Several friends and I watch NASCAR every week together.� Some of the old-school fans were screaming at a driver to put another driver into the wall and out of the race.� I won't mention who, but he has been known to get "rowdy" from time to time. I said, "he's not going to do anything like that."� Shocked looks from all sides.� My explanation was a sponsor puts his name on the car to get it seen.� Hard to see it from the garage or junk heap.�Sponsors equal money, and money makes cars fast and drivers winners.� No money, no trophy.
With sponsorship so hard to come by today, '''Have at it, boys" really has no meaning.� I put you out of the race, next week you put me out. That makes sponsors very unhappy, and an unhappy sponsor is a very bad thing.
? William Cossaboom
Houston, Texas
I agree with your premise, but I'd point out that a driver who ends up in a wreck does get a bit of sponsor play, particularly if he does a post-wreck interview. Shoot, Robby Gordon has built an entire career on a few snapshots of his sponsors during the "Gordon into the wall" stage of the race.
But that raises a larger question: how much influence do sponsors have over a driver's actions? After all, while Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin may be members of the Hendrick and Gibbs teams, they're best known as icons of the Lowe's and FedEx brands. And those brands surely wouldn't be pleased to see their spokesmen leaping over hoods to fight with other drivers. (Or maybe they would. Maybe they'd be upset if their driver got caught hiding in the floorboards when a fight broke out.)
Back when Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick had their little fight, Aflac made it clear that they weren't pleased with Edwards' actions. Fortunately, most drivers keep on the straight-and-narrow, so sponsor displeasure isn't much of an issue. You may recall that Tiger Woods got into a bit of trouble a few months back, and many of his sponsors headed for the hills to avoid association with his "transgressions."
At some point, it's going to happen in NASCAR: a driver is going to do something bad enough that a sponsor will distance itself from the driver. (A beer company probably isn't going to want to throw money behind a driver busted for DUI, for instance.) At that point, we'll see just how important the sponsor-team-driver relationship really is, and just who the key player in that trifecta might be. (Hint: it usually ain't the driver.)
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As much as people complain about Darrell Waltrip and Digger, they have done some good. My girlfriend, who before this season was not a NASCAR fan at all, has been converted. She now roots religiously for Kyle Busch, to the point she cursed like a sailor when he was wrecked at 'Dega. She is how she is because she at first found Digger to be cute. My mom was hooked by Waltrip's ever-annoying "Boogity Boogity Boogity!" when she first heard it in "Cars."
Although I'm the typical NASCAR fan in that I love to complain about how bad the announcers are, things like Digger and Waltrip are causing people that would never watch a race to have second thoughts, which is of course, good for the sport.
? Chris R.
Wichita, KS
What? You mean I have to put up with something I don't like because someone else might? How dare you, sir? That's not the NASCAR I know! That's not America! (And yes, I agree with you. Trying to keep everything the same as it ever was is the surest way to keep the newcomers from getting in.)
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With GM selling more cars in China than they do in the USA, do you think NASCAR will add a race in China, and maybe other emerging markets, like Brazil, India, Korea and even Japan?
? Hattie Vodou
It's an intriguing idea, but the logistics involved make it just about impossible in the course of a regular season. As we've seen in various international driving competitions, NASCAR drivers can hang with the world's best, so that's not an issue. The more pressing concern is the money and timing needed to get all the equipment across an ocean; it's a lot easier for a baseball team than a NASCAR team to take their equipment abroad.
What could work, though, once there's more money available, is a NASCAR international/developmental series, sort of a race equivalent to NFL Europe. You run a few races abroad, you bring over a couple of NASCAR stars on an off week to race against Europe's best, you start to spur interest in other markets. Plus, there'd be jobs available for the guys who don't currently have Sprint Cup rides (busy, Scott Speed?). I like the idea, especially as it could lead to more moments like this:
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When Kurt Busch and Roger [Penske] gave [Steve] Addington a chance [at crew chief], Kurt said Addington's learning curve would be short because he already understood, "Busch wavelengths" from his time working for Rowdy at JGR. Since Addington is dropping the ball again, like he did at JGR, what changes can Kurt and Roger make on the #22 to get that team winning? New crew chief? New teammate? More Dodge teams?
? John Andies
I'm not quite prepared to say that it's all Addington's fault; after all, the team did win two competitive preseason races. But yeah, something's definitely up with the boys in yellow. I've got to wonder if maybe it's those "Busch wavelengths," which seem to carry nothing but scorn, disdain and the f-bomb. More Dodge teams could definitely help, but until Carl Edwards shows up (oh! should I have put a spoiler on that?), it's Kurt and Keselowski.
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Now that [Richmond] was a real stock car race. No obligatory manufactured GWC finish, no contrived NASCAR BS, just good old-fashioned beating, banging, temper-flaring short track racing. Honestly, why does NASCAR even bother with any track larger than 1.5 miles? Get rid of these cookie cutter snoozefests, and copy Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond if you're going to copy existing tracks.
