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November 22, 2006
'Special' means just that
By DAVID GREEN
Tom Sorenson is a good guy and he writes a good column -- usually. This one is not one of his good ones. With all due respect to Tom and my Turn 3 blogmate Mike Harper, you guys have stated your opinions, and now, here's mine.
Sorenson's job is to be provocative. But in doing so this time, he has bought into the NASCAR mentality that every race and every championship battle MUST be breathtaking. If they ever succeed in making it that way, they will seriously devalue the sport.
Comparing the Ford 400 to the gripping 42-39 victory by top-ranked Ohio State over No. 2 Michigan is an easy way to make the NASCAR race look bad, but it's a flawed comparison. And it supports my point, not his.
That game was not special because it was like every other college football game ever played, or even like every Ohio State-Michigan game ever played. It was special because the overwhelming majority of college football games are NOT like that one.
I notice there was no mention of last year's OSU-Michigan contest (a 25-21 victory by the Buckeyes in a game that did not happen to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation). Should the Big Ten and NCAA be alarmed because that 2005 game was not much more exciting than, say, watching the Wendy's drive-through?
A better comparison would be to other sports' championship contests, most of which turn out to be something less than classic. The overwhelming majority of Super Bowls have been anything but "super." In that respect, NASCAR's season finale had just about the same "pizzazz" as other sports' championship events, not less.
Sorenson picked the OSU-Michigan game for comparison for two reasons -- one, timeliness, and two, because it was such a knock-down, drag-out classic of a game. So far, I have not heard legions of college football fans complaining that every game is not just like that one, and (so far, anyway) nobody is suggesting that we do something to make sure that every game is like that one.
That's a good thing, because we shouldn't.
We don't remember and talk about the Pearson-Petty finish to the 1976 Daytona 500 because it was so much like every other NASCAR race. We don't remember and talk about the 1992 Winston Cup championship drama because it's like that every year. We remember and talk about that race and that championship battle because they were so different from most races and most seasons.
That does not automatically mean there is something wrong with all those races that did not end in a last-lap crash or the championship battles that are determined in some manner that doesn't cause fans to swoon in their seats from excitement.
When everything is special, folks, nothing is.
November 22, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
David,
So, you're saying, what? The Chase gets a pass because it's sometimes as disappointing as say the "Super Bowl" or the "Worlds Series?" Those events can be letdowns, it's true, but they have no other way to settle their titles. All 32 NFL teams don't get to play each other every Sunday and all the other stick and ball sports are in the same boat. Racers go head to head every week and thusly had a proven Champion at the end. The Chase wasn't made to enhance racing it was developed to line the corporate coffers. Racing needed a points tweaking and not an artificial, unneeded, knee-jerk playoff to make it more exciting. Johnson deserved the crown in either format this year, but, if they were smart Teflon would sponsor Homestead. Ewwww, don't touch the Chasers...nothing sticks to them.
PS - David and all the Turn 3 bloggers and posters - Happy Holiday!
Posted by: Keith | Nov 22, 2006 12:40:01 PM
David : I tend to agree/disagree yes the final race is always anti climatic as to on track racing.But the whole chase was that way too.It eems like Nascar now in its "PC" mode is boring.The best finish this season was at 2 races.Tony's running out of fuel at Kansas, and Brian's first win at Dega.
Great Post David
AND YES Happy Holiday !!!!!
Posted by: trucker | Nov 22, 2006 1:02:50 PM
David, excellent point! ANY NASCAR race can be great - Harvick/Gordon in Busch at the Glen; Craven/Busch Darlington (maybe the single best finish I have ever seen); Yarborough/Allison Daytona, etc. Every week we tune in hoping to see one of those, but we won't see them often. Sometimes it isn't even the end of the race that makes it memorable - Burton/Kenseth at Dover was one of the highlights of the year, but Burton did cruise home unopposed after Matt's tank ran dry - dull ending, huh?
And Keith, it has NOTHING to do with the chase or lack of a chase. A great race is a great race, period. A dull race is a dull race, period. You and I agree that the chase stinks, but this is a different discussion. (Indeed, one reason the chase stinks is preccisely because there's nothing that distinguishes those ten races ON THE TRACK from the other 26!)
