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November 20, 2006
In my opinion – NASCAR has turned soft
By Mike Harper
Thanks Tom Sorensen for the lead in.
I’ve been itching to write about this topic. I’ve even typed it up and backspaced over the darn thing because I can’t sugarcoat my opinions. So figured I would wait until the season was over so I could yell it from the top of the grandstand. Got a bullhorn?
Thanks to Tom Sorensen and his column published on ThatsRacin.com, everyone who has a ticket should jump on board Tom’s train and ride it with him. Bottom line, Tom is absolutely right, if you would like to replicate the thrills at Homestead-Miami Speedway, go to Wendy's and watch the drive-through. Man that’s brilliant!
I’m willing to push the envelope a tad bit further than Tom. I’ll name names.
The Mark Martin philosophy, you know the one, "move over and race them later" especially those non-Chasers who are scared to race the Chase drivers because they might take out a championship contender is hogwash!
First, has Mark won a championship in the Nextel Cup Series using this philosophy? Exactly, he hasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I like Mark Martin. So before all you Martin fans start sending me the hate email, keep in mind I’ve been very pro-Martin this season. I even picked him to win the championship. But his "give and take" advise might work for some, but it doesn’t for others.
Jimmie Johnson doesn’t live by giving and taking. Normally he is on the taking end and guess what? He won a championship.
At Phoenix, Johnson started 29th and was able to cut his way through the field up into the top 10. He achieved this in less than 30 laps. The majority of his competition moved out of his way and let him go. It was the same story at Homestead-Miami with the exception of Kevin Harvick, who made it difficult for Johnson to pass him early in the race and was criticized for it by Johnson. So racing should only happen during the last 25 laps of a race? Is that it?
It amazes me when a driver like Harvick or Ryan Newman gets raked over the coals for racing his competition during the early to middle stages of a race. What’s wrong with making your competition work for a pass or have him use up his stuff in an attempt to pass you on lap 20? Isn’t that racing?
During the Busch event at Homestead-Miami, Kyle Busch complained that David Reutimann was blocking him and caused him to wreck early in that event. Honestly, Reutimann discovered a new trick and it’s called racing! It’s where you do your best to race and keep the guys racing you, behind you. It’s a great concept and entertaining too.
While Busch wrecked trying to pass Reutimann, Reutimann finished in the 12th position all because he raced his competition. Amazing how that works.
On Sunday morning, SPEED televised a show hosted by Dave Despain highlighting "The State of NASCAR." Team owners, media and drivers were invited to join the panel of experts to discuss many topics including the decline in the TV ratings. My main question is why didn’t they find a NASCAR fan and put them on the panel?
Isn’t a fan an expert in watching NASCAR? Couldn’t a fan or a panel of fans explain why the ratings are down?
I think the reason a fan’s voice wasn’t heard is because NASCAR doesn’t want to hear the truth. And the truth is the ratings are down because the racing is soft and so are the driver rivalries. It’s not fun watching race car drivers move out of the way of other race car drivers.
Sadly, as much as we’re told the car of tomorrow will increase the racing between drivers, that can’t happen until the drivers themselves decide to race each other hard each and every lap.
November 20, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
Maybe what we really need is not a CAR OF TOMORROW but rather a DRIVER OF YESTERYEAR!!
Posted by: Dennis Michelsen | Nov 20, 2006 3:56:47 PM
Mike,
Buddy, I was going to write up the same thing. What was that kids game? Oh, yeah, Operation. Where if you touch the sides the light goes on. It was like the Chasers had special sensors and lights on them with signs, "Do Not Touch." Brian France, on his knees, should thank the lord the race wasn't on TV opposite the Ohio St/Michigan game. Those teams were fighting for a Championship bid and it was gloves off, "Bring it on," football. NASCAR hasn't shown "Bring it on," racing in a while now. Maybe, it's not the Busch Bros, R. Gordon, Vickers or Stewart we should criticize for hard driving. Maybe, we should wonder why everyone else isn't putting out the effort!
Good job there Trucker...maybe, we'll get to see a rematch in the BCS Championship game.
Good job Mike.
