Turn 3

Quality of product

By DAVID GREEN

Previously on Turn 3...

The matter of a crisis of leadership was the primary topic. We were to resume our discussion, focusing on the quality of product, yesterday, but I'm a day late in doing so. No excuses, other than sloth.

Turns out that may be a good thing, though, because Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 gave us good material to use in discussing the quality of the NASCAR product. It was the gol-durndest finish to a race I've ever seen, and I have seen quite a few of them.

I shouldn't have to sell the notion of races not being entertaining in this venue. A majority of the posts I read on this subject are critical. It is a topic of discussion among all major forms of racing except the straight-line form, and this is the first time I can remember that Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR were all suffering from such a public relations malady.

Over the past couple of decades, NASCAR has shamelessly hyped the competitiveness and entertainment value of its product. In my opinion, it wasn't so much the product as it was the players. It was character-driven.

During the past decade, the Indy Racing League established itself as the series with the most to brag about, with split-second, side-by-side finishes the norm. In this case, it was most definitely the product, as the IRL was struggling to develop characters fans could get excited about.

Perhaps F1's dilemma is the most shocking, because for years and years, fans of that discipline would look down their noses at other forms of racing, especially stock cars, and explain how we hicks in the Colonies weren't sophisticated enough to appreciate the subtleties of "real" racing.

Now, those same folks are in a dither as a good many of their fans (the supposedly sophisticated ones) are yammering about how there's "not enough overtaking."

I just wonder what kind of consensus might be obtained in a scientific survey of race fans, asking them just what would satisfy them in terms of the product?

For some, it is statistically quantifiable -- number of leaders, number of lead changes, number of cars on the lead lap at the finish, margin of victory, and so forth. X number of all of these would be required for these fans to believe they had gotten their money's worth when the race was over.

For others, it's more abstract than that. The numbers don't matter so much as the closeness of the competition, and that might mean a nip-and-tuck dogfight that does NOT produce a lot of lead changes, for example, but does feature a furious effort to make a pass.

It's safe to assume that a good many fans want to see an exciting finish; NASCAR believes so, anyway, and the green-white-checkered finish rule is evidence of that.

And, let's be honest -- for some, it's how many wrecks there are and how spectacular they are.

Last night's race at Daytona should have satisfied just about everybody, if all race fans' preferences are explained by the summaries above. Perhaps the statistics were a little short, particularly with regard to number of leaders and number of lead changes. Perhaps much of the race, during which Kyle Busch or Tony Stewart were pulling the train lap after lap after lap, was short on the "furious effort to pass" standard.

But overall, I thought it was a quite entertaining race with a spectacular finish.

Regardless of any consensus or individual fans' opinions, I don't believe there is any magic formula to produce a "good" or entertaining race. I also don't think there is any significant difference in the overall quality of races now and in past years, with one exception -- technological advances have made racing more and more technical in nature and have raised speeds, even in the face of some 25 years of concerted efforts to keep them within limits.

The faster the cars go, the narrower the groove on any track becomes, the more fragile drivers' control becomes, and the more dramatic the consequences of any mistakes they may make.

Another problem is unrealistic expectations on the part of the fans. In nearly 50 years of being an avid observer of racing, I've seen lots of races that did not measure up to any of the standards I described above. I'm perfectly OK with that.

There are things that organizations can do to enhance the product. NASCAR's new two-abreast restart rule is a good example of that.

But nothing they do is going to make every lap or every race fit any specific criteria. Race fans like me are fine with that.

Crisis of leadership, quality of product

By DAVID GREEN

Turns out finances are not, despite the crippled economics sector, the biggest problem facing motor sport these days. It's leadership -- or, at least, the public perception of it -- and the quality of the product that is being provided to fans.

This is not strictly a condemnation of Brian France, but the fact that I feel compelled to insert that disclaimer says much about the subject of this post. Whether his policies are right or wrong, whether all the criticism he's taken is valid or not, the fact is that his qualifications and his judgment are suspect.

And that's only the cherry on top of the sundae, when the larger racing world is included in the picture. Tony George has stepped down as leader of the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Max Mosley-Bernie Ecclestone-Formula One Teams Association squabble gets uglier by the hour, it seems.

Thank goodness for the NHRA.

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Danica still a work in progress in the IRL

By DAVID GREEN

Five years have flown past since Danica Patrick burst onto the scene by becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500. "Danica Mania" has cooled a bit, but the 27-year-old is still one of American auto racing's hottest commodities.

