Subscribe to this blog's feed« All due respect, but Bristol is overrated | Main | Anger management »
August 31, 2006
So much for seniority! Has NASCAR peaked?
By Mike Harper
In cycling a team finds one bicycle rider who has extraordinary talent and they build their team around that person. For example, the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team built their team around Lance Armstrong. In doing so Armstrong won seven Tour de France tours. An amazing accomplishment for any team.
What makes this concept unique is each team is made up of members who are loyal to their number one guy. When things click just right, the entire team wins.
In NASCAR we find the team concept in tact, however each driver who is associated with a multi-car organization races against his fellow teammates. He doesn’t race with a teammate like what’s found in professional cycling, in NASCAR it’s all out racing against your brother.
Currently, the younger guys are leaving their senior teammates in the dust. Just look at the points. Matt Kenseth is once again out performing Mark Martin. Kyle Busch is beating out his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin has jumped in front of his teammate, Tony Stewart.
Kasey Kahne left Jeremy Mayfield in the dust prior to Mayfield’s termination from Evernham Motorsports and first season Penske driver Kurt Busch is currently 73 points in front of Penske veteran driver Ryan Newman. Bobby Labonte is in his first season at Petty Enterprises and he’s 352 points ahead of Petty owner Kyle Petty.
So much for seniority!
50 teams next season, who’ll sit out?
It seems everyone is talking about adding another team to their stable next season. Rumors have Richard Childress, Robby Gordon, Evernham Motorsports and Morgan-McClure just to name a few, all wanting to add another team to their organization.
Red Bull Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing will be new racing organizations next season. And with Bill Davis Racing’s recent announcement of adding a second car to the 2007 roster with Jeremy Mayfield driving it, one really must wonder what seven cars will become habitual offenders on missing the show as a result of the immediate growth found next season in Cup racing.
Based on the current 2006 qualifying statistics, Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil, Tony Raines, Scott Wimmer, David Stremme and Dave Blaney are guys who do not qualify well and could end up missing the majority of the season in 2007.
Owners and their drivers who sit outside the top 25 in Cup Series owner points this season, will find themselves under extreme pressure next season. Their goal of competing for a race win will take a back seat to the fact that these teams will need to make the race and run inside the top 25 in each event. Anything less will put them on the verge of not racing the entire season. The result will bring a much earlier beginning to what we know as Silly Season and sponsorship retention could become a major issue in NASCAR.
The times are changing and it will be an interesting show to watch.
Goodbye Bristol!
I’m disappointed in last weekend’s Cup event at Bristol. In my opinion, the Busch Series event out entertained the Cup event by leaps and bounds. And even more disappointing is the fact that Bristol will never be the same again.
With the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow, who knows what kind of an event we’ll see at Bristol next season. Just a guess, but I would think the futuristic wing on the COT and the "splitter" found on the base of the nose of the COT will change the way the drivers race at Bristol. I can’t imagine using the bumper on a competitor without damaging the "splitter" and I’d think your day would be ended if you knock the wing off the back of the car when making contact with the wall.
My guess is once everyone realizes that what we saw at Bristol last weekend from the Cup guys could become the new standard racing practice at Bristol, there will be a lot of sad, sad folks. Including me.
I hope the excitement of the beatin’ and bangin’ at Bristol won’t become a distant memory like so many tracks have in NASCAR. If it does, 2006 might go down in history as the year when NASCAR hit its peak!
August 31, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
Geat thoughts Harp though I am on the other side of the fence with you on the COT and Bristol. I HOPE that the aero package created by the COT will actually halp the racing and the splitter shouldn't ba much of an issue.
