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  • Domination and the Future of NASCAR

    Domination and the Future of NASCAR

    It seems that the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been one long runaway season. Early on, it was Matt Kenseth dominating races. Then, it was Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports dominating. Drivers just seemed to run away from the field and leading huge chunks of laps, Sometimes they won and sometimes they didn’t, but it’s pretty clear that the new Gen6 car has been a problem for everyone but Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing—the ones who have dominated the races.

    As I watched yesterday’s Kentucky race that was another domination affair with Johnson, I had to wonder why Hendrick and Gibbs always seem to get things figured out and become competitive. I remembered when the “Car of Tomorrow” was introduced that Kyle Busch in a Gibbs car won the first race at Bristol. I also have watched this year and have seen the same thing. Add to that the dominance of Matt Kenseth. One couldn’t say he was less than stellar at Roush-Fenway Racing—he did win a championship in 2003 and lots of races—but he never was as successful as this. His career best has been five races and he already has four in less than a half season. Are those organizations just that much better than everyone else or is something else going on?

    Regardless, one has to wonder if a certain set of circumstances hadn’t come to pass. Johnson has been a rocketship in most races this year. If not for two restarts, one in which he was penalized and Sunday’s when he spun out plus his crash trying to overcome a leading Greg Biffle at Michigan, and Johnson has six wins and on his way to winning a record number of wins. Yes, Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon have won double digit races in the past, but neither won that many races in such a short period of time. Such dominance is certainly not good for the sport. Is it the reason for the lack of attendance at tracks and lower television ratings? I have no way of knowing, but I would say it is one of the reasons. Richard Petty won 27 races a long time ago, and Bill Elliott dominated the superspeedways 30 years ago, but neither were as dominant when they raced. Others were competitive and won. Today, its Hendrick and Gibbs and the scraps go to Childress and Roush. It’s pretty obvious why Kenseth left his long-time employer. That’s where the success is, and he proclaims that every time he wins.

    Like my father used to say, I don’t have a dog in this hunt. The racing was good on Sunday—back in the pack. Three wide and sometimes four wide was the rule. It was a surprise ending with many drivers who usually are forgotten, making it interesting despite the commentators telling us every five minutes (between the many commercials) where the usual suspects were. It’s just the way it is. Last week we saw a new face win, and it was glorious and the way NASCAR used to work. Today, there is a very rigid pecking order. It’s Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush and Childress tied for third, and Waltrip. Yes, David Ragan won at Talladega, but that’s restrictor plate racing—an entirely different animal. What NASCAR needs is more competition among many competitors. Is that the answer? I think its part of a bigger problem, and there are many solutions. Most of this is out of control to NASCAR. It’s up to the teams to catch up. Whether they do or not is the future of NASCAR.

  • Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    My friend Monte Dutton, who is one of the best or probably was one of the best writers on the NASCAR beat, tweeted Saturday night that unlike normal races, the format actually seems to encourage all hell breaking loose UNTIL the end. That was the case on Saturday. There was a lot of good racing and lots of rubbing, but in retrospect, we should have known what was going to happen. The first four 20-lap segments proved one thing—if you got up front, you were going to be there at the end. No matter what NASCAR has tried to do with this Gen 6 car, the dreaded aero-push still exists. So, whenever Kyle or Kurt or Jimmie got in front, they were off to the races. One by one, they got the lead and couldn’t be headed in each segment.

    It seems to only happen on the 1.5-mile tracks, or maybe it’s my imagination, but at different times it seemed that Kurt or Kyle, or even Carl or Kasey had the best, almost unbeatable car. In the end, it was the guy who led last, and that was Jimmie Johnson who drove into the sunset, as usual. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, have all this figured out. No matter where you start, get to the front late and drive away. They constantly outsmart most teams, which is better than having a great driver which is not to discredit Jimmie Johnson. He is a great driver.