Keith, trucker: even if you adopt my crazy idea of a champ being decided by a ten-car, twenty-lap trophy dash after Homestead, one car could get a ten-car length lead and snooze home the winner. Boring, huh? You want an exciting title race every week? Try the NHRA. But I forgot - every so often a car redlights and the final run is boring.
Posted by: Doug | Nov 22, 2006 1:49:09 PM
Doug,
Save some of the spiked eggnog for the Holiday! Btw, Have a HAPPY one!
Posted by: Keith | Nov 22, 2006 3:26:36 PM
Doug,I like watching NHRA and this years last fuel race was a classic."The Sarge" had to,on his last try get both the win and set a new National Record.HE DID IT....
A long time ago a very benevolent supporter of dirt racers got together the 4 fastest qualifiers and told them.Her is
$10,000 for the winner,ain't paying no second.
LOL God bless J.W.HUNT
TRY THAT AT HOMESTEAD
Posted by: trucker | Nov 22, 2006 4:35:02 PM
Trucker, I admit that I'm not a follower of NHRA, but did read enough about this year's finals to understand that something pretty spectacular happened. Great for the winner, great for the fans.
You also remind me of a story told by golfer Lee Trevino, who said, "It isn't pressure when you're putting with a $100,000 purse on the line. Pressure is when you're putting for ten bucks and you don't have a dime in your pocket!"
Posted by: Doug | Nov 22, 2006 6:06:55 PM
Face it...the entire season was pretty much a snoozer. Tracks that are too big and too fast, too much aero on the cars, coprporate spokespersons instead of drivers, charity laps to put more cars on the lead lap (whether they deserve it or not), changing rules every 2 or 3 years to make it more 'TV friendly'...this is a sport? And it's doubtful that ANY race could possibly live up to the hype that Nascar and television put on the final 10 races. TV ratings dropped 10% this year, and 23% over 2004. That tells me that the crapshoot format is quickly losing it's luster.
Posted by: sal | Nov 23, 2006 11:46:44 AM
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Jimmie would have only beaten Kenseth by less than ten points under the old system.
Might have made that last race a bit more exciting I think.
Posted by: Kurt Smith | Nov 25, 2006 9:52:14 AM
All good points, but being that Homestead is my "home" track here's my perspective...First, it seems more seats are added every year, yet no toilet seats have increased at all, 1/2 hour wait for the ladies is totally unacceptable, especially at the end of the race and the toilets are overflowing onto the ground and the paper ran out hours ago. This leaves me questioning if its really worth the mess to be there in person. If that wasn't bad enough, the garbage cans were overflowing on the ground before the race even started.
Tires, I'm no expert but if the tires don't wear enough it becomes a parade at 180 mph. The only passing the leader made were on lap cars, BORING...last race, Chase, championship or not, try explaining to people that witnessed their first race in person what that crap was, it ain't easy.
Since some offer an idea to make the racing better, IMO the only way is to make the Champion the one who WINS the most races during the season, what a concept. With Kahne leading and Johnson, Harvick and Stewart 1 Win from a Championship you could guarantee the gloves come off. Can you imagine those guys going thru the field to win, not for a "good points day"?
Finally, getting to your point that the last race doesn't have to be a thriller, just like the World Series and Superbowl, that's a cop-out. That's what is wrong with all sports, to much contrived BS to appeal to the masses. This is where Nascar should be different, not trying to imitate. For the money and time spent the FANS deserve and should Demand this. But as usual the majority has no clue(fans), the ones in control don't care(toilets).
Thanks David for the place to vent, I agree that the race should not have been compared to O/M game, but what if the race had somehow been better? Instead of interest dwindleing it could be dominating the news of what a fantastic finale in H-stead we saw, not a boring waste of time and fuel.
Posted by: MoparDave | Nov 25, 2006 11:53:06 AM
MoparDave,
Why were you scoping out the ladies restroom?
Most wins doesn't cut it, but a more balanced system of points rewarding winning more and giving consistency it's due wouldn't hurt.
And, as far as the last race being "SUPER," you can't orchestrate the finale. You may want Jr., Gordon, and Stewart separated by 5 points racing on the last lap, Or, you might like 50 naked titties at the Super Bowl halftime...But, the finale will be what it is. The Chase doesn't help or hinder the excitement of the last race.