Posted by: Mark | Aug 31, 2006 5:25:31 PM
Mike Harper,
Senority:
We had a much more organized changing of the guard in the old days...And that includes teams, crew chiefs and drivers. But, Mr. $$$ and Mr. Advertising Revenue kicked some young driving careers into gear and made seemingly impossible driver/team shifts, possible. Young drivers getting better equipment to start with, rather than gradually earning it, might make it seem like the old guys have lost a step, but I don't think so. It's not necessarilly a bad thing. It's just a part of the times really, but it skews how we see and evaluate careers. Giving that next TV/Advertizing driver prodigy great equipment is a 2 edged sword. He has to produce NOW because the luxury of growing into the ride or patience by the sponsors/owner are gone. Then again, that owner, seen as not providing superior equipment or just compensation could lose his next brightest star to the $$$ guy. It's just an interesting twist to the way NASCAR has evolved.
50 Qualifiers:
The Top 35 rule must go. NASCAR is a racing business not a charity. Allow 2 provisionals for the cars in the Top 15 and 1 for the previous years champion. If you're not in the Top 15, and don't qualify on speed, well maybe you ought to spend the weekend working on that. No more selling of the Champions Provisional...The previous years Champ is the only one to get it and then only 2-3 times a year. Everyone with the exception of those 3 provisionals (or 2 if the past Champ has used his or didn't need to)qualifies on speed.
Bristol:
I'm going to wait on Bristol. Although, I can't think of a worse place to debut a new car. Especially a car meant to help the aero on larger tracks. Bristols poor show is the result of the track itself and car speeds.
Posted by: Keith | Aug 31, 2006 5:32:24 PM
Hey Mike,
Seniority, I'll just settle for calling it evolution.
50 teams. It will be revolution
After Bristol,
we will all be talking solution....
Posted by: Larry | Aug 31, 2006 6:22:42 PM
I'm not getting your point about seniority. I can't imagine that a sponsor would want to go investing all that money into funding a race car only to see the driver take a deliberate dive to help out a teammate. Not a very good return on investment doing that.
As for the splitters -- talk to the truck teams. The trucks run fine, they do plenty of bumping, and I can only remember one case of splitter damage that wasn't related to other considerable crash damage. That was a case where they had set the splitter too low and some of it got ground off against the track.
IMO, the drivers who'll adapt fastest to the COT will be the ones who've run well in trucks and the teams who adapt best will be the ones who have a truck program.
Keith,
Good idea about setting the field. I don't mind seeing a little protection in case of oil on the track, giant oranges, or sudden rain in turn 4. But its ridiculous to give out 35 provisionals every week.
Posted by: M. B. Voelker | Aug 31, 2006 7:06:53 PM
Motorsports Soapbox has a good piece up on qualifying procedures and the top 35 rule. (http://tinyurl.com/fmgf7)
The author took last years and the '06 season to date and calculated who would have made the races without provisionals or the top 35 rule.
Very interesting results.
50 Teams? I have my doubts if only because some of the teams announced are still in the looking for sponsorship category.
We'll see
Posted by: Marc | Aug 31, 2006 8:53:02 PM
Keith, Keith, Keith you disappoint me. This Racing, So EVERYBODY qualifies in on speed and the Top 35 male the field the other 15...Thanks for stopping by see ya next week, here's a lovely parting gift. The only provisional would be "reigning champion provisional"...a perk the come with being the Defending Champion. All lap down cars will earn there lap back...the OLD FASHION way! Point awarded for leading the most laps...NADA Point awarded for leading at the Half way point...ZIP Points awarded for the "Bud Pole"...O.K the same as this year...NONE anyone can go fast for 1 lap! Mike Daly sit down! well have no 200 points for 1st wins, Quarterly,Biannualy and or compounded! And ANY competing manufacture's car will closley resemble it's street brethren...IF YOU DON'T BUILD RACE CARS...SHUT UP! This COT thing has got way out of hand since the early 90's I know very well that Dale Earnhardt's 87 Monte Carlo is very much closer to Shirley B's and my old 85 Cutlass Sportsman is alot like Terry Labonte's #44 Piedmont Airline car...Don't beleive me Stroll thru "Memory Lanes" Museum in Mooresville NC, or see Dale Jarrett's Nova at Dale Jarrett Inc in Hickory NC....Remember if you not in first...your LAST, Let's take back our sport!