PS - The Wendy's drive thru might be a tough race, but, if I hurry to ticketmaster I can get fire lane seats to the Walmart Xmas sales event.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 20, 2006 3:59:22 PM
Sweet Molly in a Manger Mike! You totally nailed this! I saw the DeSpain Breakfast version of Wind Tunnel as well and wondered why they wouldn't have included the voice of the fan too! Is there some big secret stock car handbook written by 17 field voles and their kin about how to sugar coat the truth? Blows my mind. Funny too how the "Racer of Racers" that everyone seems to have a hate-on for is winning off road where your most formidable opponent is Mother Nature, not a group of "touch-me-not" drivers! GREAT article!!
Posted by: Lori | Nov 20, 2006 4:03:24 PM
Ya nailed it, my friend. I only wish I'd thought of it first...
Posted by: Mike Irwin | Nov 20, 2006 4:19:53 PM
Hold up everybody, racing isn't like other professional sports no matter what the France family says. You can't make the last race of the year in Nascar the Superbowl or game 7 of the World Series. It just isn't set up that way. While the chase was set up to try and make it come down to the last race of the year, you can't gurantee it. Just like you can't gurantee the Superbowl won't be a blow out or the World Series won't be swept in 4 games.
As much as everyone would like to, you can't MANUFACTURER excitement for every last game or race. Even with the Chase format, it's not guranteed to come down to the wire.
Two final thoughts
1. Isn't Daytona the Superbowl of Nascar?
2. Under the old points system, Johnson would have only been Champion by 7 points. That would have made the race a little more exciting.
Posted by: Michael | Nov 20, 2006 4:47:23 PM
Michael: The Championship was supposed to run thru 10 weeks,not the last race.It was at best a dance where the only racing done was by a non-chaser.
Keith: Thank's the rankings have not changed and Ohio is still #1 and Michigan #2 so they may,just may end up doing it again in Tempe
Arizona for the season championship.
Also,I want the Parking concession at Walmart for the after Christmas sale.LOL
talk about a race for a spot.
Great post Mike:
Although I neverwatched the race,I listened on radio,but did watch
the Tribute/Celebration on Speed,and wonder
why so much noise was made on Johnson winning the "Allstar" race.The allstar race is a non points race,heck even Mikey
won it 1 year.Why make it part of the
accomplishments of Jimmy's career.If he had sweept Charlott like Kasey and also the allstar race then fine to mention.But not by every anoouncer having his say last night.
The only perfect answer on The Breakfast show was Kenny stating "why am I here"
Priceless
Posted by: trucker | Nov 20, 2006 5:30:49 PM
I'm really beginning to wonder if NASCAR shouldn't go the way of golf and not make a major deal of a season champion. Golf does have a player of the year, and it has a Tour Championship for the top 30 players, but the biggest title in golf is the money title - who won the most money? I don't think they even have a trophy - it's just the money title. Maybe you shouldn't have a champ in a sport where it's a full-field event every week. Even the PGA's Tour championship is only the top 30. If you eliminate the Cup, then everyone races for money, and that's one way to make sure you have competition through the field!
You want a champ? Fine. Top ten, 20 laps at Homestead an hour after the final race.
More on topic, I think anyone on the same lap has the right to race as hard as possible; I think anyone trying to get a lap back has the same right, as does anyone threatened with going a lap down. BUT I don't have a problem if Mikey, in 38th, 5 laps down, gives Jimmie in the lead plenty of room.
Posted by: Doug | Nov 20, 2006 6:01:18 PM
I get ripped when I point out that the drivers as a group simply do not have enough heart to race, and all that shows is how so many people can be so stupid. People need to get out of denial and admit that the drivers are indeed soft, cowardly, and in it only for the points and the paycheck.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Nov 20, 2006 6:09:43 PM
Mike Daly,
That's because you're at one end of the radical extremes. That being that ALL drivers are soft woosie pansy-asses. The other extreme being ALL drivers are macho glass chewing studs. Neither is true...it's somewhere in the middle but maybe a bit more in your direction at the moment.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 20, 2006 6:56:07 PM
Keith, is it really radical and extreme to say there is a sport-wide lack of courage among drivers? Only at Talladega do we see real racing courage on display - there are many reasons why we don't see anything close to that anywhere else, but we need to admit that the drivers simply aren't trying hard enough. It may be an extreme statement, but can anyone honestly say it isn't true?