    That is one of the reasons why I have contended for a long time that the domination of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports is one small factor in the demise or at least one of the factors why NASCAR is not what it was fifteen or even twenty years ago. Yes, Richard Petty, the King, dominated in the 60’s, and others dominated at different times, but never at the length that the Hendrick Motorsports teams have, especially at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 1.5 mile tracks. Given that the final ten races are dominated by such tracks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’ve already seen who is going to win the NASCAR championship and his name is Johnson. Last year, bad luck played into that scenario, but without that happening, there are no drivers like Brad Keselowski on the horizon to challenge him. Of course, the great part is you never know. Hendrick Chevrolets and Gibbs Toyota dominate the series, but as the season goes along and the expertise of the Hendrick teams continue to shine, we know the outcome, if Jimmie is out front at the end.

    Who could be the challenger? Naming them is difficult. Competition from the Chevrolet side would include Johnson’s teammates, but others pale by comparison, and that’s a problem. You might make an argument for Kevin Harvick, but we’ve seen less than stellar performance from any of the Richard Childress Racing team. With so many Chevrolets in the lineup—they dominate—it seems Johnson’s main competition is in house.

    Toyota has several challengers. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch from Gibbs (and maybe Denny Hamlin if he can perform a miracle), and Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr. from Michael Waltrip Racing seem to be the best bets. The smart money would be on Kenseth, Busch, or Bowyer, but consistency is a problem so far.

    Ford only has Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski, the defending champion who seems to have been forgotten in all of this, should be at the top of the list and would be if not for that nasty penalty he and Joey Logano received earlier. I look for Keselowski to come on at the end after they are totally comfortable with the new car. Joey Logano is a year away, although his talent is coming through. His second place finish in the Showdown was impressive. Edwards, though not a factor in most races to win, is showing the consistency that crew chief Jimmy Fenning brought Kenseth for so long. Greg Biffle is out to lunch so far and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., though a rookie, is showing signs of improvement and could be a spoiler later on.

    In the end, Johnson, who is more than a race ahead of any challenger, will go into the last ten races with a huge advantage, one that will be difficult to overcome. If that happens, it won’t be the drivers’ loss as much as NASCAR. Knowing who is going to win before they play the game (or race) is not going to get more fans in the seats or drive ratings. It’s a problem, but not to the Hendrick guys. They are paid to dominate and it’s up to the opposition to catch up. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened lately. Let’s hope that changes soon.

  • Martinsville is the Blueprint for NASCAR’s Future

    Martinsville is the Blueprint for NASCAR’s Future

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Did anyone doubt that Jimmie Johnson would lead the Chase points after Martinsville? Earlier in the spring race, he and teammate Jeff Gordon were headed for a 1-2 finish before somebody got greedy and the result was Ryan Newman winning. Never mind that Hendrick Motorsports owns this place, and if for not a strange turn of events, HMS would have won both races at Martinsville Speedway. As usual.

    The only driver and team that have a chance against the Hendrick superstars is Denny Hamlin. Trouble was that Hamilton had electrical and pit speed problems that gave him little chance of winning on Sunday. These days, you can forget anyone else challenging. Despite that one thing, it was a good race and in fact competitive. Brian Vickers, who had qualified second, was competitive all day. Clint Bowyer was up front for the entire race. Even Jeff Gordon looked invincible at times, but in the end, everyone in the stands, even though many were scared off by Storm Sandy and the warnings of the Virginia Governor, knew that Johnson would be celebrating at the race’s end. It’s been that way for years. Those guys, led by Chad Knaus just have the Paper-Clip figured out, but that didn’t mean that it was a boring race. It was far from that.

    Martinsville, the oldest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, has become the showplace of what NASCAR is and what it should be. While track owners and corporations continued to build their mile and a half palaces, isn’t it funny that the best racing is always on shorter tracks? Sunday saw lead changes and spirited back and forth among several drivers. No fuel mileage problems here. Just hard racing was on the menu from start to finish. The race didn’t give fans any time to fall asleep or wander to another NFL game, if they were at home. Even the finish held some drama as Kyle Busch tried unsuccessfully tried to run down and pass Johnson. Compare that with other races this season.