? Eric
Complimenting a race? Satisfaction with the way that the race was run? Eric, are you sure you're in the right place? (Hear, hear on the short-track reproductions, though.)
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I agree with you that some races -- Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, Indy and the road courses -- need to remain where they are. However, for the other races, I would love to see NASCAR go with the Friday/Saturday night local track format of heat races, feature races and main. Short heat races would allow drivers to practice on the track. You could have three or four feature races, each a little over a fuel run, to set the main event, with the top finishers from the features advancing the the main race. The main event would be a little over two fuel runs at the track. Such a set up would mean that every lap would be contested. You could even two main events, with a Gold and Silver division, based on the features (top finishers go into the Gold event, everybody else into the Silver event).
By making the features and main one or two fuel runs in distance, you would still have the pit skills and those skills would be more important since a bad pit stop in a feature or last-chance feature could cost a driver a chance to compete in the main event. Television would be served as it could broadcast the main. Leading up to the main would be a pre-race package of driver interviews and highlights from the feature races and heats. Even with the potential of a red flag in the main, you could get out in three hours ...
? Veto F. Roley
Gautier, MS
Veto also went into detail about the top 35, restrictor-plate racing and road tracks, but we had to cut it off. Brevity, friends! (Tighten up and write back, Veto.) Anyway, I love this idea, as totally unrealistic as it is on a national scale. No way in hell the sponsors (them again!) would consent to a system where their boy might not make the Gold event. Still, anything that puts drivers against one another over and over is fine by me. Last man standing! There can be only one!
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Given the risk of cars into the stands and the need to have more action than paying to watch interstate highway traffic, perhaps it would help things to create the biggest chicane in Alabama on the back straight so everyone would be accelerating from turn 4 to and through turn 1 before they slammed on their brakes and made "the cut" before starting over in turn 4.
Yes, this has the flavour of Daytona sports car racing.� I just think making 200 mph cars run short track brakes and forcing teams to play the line between exteme aero slick and max mechanical grip would give us something to ponder for the first 2 hours.� And it would end the 2 by 2 parade, or the pack racing.
Flat camberless chicane, followed by banked dragway, followed by "welcome to Martinsville" braking and extreme left-right-left turn.� Times have changed, why shouldn't the track?� Heck, it would take even longer giving infield fans more time to party.
? Brian
Rockville, MD
Interesting thought, and I do like the idea of different strategy coming into play. But one of the reasons I love Daytona and Talladega is because you can leave the brakes at home. Plus, you know that somebody would go park their RV right in the middle of the chicane, and that'd send everything straight to hell.
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'Dega was�the first NASCAR race I watched in its entirety since me and dad watched the #3 car plow into the wall at Daytona. I watched ESPN and caught a few finishes here and there ... However, when I heard that Trevor Bayne won the 500 and that restrictor plate racing had a new style, I decided to watch. Coming from someone who likes chess, poker, and in-depth commentary on NFL offenses, this is a little biased, but I thought the race was really exciting. For what it's worth NASCAR gained at least one fan for the legion that it has lost.
? Ryan Micke
Welcome back, sir. Glad you're here. And again, everybody, remember: just because you hate it doesn't mean everyone does.
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I guess I'm in the minority when I say that the length of NASCAR races should by and large stay the same.�While I don't question the logic on shortening some races from 500 to 400 miles (a la California), I for one appreciate the intrigue that you get from a 400, 500 or 600 mile race … [reasons include endurance, pit road drama and day-night races] Finally, if you are looking for a shorter race, last time I checked, the NHRA was a great place to watch some really fast cars cover a quarter mile in 4 or 5 seconds. I'm all about giving the fans what they want, but remember this: Be careful what
you wish for, you might actually get it.
? Fred
Half Moon Bay, CA
The endurance issue really isn't a factor anymore, as cars can easily hang together for all that time. (Most, anyway.) The shortening of most races is, I believe, an inevitability; we're living in a different time now and the old rules don't necessarily apply. As long as it doesn't cut down on the tailgating time, all's good with me and the majority of infield fans.
And, of course, since we have to have a Dale Earnhardt Jr. letter ...
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Now that Dale is back to his normal 19th-place finishes, two laps down, do you think all this "Dale's back" silly talk will be put to rest? ... Dale is gonna be 37 years old in a few months, so he doesn't really believe that he can run with a 26-year-old stud like Rowdy Busch does he?
? Bart Busch
One bad race shouldn't doom a guy. After all, there's someone I can think of who's posted finishes of 38th and 35th already this year, more than 10 positions worse than Earnhardt's worst. Who ever could that be, Bart … Busch?
And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com, find us on Facebook right here, or hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee. Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!
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