Posted by: Mike Daly | Nov 21, 2006 12:35:25 AM
After watching the Despain special, I too wondered why they couldn't find any fans to talk to. Maybe, if they talked to the actual people who are expected to support the 'racertainment' we now have they could find out exactly why fans are fading into the woodwork. Yes, the cars may be closer competitively than everm but the tracks and 'thought police' in Nascar have drained it to the consistancy of soft serve ice cream. But, as you said, no one really wants to know what the fans really think, they're too busy telling us how we SHOULD think.
Posted by: sal | Nov 21, 2006 7:07:04 AM
I have read the comments all year long. Driver A is a punk because he (bumped, blocked, or said this) to Driver B. This is supposed be the kinder and gentile NASCAR. In other words, boring as hell! I love watch Tony Stewart race. He goes all out every time he is on the track. He isn't afraid to speak his mind. He is willing to do almost anything to win. He has been call the New AJ Foyte of this generation of drivers. My question is why did they move away from it? Is because it isn't P.C.? Is it because that people like Tony turn people away from NASCAR? I think if every driver out on the track drives like their ride depends on it, we would have true racing again. I am sick of watch 60% of the guys on the track just turning left because the want to be polite. SCREW THAT!
Posted by: WBinCC | Nov 21, 2006 10:25:44 AM
I agree, and they wonder why Johnson is not as popular as other drivers.
Posted by: Annette | Nov 21, 2006 12:30:33 PM
Mike Daly,
Maybe, courage isn't what they lack. After all, anyone driving 200mph with 42 of his bestest buddies has a bit of courage (unless he's going 200mph because he forgot his 10th anniversary 20mins before the Fontana mall closes. That guy's driving with terror). The way NASCAR does the points has just given them degrees in points management and conservatism.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 21, 2006 2:57:02 PM
Hey Mike,
Well said. Missed the button on my recorder and did not get Depains show. Sounds like nothing was missed. Should they have invited Jack Nicholson (youcan'thandlethetruth)? Bet they hit the usual talking points, yada,yada. Now with the emphasis on corp$ & cable the fans are taken for granted.
What goes up, must come down.
And yes Daly, they are in it just for the money. Isn't that the reality?
Posted by: Larry | Nov 21, 2006 3:50:10 PM
Keith, I'll certainly go along with that the drivers have a certain amount of courage just to be on the track. But I am tired of them not trying for the lead, not trying to go for the win. The points structure absolutely has something to do with it, but also having a role is that they make so much money almost for just showing up that there is no real incentive to fight hard. We see this in all sports; racing should be different but it isn't anymore.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Nov 21, 2006 4:58:47 PM
If drivers were all cowards and only in it for the cash, they would have to stop and put new brakes on the car several times during a race.
Posted by: jeff | Nov 21, 2006 8:45:06 PM
I have to disagree with most of this thread. First, I think it takes a very stout pair of cojones to strap into a car, immobilized, unable to see anything to your side, and then push that car as fast as it will go in the middle of 42 other cars. "As fast as it can go" is the key. At Talladega, it might be 199, while at Martinsville it might be 75. Hitting the wall at either speed can (a) hurt, and (b) wreck a billboard your sponsor is paying dearly for.
These guys are pros. They know what they can do and what they can't do. They know when they can pass and when they can't. If someone figures it's second place unless he goes for the lead and wrecks in the process, then I defer to his judgment. Johnson, Harvick, Burton, Sorenson, Wimmer, Truex, all of them, have gotten where they are - Cup - because car owners trust them to do the right thing. You don't get a Cup ride by being timid. They are some of the best drivers in the world, up there with IRL and F1 folk, just in different cars. If you don't like that approach, then there are several forms of racing you can still enjoy: dirt track racing and demolition derby come to mind.
Finally, most of them are pretty smart. They know the rules, they know the game. If it pays more to run in second for 500 laps than to wreck going for the lead on lap 30, then that's what they'll do. That's the job for which they're hired. Don't blame them for doing their job.
Posted by: Doug | Nov 21, 2006 8:47:51 PM
Doug: I think you have gone over to the dark side (been watching to many Star Wars reruns on Cinemax).
The best moments in cup this past year were
Brian tacking a chance to make his first win,and before that Gordon giving payback at Bristol.
What is the fun of watching Tony enjoying a Sunday drive around the track as second place finish gains you points.Why didn't he try for a pass.
In Busch to watch Jr,Edwards, and Robby
hold nothing back,and all of them going for a win.Another example was on the last laps at Milwaukee when Harvick tried to push his way for a win, but Menard prevailed.