    It’s really interesting to note that a track designed in 1947 provides the best racing on the circuit. No progressive banking and nothing to take away from the racing like casinos or other distractions. Sue, the end result was what everyone figured would happen, but fenders were put on opponents and no car got so far out in front that no one could pass them. It was the perfect race and that’s as it should be.

    So, as far as I can see, the twice annual “Hendrick Invitational” should be the blueprint of what NASCAR should be. For too long, the sport has tried to emulate stick and ball sports. We now have a playoff system where the championship is the end all. If you find yourself in the top 12 before the playoffs, you get all the attention. The only problem is that in the other sports, only the playoff teams are playing. In NASCAR, the other 31 teams still compete, but go largely unnoticed. From Daytona to Homestead, the points are the only story. Who cares who wins a race? In the NFL or MLB, that works because you have a game that never changes. Everything changes in the Chase. Thou shalt not touch the Chase contenders. No one paid any attention to that, that I could see at Martinsville, but that is the exception. As we head to the final three races at tracks larger than Martinsville, that may come into play and that’s unfortunate. On Sunday, as I sat in the Press Box, I was rooting for anyone who was in the Dirty Dozen to win. It didn’t happen, but not for lack of effort. On a larger track, it might be hard to see that. Isn’t it time to see more of that?

    Regardless, last Sunday was a joy if you enjoy good racing. Thank goodness that tracks like Martinsville still exist after 65 years, and isn’t it time that we see more of that? The trend to go to larger tracks and less unique tracks (I hear Darlington and Rockingham calling) has led to the lack of television ratings and attendance, in my opinion. Folks want to see action, and they got it at Martinsville. Long may the little track in the small town somewhere between Roanoke and Greensboro continue to flourish. It’s the crown jewel of NASCAR.

  • Johnson secures victory and series points lead at Martinsville

    Johnson secures victory and series points lead at Martinsville

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson continues his dominance at Martinsville winning from the pole position in the Tums 500. Johnson led 193 laps en route to his seventh win and 19th top ten finish in just 22 starts at the legendary track. More importantly, he leaves Martinsville with a two point lead over Brad Keselowski.

    “We just had a great race car. And I think we’ve also learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late and that certainly came into play and we made the right decision there. I’m so torn with emotion right now with winning here; and I’m so happy to be in the point lead.” Johnson said.

    Keselowski minimized the expected damage in the points standings today with a fantastic run from the 32nd starting spot. The Miller Lite driver worked his way through the field and was leading on restart near the end of the race but had to settle for a sixth place finish. The Penske team seemed pleased to come away with minimal loss considering Johnson’s amazing stats at this track.

    Kyle Busch ends up with a hard fought second place, with Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne , who ran consistently in the top ten all day, taking the checkered in third spot.

    Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola drove his No. 43 Gwaltney Ford to a solid fourth place finish, . Aric said after the race, “That was a good run for us. Todd Parrott made a gutsy call there. We were horrible at the beginning of this race, I mean horrible. I don’t know how we didn’t go several laps down, but we fought hard all day.” The Richard Petty team recently swapped personnel between the No.43 of Almirloa, and the No.9 driven by Marcos Ambrose. The move seems to be paying off for Almirola, as he has consistently ran stronger than before the switch.

    Chase contender Clint Bowyer shows that he is in this until the end with another strong effort in his No.15 Micheal Waltirp Racing Toyota. Bowyer led four times today for a total of 151 laps and wound up a respectable fifth at the end of the day. Bowyer leaves Martinsville with a 26 point deficit to leader Johnson.

    The big loser today was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin overcame a early penalty and fought his way back toward the front, but an electrical problem that caused the car to shut down and bring out a yellow on lap 393, sent him to the garage area for repairs where he lost 33 laps. Hamlin ended the day 34 laps off the pace and finished a dismal 33rd. Hamlin now trails Johnson by 49 points and would appear that once again late in the season, his championship hopes have ended.