For sure, there's anything but a consensus about Patrick's talents as a driver. She is without a doubt pretty good; you just don't go out and lead the Indy 500 and finish fourth as a rookie without having some idea of what the job entails.

Critics, though, have plenty to work with. She has only one career victory; she has moved from team to team, always seeming to have conflicts with one group and opting for greener pastures elsewhere; she is confrontational with competitors and even teammates and can be testy with the media.

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The rise and fall (or not) of dictators

By DAVID GREEN

Remember the old days, when Bruton Smith would grumpily suggest that an alternative to NASCAR might be a good thing for stock car racing, and made veiled threats (or promises, if you prefer) that he might be the one to start a new series?

Remember what happened a little more than a dozen years ago, when Tony George did what Bruton talked about doing and started his own IndyCar series in competition with CART?

Well, now Formula One faces the prospect of a breakaway series.

What were Bruton's complaints, other than the prospect of lost revenues for races NASCAR would not grant to the Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman, who then had to purchase tracks such as North Wilkesboro and Rockingham to move their races to his new speedways?

To sum it up, dictatorial leadership of NASCAR.

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Brand names: Important, or not?

By DAVID GREEN

News of General Motors' termination of support of second-echelon NASCAR racing Friday has elicited some discussion, much of it speculating about the status of factory-backed Chevy teams in the elite Sprint Cup Series.

Friday's news was hardly surprising, except perhaps in that the cutback was limited to Nationwide and Camping World series teams. Chevy was the last of America's Big Three companies to pull the plug on the two lower series, following fiscally faltering Chrysler and the healthiest of the U.S. companies, Ford.

I found an interesting contrast in some of the coverage of this story and reader responses to it. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart were singled out for expressing their loyalty to Chevrolet, Earnhardt for his insistence on a Chevy ride when he became a NASCAR free agent and Stewart for returning to the GM fold when he left Joe Gibbs Racing after one season in a Toyota.

Both drivers offered thoughtful comments about the state of the economy in general and the financial straits of American auto manufacturers in particular, and Stewart was particularly eloquent in noting the impact of the recession on so many Americans who have lost their jobs.

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Mayfield v. NASCAR heats up

By DAVID GREEN

Did he, or didn't he? Or, as some cynics have suggested, does it matter?

Is Jeremy Mayfield a drug user, as NASCAR claims urinalysis results indicate, or not? Does the truth matter?

The pursuit of truth is the mission of the journalist, and quite often it is an elusive, if not impossible, quest.

Prominent among examples of this is the assassination 46 years ago of President John F. Kennedy, the details of which have never been proven to the satisfaction of a good many Americans.

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Kyle vs. Dale Junior: A juicy topic

By DAVID GREEN

Kyle Busch: Outspoken, or arrogant?

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Unlucky, or overrated?

Responses to such questions depend almost entirely on personal prejudice. Kyle Busch fans say their favorite is outspoken, and they like him partly because of that. Dale Jr. fans think Busch's recent remarks about their favorite driver enhance Busch's image as a punk, and believe Junior is a talented driver who is a victim of circumstances.

These opinions are theories, and the great thing about theories is that they cannot be proved or disproved. They can be supported; they can be questioned; they can be heatedly debated. Vociferously, with passion.

Even Busch's supporters (most of them) will admit Kyle can go a little too far sometimes in expressing himself. Whether he did in this particular instance, though, goes back to the original premise about opinions. In support of Busch's remarks, Junior does indeed have a checkered history with crew chief relationships; in undermining his purposes, he's the one dumped by Hendrick Motorsports to make room for Junior on that team.

Junior's supporters have some ammunition to back up their enthusiasm. At times, Junior has shown himself to be a solid competitor. He has won on just about every type of track, in fairly hefty numbers; he has won two championships in the junior division, now named the Nationwide Series. On the other hand, he has demonstrated flaws in his game, never more glaringly apparent than this year with the missed pit stall and other such "brain fade" incidents.

Busch supporters can rightly point out that Kyle had his difficulties, dating back to the tobacco settlement prohibition of his racing in the Truck Series before he turned 18. That temporarily derailed his career and eventually led him to switch from Roush Racing to Hendrick very early in his career. They can point out that not only did Kyle have to compete with a big brother who had won a Cup Series already, he was inevitably going to be compared to Kurt Busch, who in his early years had a reputation as a young punk much like Kyle does now.

That kind of stuff can affect a fellow.

Dale Jr. fans can right note the pressure that comes just with being named "Dale Earnhardt Jr." Nobody could ever fill the Simpson shoes Junior's dad laced up. They can point out the emotional turmoil of the messy separation of Junior from the team his father formed, and with which he had enjoyed all of his greatest successes.

