, there is always another channel to watch, but it won’t be NASCAR. I think that is exactly what has happened, and that does not bode well for the future.
By the way, what happened to those classic television commercials that provided outstanding visibility to some of the sport’s stars? Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr sitting around talking about NAPA, Mikey’s Bristol car all in pieces, Kasey Kahne and the young lasses who stalked him, even Jeremy Mayfield’s date all covered in sweet smelling oil. Even the sponsors no longer act like they care. I miss the days when Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Johnny Benson, and Allan Bestwick sat around like they were in our living rooms to shoot the breeze about the past week’s events, informing us and making us laugh. I miss those days. The erosion of what helped make the sport popular seems not to be isolated to the action, or lack of it, out on the track. There once was a winning formula in place, but somebody somewhere thought they had a better idea. They didn’t. NASCAR isn’t about spit and polish. It features people we can relate to, ordinary folks doing extraordinary things. They went uptown on us, while the rest of us stayed down home.
For those thinking that by having a new face hold the title we somehow are going to keep our current fan base and add to it, they are dreaming. Talladega might not exactly be everyone’s definition of what racing should be, but at least it is exciting to watch and that is the name of the game. No excitement, no fans, and we are back racing primarily in the south like in the good old days. We don’t need beating and banging, but there better be some slicing and dicing, or NASCAR will wind up being as much a draw as hockey is in Tupelo.
Tweeting from inside the car or Go Daddy cheese cake is not going to reverse the trend. I miss my NASCAR. I wish it came back, or a few more of you might not. Enjoy the winter of my discontent.
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, met with members of the
media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed making his 500th career
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start, the high and low points of the season and
other topics. Full Transcript:
500TH START THIS WEEKEND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT MILESTONE?
“It means I’m getting old (laughs). I’m pretty proud of that. It’s a cool
accomplishment. I remember when I came in the series watching guys get
recognized for their 500th start. That is pretty neat.”
LAST RACE WITH OFFICE DEPOT TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY HAVE MEANT TO YOU AND YOUR
ORGANIZATION:
“They have been awesome. They were the first company that came and wanted
to be a part of this program when it started. Even before I actually signed
my deal with Gene (Haas) was when they came and say ‘hey we don’t know if
what we are hearing you are doing you are going to do, but if you are we
want to be a part of it.’ That was nice to have that kind of vote of
confidence from somebody like Office Depot.”
IN YOUR MIND WHAT ARE THE HIGH POINTS AND LOW POINTS OF THIS SEASON?
“I think the high point is probably winning at Las Vegas, winning at a track
we hadn’t won at before was definitely a high point. A lot of places that
we were so good at last year in the Chase, not being good this time and this
year around was a little disappointing.”
DO YOU FEEL DISCOURAGED GOING INTO NEXT YEAR GIVING THAT YOU RECENTLY
HAVEN’T BEEN RUNNING WELL AT THE SAME PLACES YOU RAN WELL AT LAST YEAR?
“We’ve got such a different car and different package next year, everybody
just kind of starts over. I am discouraged that we are finishing this way,
but not because of what it’s going to lead to next year. Everybody is going
to start with stuff that is totally different package wise than what we
have. A totally new body that is obvious to everybody, but things
underneath the car that the guys are doing to the cars this year that we are
not going to be allowed to do next year. There are a lot of changes and it’s
going to be a whole new learning process starting over in Daytona.”
WHAT TYPE OF RACE DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE ON SUNDAY?
“You always ask that after practice when nobody has ran around each other.
I honestly have no idea. When we went on the race track there was rubber
all the way across from the bottom to the top so they are obviously using
the whole race track before we even started. That is a good sign that the
race track still moves around.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT JEFF (GORDON) DID LAST WEEK?
“I’m not going to get involved in that.”
THE ELDORA RUMOR HEATED UP AGAIN CAN YOU SAY ANYTHING ON THAT?