    It would appear we now have a two man race for the championship. Johnson and Keselowski have been the most consistent competitors in the seven Chase races so far. Bowyer and Kahne still have an outside chance, but will need the two leaders to stumble in the final three races. Based on the results this season that is not likely to happen.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Tums Fast Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=33
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 48
    2 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 42
    3 – 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 42
    4 – 43 Aric Almirola Ford 40
    5 – 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 40
    6 – 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 39
    7 – 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 38
    8 – 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 37
    9 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 35
    10 – 16 Greg Biffle Ford 34
    11 – 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 33
    12 – 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 32
    13 – 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    14 – 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 30
    15 – 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 30
    16 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 28
    17 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27
    18 – 99 Carl Edwards Ford 26
    19 – 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 25
    20 – 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 24
    21 – 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 23
    22 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 22
    23 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
    24 – 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 20
    25 – 13 Casey Mears Ford 19
    26 – 34 David Ragan Ford 19
    27 – 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 17
    28 – 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 16
    29 – 32 Ken Schrader Ford 15
    30 – 38 David Gilliland Ford 14
    31 – 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 14
    32 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 12
    33 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 12
    34 – 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 10
    35 – 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 – 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 8
    37 – 195 Scott Speed Ford 7
    38 – 26 Josh Wise * Ford 6
    39 – 98 Michael McDowell Ford 5
    40 – 30 David Stremme Toyota 4
    41 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 – 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 2
    43 – 191 Reed Sorenson Toyota 0
  • Business as usual for Keselowski at Martinsville

    Business as usual for Keselowski at Martinsville

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Since the end of Tums 500 qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway, media reports, social media and television have been buzzing about series points leader Brad Keselowski’s 32nd place starting spot. Making matters worse, Keselowski’s closest competitor, Jimmie Johnson, put his No.48 Lowes Chevy on the pole. Instantly there was a buzz through the garage area. Given Johnson’s amazing record at the flat half mile track, the question being asked is not whether he will takeover the points lead, but rather by how much.

    While Johnson’s record is phenomenal, six wins in 21 starts, Keselowski has five starts and just two top ten finishes. Keselowski, however, has ran extremely well this season and did finish a respectable ninth in the spring Martinsville event.

    Another interesting fact is that due to the poor qualifying effort, the team’s choice of pit spot is less than optimal. They did choose a spot immediately behind a team that was likely to be a start and park team. This morning however, the No.32 Ford of Ken Schrader had purchased a supply of tires from the Mike Bliss No.19 car that did not make the field, so it would now seem they are going to attempt to run the entire race. That makes one wonder who may have paid the bill on those tires.

    In garage area however, the team seemed relaxed and not bothered by the enormous amount of media hype. I spoke with a team representative and asked if there was a different strategy planned given the circumstances. He responded, “Just try to get some track position early, and once we get there stay out front as long as we can.” he also pointed out that they aren’t using anything different in chassis setup and, “It sorta simplifies things for us, we know we just have to go to the front.”

    Given the relaxed, business as usual attitude of the Penske team, they may leave Martinsville in the same position they arrived with, in the drivers seat of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship!

  • Who wins the Chase? Lots of history and recent performance are telling

    Who wins the Chase? Lots of history and recent performance are telling

    [media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]It may seem silly, but there are those who have already decided that the Chase has two favorites, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. There is something to be said for that, but the thought needs more investigation. It’s also useful to look at history and recent statistics. Those two categories tend to color things a bit.

    First, history tells us a lot. Chevrolet drivers, especially Hendrick Motorsports drivers and those teams he supplies cars for, seem to have the upper hand. The fact is that for the last 20 years, Chevrolet drivers have won 16 championships, with 11 of them coming from Hendrick Motorsports. That’s quite a record. Only Ford drivers Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, and Kurt Busch have dented that streak. And most of them are ancient history with the last Ford championship coming way back in 2004 when Busch did the trick. In this two decade period, Toyota and Dodge haven’t accomplished a championship.