Yes in the last race of the year I can fogive a driver,of taking it easy,but during the season,no way.
The tv package has focused on certain drivers,all season long.Not on the racing,or what goes on upon the track.
Any driver I ever met has said he does it for the thrill of winning.
And as far as Dirt Racers go, you should go to some of the big shows and watch them run.Talk about excitement,the family fued @ Knoxville IA Nationals in the "B" comes to mind.
Take Eldora,they have over 100 cars to run "The World 100".They fight tooth and nail to make the Race. There is 6 mini features in the 6 heat races,and then the semi's features.But it all comes down to who has survived after 100 grueling laps,to Win the Crown.
Posted by: trucker | Nov 22, 2006 12:23:25 AM
Trucker, you got me. The local dirt track where I live closed some 20 years ago. I'd love to go to Eldora, but I haven't even been to Irwindale, a nice 1/2 mile oval 25 miles from me! The "World 100" sounds like a great spectacle. All I can say is that it is a sprint spectacular, while NA$CAR is Big Business blended in with very slick racing. Each is, to use a cliche, what it is, and nothing more.
I probably am like you in that maybe the best finish I saw this year was Harvick and Gordon going for it in the Busch race at the Glen, banging all the way around the course. Harvick (I didn't see a Gordon interview) was all smiles, but he won. I think he pretty much said he wouldn't have been smiling if he had wrecked. I also had no problem with the Vickers incident, and neither did Junior (at least for public consumption.)
Posted by: Doug | Nov 22, 2006 12:41:49 AM
Michael was the only one on here who pointed out something that darn well should have been noticed...that under the old points system, Johnson and Kenseth would both have been racing for the title. So much for these idiots who insist on more excitement. THAT would have been a great duel, and NASCAR killed it. The Chase was a total disaster this year. Lose it. It sucks.
The race was one of the most boring that I had ever seen. It's normal for guys not to want to wreck someone who is going for a championship under any system and I'm ok with that. The problem is that it has been going on for the last 15 friggin' races!
Posted by: Kurt Smith | Nov 22, 2006 8:33:37 AM
Here's my thought, maybe the problem isn't the points system. Let's look at the Truck series. They use the old points format and it is the most closely decided points race every season. Every year but one the championship has been decided in the last race of the season. That is impressive to me. What is the difference? Maybe it's the design of the race cars. Maybe it's the fact that there aren't as many mega teams throwing endless cash into the teams. I don't know, but I would aim to model all my racing series around what the Trucks are able to do. The races are always exciting, they still beat and bang, and the points race is always close.
Posted by: Michael | Nov 22, 2006 10:21:11 AM
Kurt, there are years when the old system will produce a close race, like 1992 with Allison, Kulwicki, and Elliott, or 2006 IF we had the old points. There are times when a chase format will produce a nailbiter: 2004, with its 8 point final margin. There are times when the old points system produces a super-snoozer: can you recall the 2006 Busch title? The one that was clinched in September or something? Whatever system you have MIGHT come down to the wire. It doesn't matter if it's a chase format or not.
And as for this last race being a bore: I have mentioned before watching Earnhardt run around Ontario in 1980, just keeping Cale Yarborough in his sights so he could clinch the title. I think Earnhardt finished 15th, enough to beat Cale's 9th or something like that.
I have stated my preference many times: dump the chase. 43 for a win, 42 for 2nd, etc. Period. It's the only totally OBJECTIVE points system there is. Otherwise, you have to assign some arbitrary value to a win. 10 points? 8 points? 50 points? And speaking of the old points, how come you drop 5 points through 7 spots, then four, then three?
Posted by: Doug | Nov 22, 2006 10:47:25 AM
Doug, I thought the 2004 finish was more confusing than exciting. If we can have the great finish without the Chase, then I'm with you...dump it. Besides, in 04 it would have been Johnson vs. Gordon with the old points. I think that would have been a heck of a lot more exciting but NASCAR didn't notice it.
If the title gets decided before the last race, so what? I still tune in for the last race to see who wins. BTW, that could happen in a Chase format too, and if Jimmie had one good finish in the first four Chase races it would have.
Posted by: Kurt Smith | Nov 25, 2006 9:56:53 AM
jeff, that's not how it works.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Nov 25, 2006 2:00:59 PM
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