Posted by: Tbfka#5 | Aug 31, 2006 9:01:19 PM
Dammit I need to quit drinking my supper...
EVERYBODY qualifies in on speed and the Top 43 make the field the other 7...Thanks for stopping by see ya next week...
Posted by: Tbfka#5 | Aug 31, 2006 11:14:20 PM
The answer to 50 teams? 50 starting spots.
The Car Of Tomorrow will push worse than the present cars and fail completely once it hits the racetrack.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Aug 31, 2006 11:34:23 PM
The problem with Nascar is, they have no competition. They make ALL the rules, with no input from ANYONE. Nascar will tell you in a NY minute,"you need us, we don't need you". Until there is another racing circuit, Nascar will do as they doggone well please. Nascar has ruined stock car racing as we once knew it. With the introduction of the COT, racing will be even more BORE-RING. I am a racer, and I will not race with any sanctioning body that forbids creativity, or where I am not allowed to think for myself.
Posted by: Justin Case | Sep 1, 2006 12:07:57 AM
Goodbye Justin Case. The COT is going to HELP racing as a few of us older fans will remember. Any of you young pups ever drive a HUDSON? Ever seen one in a race? Take a look at some of the old races where the driver wore a T shirt and gogles, and ran a slightly modified street car ( some drove their car to the track). That was pretty good racing, just like the short tracks all over the country. Send your engineers home a bring back Harry Hide and a few of that type of crew chiefs. If you want to watch "engineer Racing" tune into IRL or Formula 1. Sorry about the RANT.
Posted by: 328 | Sep 1, 2006 7:45:04 AM
328,
LOL, we have Ernesto visiting today so I was watching some of the old races on Speed. Let's see, I think Petty had a blazing 24 sec pit stop and the gas man was wearing a fedora. No-one had major sponsors on the cars and the racing was great.
The COT is a step in the right direction or at the least it shows NASCAR sees a problem. I'll give it it's chance (unlike certain others) before I pronounce it junk.
Posted by: Keith | Sep 1, 2006 8:57:45 AM
Mike, I didn't even think about the "seniority" within teams. That is quite interesting. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
I hope Brian is taking into consideration that there will be 50 or more teams qualifying for every race. The ever changing rule book needs to be changed again. IMO, get rid of the top 35 rule, and everyone qualifies on time.
I don’t mind the past champion provisional for all past champions. That is an accomplishment that very few drivers share and they should be compensated throughout their career. If it was good enough for The King, it should be good enough for even Kurt Busch. (ouch – that hurt)
I haven’t given up hope on the COT. . .yet. I’m trying to be optimistic. Why NASCAR decided to debut it at Bristol, I’ll never understand. Maybe a year from now we’ll all be praising the COT and the results it gave fans at Bristol. (Okay, I know that’s about as bad as Daly suggesting 50 cars start each race.)
#5, all I need are a couple 3 decals, Mr. Goodwrench on the hood, and Monte WOULD look just like the Intimidators. That’s why he had to be black!
Enjoy the weekend everyone and stay dry if you’re on the east coast. Ernesto is not playing nice! The "aftermath" is worse than the "storm."
Posted by: Shirley | Sep 1, 2006 10:25:01 AM
The COT is hideous. I can't believe the car manufacturers are allowing this to happen. The COT is putting the nails in the coffin on "win on Sunday, buy on Monday." It looks nothing like anything on the road. I mean really, sticking a piece of wood on the front of a race car? Are you serious? That was the best thing they could come up with? And the wing looks terrible. Like it was an after thought. The whole thing makes Nascar look stupid in my opinion. In comparison to other forms of auto racing, the COT looks like something Homer Simpson dreamed up.