    Part of the reason for this is the tremendous advantage Chevrolet has in top teams competing week after week. On any given Sunday (or Saturday night), Chevrolet fields 11 top teams running Hendrick and Richard Childress motors or chassis. Ford usually fields only five similar teams, which is one of the reasons Penske Racing was added to the mix. That’s a huge advantage. With Hendrick or his satellite operation winning the last six championships, you have to consider them the favorites—and there are four of them.

    Another thing to consider is recent performance. Surprisingly, the strongest performers over the last six races are Keselowski, Kyle Busch (who isn’t in the Chase), Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, and Kasey Kahne. If momentum has in factor in this championship, you have to consider that. Notable is that Hendrick drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Johnson, and Jeff Gordon rank down the list. It makes things more confusing.

    It would be a tremendous surprise to me if the champion is not one of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. History is with them. Brad Keselowski. Bowyer, and Biffle have had their consistency problems and Johnson looks like he is ready to dominate. Kahne is surprisingly at the top of the field every race and the rest of the field is, to be honest, chasing (no pun intended).

    It’s a little early to tell, but history and recent performance gives us a little insight to how this thing will play out. If I was a betting man, and I’m not, I would put my money on a Chevrolet driver and one from the Hendrick camp. We’ll visit this all during the Chase, but as for now, that’s the way I see it.

  • Hendrick Bending the Rules? Keselowski Thinks So

    Hendrick Bending the Rules? Keselowski Thinks So

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”249″][/media-credit]Is Hendrick Motorsports bending the rules? Brad Keselowski thinks so. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Of course you remember all those times Crew Chief Chad Knaus was suspended and fined? Certainly, like when you were in school, once guilty and always suspected was the rule. That may be part of it but Jimmie Johnson coming from the back of the pack to leading the race  until his engine expired has lots of folks wondering.

    Keselowski commented during the race on how Hendrick cars used what he called “tricks” with their cars. Jack Roush and winner Greg Biffle mentioned at Michigan how they “fell behind” on some things, especially on Carl Edwards’ cars and had to get up to speed on certain things. It has opened up a new can of worms, but is it sour grapes or is it a legitimate gripe? Maybe the Hendrick Motorsports cars have people who just are smarter than other team’s engineers and technicians. No, do not shoot the messenger.

    “There’s parts and pieces that move on the car after inspection that make the (Hendrick) cars more competitive,” Keselowski said. “Some guys have it and some don’t. There’s a question as to the interpretation of the rule.”

    One thing is certain, Keselowski is outspoken and doesn’t pull any punches. He has been watching the HMS cars all season long, and his inability to compete with them over the last few races has him frustrated. Remember this is the same man I wrote about last week after a battle with Marcos Ambrose at Watkins Glen. He doesn’t mind getting beat, but he wants to be on an even playing field. He pointed a finger at his own organization, Penske Racing for racing fairly without pushing the envelope between getting by with something and getting caught.

    “As a group at Penske racing, we have not felt comfortable enough to risk that name and reputation that roger has over those parts and pieces. Others have, which is their prerogative,” Keselowski said. “Living in the gray area …We’re going to have to make a re-evaluation of that internally to decide if that’s the right way to go.”

    I found it interesting that after the race, NASCAR took six or seven cars back to their R&D center to inspect them. “Sometimes, it’s easier to take the whole car than just the engine,” Robin Pemberton said in an interview with Sirius-XM radio. What cars they took was a mystery at the time of this column.

  • The All-Star Race, What a Mess

    The All-Star Race, What a Mess

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”256″][/media-credit]Why it is that NASCAR feels it has to tweak the All-Star race. Consider this.  The All-Star Game, the mid-summer classic plays nine innings and all rules apply. The NBA All-Star event follows the rules and the NFL late season All-Star game still plays four quarters and follows the rules. Yet, NASCAR, who lusts after those stick and ball sports thinks they have to mess with the format. What they did on Saturday night was really screw up the formula. They once again made it so that those smarter than you and me could manipulate the race. Sure, strategy is part of sports, but this went to the extreme.