The other side, in both arguments, can dismiss those things as excuses.

My opinions:

1. Busch is both outspoken and arrogant. Bottom line: He's the fastest thing on the track most Sundays (or Saturday nights, or whatever).

2. Junior's achievements don't measure up to his reputation and he has, indeed, had some situations that would almost certainly distract a fellow. Bottom line: He's better than his critics say and not as good as his most fervent fans believe.

One thing about which there can be little argument: Nobody makes better copy for journalists or better material for fans than these two guys.

Memorable Memorial Day weekend

By DAVID GREEN

This is my favorite weekend of the year, for racing and other reasons. I'm a veteran and a patriot, and so naturally I place a high value on memorializing the men and women who have given their lives in defense of my country, and that is the purpose of the holiday at the end of May.

By a happy coincidence, the holiday weekend has become one of the more significant ones in all of auto racing. This year is one of the exceptionally rich ones, with the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco starting a full day of competition. At midday is the Indianapolis 500, and then, later in the afternoon and on into the night is the Coca-Cola 600.

Memorial Day being an American holiday, the grand prix schedule sometimes places Monaco on another weekend. Even in those years, it's an above-average day, with two of America's top races on tap. Sunday, it's a trifecta.

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All-stars through the decades

By DAVID GREEN

On the occasion of the all-star race this weekend, my thoughts are on the subject of all-stars down through the decades of NASCAR racing -- the best and/or most popular drivers from the overlapping eras of the sport's six-decades-long history.

With the 25th anniversary all-star event looming, let's start with the present era, but then I want to go back to the start and move forward chronologically. My nominations for a top six, again based on achievement and fan reaction (both positive and negative), are, in no particular order, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Now, how did we get to this point? Who led the way, made the headlines, won the races, and laid the foundations and built on them?

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Racing in the Bluegrass

By DAVID GREEN

Some 41 years ago, when my career as a motorsports journalist got off the ground, racing -- of automobiles, that is -- was not a very big deal in my home state of Kentucky.

Kentucky, in the 1960s, had been the site of one NASCAR Grand National race. It was at Corbin Speedway, on Aug. 29, 1954. Lee Petty won, with Hershel McGriff second. Buck Baker and brothers Herb and Donald Thomas rounded out the top five.

The Commonwealth had made one other contribution of note to stock car racing -- Owensboro native G.C. Spencer, who had relocated to Inman, S.C., in northern Spartanburg County, and raced full-time for a good many years at NASCAR's top level.

In 1968, Darrell Waltrip -- another Owensboro product -- had yet to be discovered.

But there was stock car racing to be enjoyed in my neck of the woods, at the old Keeling Raceway and the Purchase District Fairgrounds in Mayfield. Before I was able to get out there with the boys in a car of my own, I contributed reports to a weekly newspaper in Paducah.

My, how things have changed. Now, none other than O. Bruton Smith himself is trying to bring days of Cup Series thunder to Kentucky Speedway. Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumper stickers abound. Finally, we have had some Kentuckians who didn't change the listing of their hometown (one again, you guessed it -- Owensboro) who enjoyed a measure of success in NASCAR.

Keeling is gone and the only "races" in Mayfield are tractor pulls and demolition derbies. But Junior, Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart are part owners of Paducah International Raceway, and there's another high-profile (but curiously managed) dirt oval, Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, near Gilbertsville.

Even such things as a recent ceremony at the new Marshall County Hospital in Benton had a NASCAR connection. Scott Lathram, in whose name a new helipad was dedicated, was one of the victims of the October 2004 plane crash near Martinsville and was Stewart's helicopter pilot. 

I'm sort of ambivalent about Bruton's tiff with the former owners of Kentucky Speedway, who seem bent on getting some satisfaction out of NASCAR via litigation for not adding their track to the Cup Series schedule. I've come full circle and am now much more focused on the local racing scene.

Perhaps NASCAR mania in Kentucky has completed a lap in its own right. News coverage here -- even in Lexington, a lot closer to Kentucky Speedway than those of us down here west of the Tennessee River -- focused on Patrick Patterson's decision to remain at the University of Kentucky for one more basketball season. Even former Wildcat coach Rick Pitino (now at UK mortal enemy Louisville) and a Cincinnati-St. Louis baseball game story got higher play than Smith's admonition of the former Kentucky Speedway owners.

And of course, there's that horse race at Churchill Downs the first Saturday every May.

Still, auto racing is a much bigger deal in Kentucky now than it was four decades ago.