Posted by: Michael | Sep 1, 2006 10:43:53 AM
Michael, "win on Sunday, buy on Monday" was gone long before anyone even considered the COT.
Posted by: Shirley | Sep 1, 2006 10:59:02 AM
I sure wish we coudl go back to the old days...when races were run by laps and only 2 or three cars were competive.
Yeah, things today really suck. The racing is so boring.
Posted by: Brent | Sep 1, 2006 11:01:51 AM
No Past provisionals except for the reigning champ. It's becoming a circus to see whom can buy whos past provisional. Often at the expense of lesser teams who would have made the show on speed.
And Ernesto is behaving here in Va. Not too windy, mid 70's and is dropping tons of rain. We're in a drought so it's a good thing.
Posted by: Keith | Sep 1, 2006 11:33:21 AM
The COT is a flop. All the comparison to "old time" racing is nonsense, because the COT is junk in dirty air. Poorly designed, a consistent failure in testing, the COT is the result of the "we gotta do SOMETHING" mentality.
Shirley, how is 50 starting spots bad?
Posted by: Mike Daly | Sep 1, 2006 11:47:55 AM
50 cars at any short track - you'd have cars lapped before the first turn.
Not to mention - where are you going to pit 50 cars. What track has that many garage areas?
Isn't it Dover that already shares a pit? Now you're going to all tracks and 7 teams will have to share?
I wouldn't care if they had 100 cars at any superspeedway, but the tracks are not built for such.
Sorry, I can't see it.
Posted by: Shirley | Sep 1, 2006 12:39:23 PM
The rules of economics apply to Nascar just like anything else. The market for Nascar is hot right now for advertising and sponors, but it will correct itself in the next couple of years. Folks will see that they aren't getting a big return on investment and get out. Next year will be whacky with so many teams trying to make races, but just like any business, those who can make it will and those who can't will have to close down. It'll be back to 43 or so cars at every race in two years or so.
Posted by: Michael | Sep 1, 2006 12:52:02 PM
BTW Keith, glad Ernesto is helping with the drought up there.
I can't believe what we're getting today is the "aftermath" of Ernesto, as is being reported. But whatever it is, its providing more rain than the Tropical Storm did.
Good luck and stay dry!
Posted by: Shirley | Sep 1, 2006 12:52:11 PM
College football season is finally here! Screw NA$CAR and Brian (show me the money) France
Posted by: HC | Sep 1, 2006 1:49:59 PM
Daly you haven't been taking your meds again have you? The COT will be better in dirty air because it doesn't rely on front downforce over the nose. How do you know it has failed during testing? If you got an inside line spill it out because I know of a couple sources inside and they aren't talking.
Posted by: Mark | Sep 1, 2006 2:07:04 PM
I'll wait n see on the COT, I won't condemn it yet...Obiviously the manufacturers DID get say in it...remember the rumor that ONE of the big three would be leaving NNC, SUDDENLY NASCAR reworks the Cot to more closly resemble it's street counter part. But what will the long term affect be on the Nascar circuit? what will Busch and Arca use? let alone set a standard for the Nascar late models.
Posted by: Tbfka#5 | Sep 1, 2006 2:53:39 PM
Mike, I don't get your beef with seniority. If a NASCAR team has four or five cars, why must the oldest driver have the fastest? I don't get it. Kahne is simply better than Mayfield. I don't get why people just assume that he gets better equipment.
Posted by: Kurtman | Sep 1, 2006 4:02:40 PM
As far as your 50 cars issue, that is just a by-product of the sport's growing popularity. Not much we can do about that, but it is going to probably drive out the Kevin Lepages and Travis Kvapils. Multi-car teams are simply what thrives in NASCAR now.
I do agree that only a certain amount of provisionals should allowed.
Posted by: Kurtman | Sep 1, 2006 4:05:13 PM
Post a comment
Advertisements