    First they gave a real advantage to the winner of the pit crew competition held earlier in the week. The winner of that “competition” got their choice of pit stalls. Back in the day, the pit crew competition was held at North Carolina Speedway, now Rockingham Speedway, on a real race track with the driver of the car in the driver’s seat. Nowadays, it’s in some area in Uptown Charlotte with any number of people behind the wheel. No longer do drivers drive off after service. The cars are pushed to the so-called finish line with girlfriends and notables, in some case, behind the wheel. Strike One.

    Then, someone decided that a reward would be given to each driver who won four of the five segments of the race. Each would be allowed to pit first through fourth on the final segment. In past races, the field was inverted, but not this time. The rich get richer. Jimmie Johnson first and followed by Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski moved to the back and stroked around because they knew that in the end, they would have an advantage.

    Only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn’t have the luxury, winning the fourth segment. Truth is that it robbed the fans on TV and at the track of seeing the five-time champ, the current Daytona 500 champ, and a rising star, were robbed of seeing these stars race.

    Sure, it was the correct strategy, given the rules that must have been formulated by someone who didn’t understand what would happen. As it turned out, the format ruined the racing. Sure, it’s just an All-Star race, but to fans, it looked like a fix. I’m sure if they had run 90 laps, Jimmie Johnson would have won, but all the format changes just added to the misery.

    The racing was good back in the pack, but the real fast cars, somewhat like baseball’s Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols sitting out the middle innings, were sitting in the back waiting for the final ten laps or the ninth inning in baseball terms. It was just a little joke on those that raced in that last segment. The real power was at the back of the field, waiting for the end.

    Crazy! Do baseball, football, and basketball players take steroids to beef up for the All-Star game? And yet we see trick engines and apparently no rules.

    Fans love the All-Star race, but those making decisions need to look at what we are doing—racing—and let it be straight up. Saw a tweet from Steven Wallace. He said the race was perfect. No wrecks and no passing. That’s an exaggeration, but true in some ways.

    My response was that our drivers have become too good to make mistakes or that they are too good to settle because some are just too good. Either way, that’s sad.

    The “Pass In the Grass” and the close competition at the end of these races is only a memory. It’s all about finding a loophole in the rules and exploiting it, as usual. But this time, NASCAR, or whoever changed the format, made it easy. I guess I’m in the minority.

  • Fans Have Spoken – Excitement is the Key

    Fans Have Spoken – Excitement is the Key

    It has been a solid year for discussion of NASCAR. The season started with the Daytona 500 being delayed by rain. Then, once the green flag fell, all the talk was about Juan Pablo Montoya having an equipment failure, turning right into a jet dryer and the resulting fireball. Of course Matt Kenseth won the race, but true to his personality, no one remembers it. Then after a couple of races, the two top series in NASCAR headed to Bristol Motor Speedway to what appeared to be an empty track (it’s amazing what a large venue looks like half full).

    After the rain-shortened race in California, the boys headed to Martinsville. After the first half (and most of the second half) of the race made sleeping medications unneeded, an interesting thing happened. Jeff Gordon dominated that race, but Jimmie Johnson ran him down and took the lead. Gordon wasn’t done, however. Working hard, Gordon and Johnson battled with Gordon taking the lead. Then it happened. David Reutimann, trying to stay in the coveted top 35 in points, which insures a start in the next race, had problems. Running around the track at what many called 20 mph, Reutimann had problems. He couldn’t turn left due to tie rod problems and then the engine gave up the ghost. He stalled on the front stretch. Caution came out, a green-white-checker was in the cards, and the field was bunched up. On the first attempt at the infamous two lap shootout, Clint Bowyer tried to pass both Gordon and Johnson in the first and second turns (the story is fuzzy, but Bowyer says he got pushed by Ryan Newman and had to make the make the attempt to pass while others say that Johnson and Gordon, who did not pit, had old tires and couldn’t get a fast start) and what Gaston Gazette sportswriter Monte Dutton called “synchronized spinning” resulted. Gordon and Johnson finished lower than they deserved and Newman won after a fierce battle with A.J. Allmendinger (where did he come from?).