“When we have something to say we will tell you guys. It’s starting to get
annoying every week it’s like we don’t even know answers and you guys want
answers that we don’t even have answers to. When we have answers we will
come to you guys I promise we will not let you be left out of this.”
LAST YEAR GOING INTO THE FINAL WEEKEND YOU AND CARL (EDWARDS) KIND OF TOOK
SOME JABS AT EACH OTHER IN YOUR ESTIMATION WHAT IMPACT CAN THAT HAVE SAY
BETWEEN BRAD (KESELOWSKI) AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON)?
“I don’t know I haven’t been paying attention to what they are doing. It
affects different guys different ways.”
DOES THE CHASE GET MORE DIFFICULT OR EASIER WHEN YOU HAVE SOME WHAT OF A
CUSHION OR IS IT BETTER IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CUSHION AND JUST RACE KNOWING
YOU NEED TO PUSH IT EVERYTHING AS HARD AS POSSIBLE THE WHOLE WAY?
“I don’t know. We’ve been in both situations. The whole day is evenly as
tough no matter where you are at it’s a tough day. There is nothing easy
about it.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car
brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4
million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with
fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design
and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Well, it is about damn time. NASCAR had a race that actually provided some television entertainment. Yes, you had to go through a few hours of round and round, but you have to admit that it was well worth the wait.
First, the race in Phoenix. This late in the season, it came down to watching if anything bad would befall one of the two leaders battling for the title. Jimmie Johnson seemed to be falling back on the track, the points about equal on the season, when his tire let go. Into the fence he went as he went from points leader to almost out of it. They got the beast back out there, but Johnson finished 32nd compared to Brad Keselowski’s 6th place result. Heading into Homestead next week, all Keselowski has to do is finish 15th or better and the crown is his.
Kyle Busch led most of the laps, yet wound up third. Kevin Harvick led the one that mattered, for his first win of the season. After it was announced this weekend that Harvick was moving on to Tony Stewart’s outfit in 2014, not much in the way of hugs were forthcoming from his present boss, Richard Childress. The driver might be Happy, but his owner sure is not, win or no win.
The highlight of the afternoon came courtesy of Jeff Gordon’s temper. His title hopes are long gone, and he made sure the suspense ended for Clint Bowyer as well. Bowyer and Gordon tangled running side by side. Jeff tried a little payback, but all he managed to do was put himself into the wall and that did not help his disposition. NASCAR black-flagged Gordon so he would get his battered vehicle off the track and in for repairs, but he had another idea. He waited for Mr. Bowyer to cruise by, clipping him to send both into the fence, collecting Aric Almirola, Joey Logano and, almost, Keselowski. Then the fun really began.
In the pits, Jeff took off his helmet while others thought of taking off somebody’s head. The two crews had a little brawl, causing the broadcast team to get more excited than they had been all day. Bowyer, parked on pit road, went sprinting to join the fray but got held up outside of Mr. Gordon’s rig. NASCAR brought the boys in for a talk, even providing security people so they could return to their abodes without being molested. The action on the track has turned into a snoozefest in recent seasons, but the beating and banging on and off the asphalt turned hardcore last Sunday.
Consistency is a big thing in NASCAR, not that you would know it from the flag stand. Harvick was leading, about to take the white flag, when Gordon and Bowyer had their set to. The caution waved right away and Harvick was denied victory. Off they went again, this time with Danica Patrick wrecking behind them. No caution this time, lots of oil, and as Harvick and runner-up Denny Hamlin went skidding through on their way to the line, others were not so successful. A lot of torn up cars were the result with Patrick, limping along to the finish, hit from behind as some in the field became pin balls.
Whatever it takes to provide entertaining, exciting, and competitive visual stimulation is a good thing, but even I think the wreck to conclude Phoenix was a bit much. Give me a race with no crashes but lots of passing and you got racing folks will tune in for. Maybe next year.
Next week it all comes to an end for 2012 as the final waltz is played at Homestead. It will all come down to Keselowski staying out of trouble, especially if he manages to keep some air in the right front. Enjoy the week.