    The verdict was in. I penned a commentary last year saying Martinsville was the new Bristol and that prediction came true. While Bristol had good racing and lots of two-groove passing, the excitement factor was missing. Even though the same factor was missing for 250 laps at Martinsville, the end made everyone leave talking about the race and how great it was. Unfortunately, Reutimann immediately became the villain—the guy who changed the face of the race—it was obvious that Gordon and Johnson had the best cars—and the phone lines lit up on the NASCAR programs on SiriusXM radio. Never has a nice guy been so criticized and discussed. No one wanted to discuss California or Phoenix.

    What has been missing the last few years is the excitement factor. When the Bristol track was reconfigured, and when the Chase made drivers so concerned about point totals in their quest for a place in the Chase, we lost that urgency to actually take chances to win a race. Add to that a driver who just wanted to keep his team in the position to make the next race, and the excitement factor raised by 1,000 per cent. People responded.

    Those of us that consider us purists and like watching racing are in the minority. Since football has become the sport of choice in these United States, it should be obvious that good old fashioned racing is what has been missing from today’s NASCAR. That’s why I applaud Bruton Smith. He is willing, apparently, even though promised announcements have not been made, to change his track to add that excitement to Bristol. Smith heard the fans and realized that without the fans, there would be no races or NASCAR. That was refreshing. And as many media types or drivers cry about the changes that may come to Bristol, we always have Martinsville. It has pretty much been like it is for over 60 years and it works. That is what racing was like for six decades and the attempt to sterilize the sport should by now be clear to the powers that be is futile. Folks want excitement. And that’s all that matters.

  • After Two Races, What Have We Learned?

    After Two Races, What Have We Learned?

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Two races down and what have we seen? It’s confusing, but we’ve have had one race dominated by Fords and Chevrolets, and another dominated by Toyotas and Chevrolets. What do we make of this? One has to understand that Daytona is an entirely different animal from the rest of the circuit, save Talladega. It appears that the Roush-Yates engines are the way to go at the restrictor plate tracks, and after only one of the real races, the verdict is out.

    I don’t get the euphoria the media gives the current winner of any race. Denny Hamlin might have wintered in Arizona and got his head straight. He had a good car in Avondale, Arizona on Sunday, but he was bailed out by a stronger car running out of fuel. Matt Kenseth might have won Daytona, but it might have been more luck than skill, not to take away from either victory. That’s the way racing goes. A lot of it always has to do with luck and even skill. It’s just the way it goes. So where are we?

    Much of it has to do with what happens next. Las Vegas is key and Bristol is a crap shoot. We won’t know much until we get to California in three weeks. And then we probably will have to look to Charlotte to get the full picture. So far, it’s an open field. A lot will depend on what happens in the soon appeal of the NASCAR penalties given to the No. 48 team after Daytona, regardless of what you think about Johnson, Knaus, and Hendrick Motorsports. That team is a force in this series. The 25-point penalty is big, So far, no date has been established for the appeal. Regardless of what anyone thinks, a lot depends on this decision. The Johnson-Knaus team is formidable.

    I have a real problem in talking about points this early. The media loves it because it gives them something to talk about, but when did we get to the point that points and the Chase was more important than who won the race on any given Sunday? If last year’s championship proved anything else, it was that winning was important. It was the tie-breaker in the closest championship in history. Maybe, the lesson here is that nothing matters until the final ten races, and that bothers me. In stick and ball sports, it works well, but in racing, it’s almost that the individual races don’t matter. Denny Hamlin won Phoenix. Big deal. All that matters is how many points he got. That is NASCAR in the 21st Century. Win a bunch and have a few poor finishes, and you are dust. In the old days, the winners were given all the spoils. Winners were important. Nowadays, it only matters until the final ten races.

    We’re a long way from that, and hopefully exemplary performance will determine the season champion, but I’d wish we could worry about that in August instead of March. I’m a fool and I know I’m daft, but I wish that. Unfortunately, I’m in the minority. Bad deal for me,