Posted by: Keith | Nov 25, 2006 2:14:35 PM
whinners.
Posted by: 328 | Nov 25, 2006 3:03:07 PM
Keith, my point is you want to see great racing, not a driver only needing a top 12 to win, my point is w/ Kahnes 6 to Harvicks, Johnsons and Stewarts 5 wins would make them have to race for a win period. It doesn't take "scoping out" to see lines of 50-75 women waiting in the sun at every restroom for the most basic of services, especially when your wife has to put up w/ this crap. I myself was in my seat from the first lap til the red flag, when I went to the fence to see the finish, so I'm not one of the drunks killing a 12pack before the start...I'm there to see a race, not a parade...328, if they tell you that you had a good time I'm sure you believe it, if they tell you the mess is part of the race I'll bet you enjoy that too, moron.
Posted by: MoparDave | Nov 25, 2006 3:49:08 PM
OK, it all comes down to this: the champ should either be the guy who wins the most races, OR he should be champ under some consistency-based system.
I can see the appeal of the "most wins" theory, even though I'm a consistency advocate. But Dave, assume one guy wins 7 races, two others win 5 each, 4 guys win 4 each, one guy wins 3. We have a champ. The next two split 2nd & 3rd place money? 4 guys split 4th-8th? And one guy gets 9th? No one else gets paid? Because if they do get something for not winning, then the dreaded points racing comes into it somewhere.
Wait - I have an idea! After 26 races, we take the top ten drivers ....
Posted by: Doug | Nov 25, 2006 5:42:34 PM
Doug, easy, tie-breaker is the next best record, 2nd place finishes, 3rd and so on. Bottom line we want a Champion that wins races not just points...I'm biased naturally, with Newman's 8 in '03 and Kahne this year w/ 6, coulda shoulda woulda...To me the Chase can only ruin a Championship. I'm glad JJ got it because he earned it, and possibly lost one because of it in '04(K Busch) I may be wrong but can't remember. Like Tony, JJ's the one to beat week in week out.
Posted by: MoparDave | Nov 25, 2006 6:20:18 PM
Post-holiday greetings to all. I'm glad to see we're still alive and well after Turn 3 seemed to disappear from the TR.com page for awhile.
Keith -- I thought it was pretty clear what I was saying: That every contest is not supposed to be of such greatness that it causes you to pass out from excitement. Note that I said "every contest," not just the final race or final game. Some are great and some are not, and even if we could manufacturer "great" contests, we should not do so. I'm not sure where I lost you there; perhaps it's your fixation on how horrible the Chase is, as my post had nothing whatsoever to do with that subject.
Trucker, once in awhile, the final race has some on-track drama. For an example, we have to go back only to 2004 and the Busch-Johnson-Gordon situation (the first Chase -- sorry, Keith), and of course there was 1992. Again, that kind of thing should be spontaneous and once-in-awhile, not a guaranteed every-time thing.
Doug, an excellent point about the Dover race. Just what makes one race "dull" and another "exciting" is elusive. Anybody who thought the Dover race was poor entertainment merely because of the margin of victory is going to be extremely hard to please.
Sal, I think the season is too long and the promotion is way too high-volume. That, to me, explains the sag in ratings and attendance.
Kurt, your reminder certainly proves the point that no formula can guarantee a great finish. I think it is ironic that the NHRA is going to its Chase-style format right on the heels of the greatest championship drama drag racing has ever seen.
MoparDave, your point about track facilities is duly noted (by me, and hopefully by the folks at Homestead and International Speedway Corp. as well). The only argument I have with it is regarding its relevance to the subject I offered for debate. As for that, you seem to have missed the point entirely. What I wrote was that the final race, championship game, or whatever DOES NOT HAVE TO BE a classic, white-knuckle contest, nor does any contest leading up to the finale. In my opinion, it has to be what it turns out to be. Sometimes that's a photo finish, a Hail Mary pass, a walk-off home run or a buzzer-beating jump shot. Sometimes it's not. Exactly how that attitude constitutes a cop-out, you'll have to explain to me. As for your comment, "I'm there to see a race, not a parade" -- I hate to break it to you, pal, but quite often a race (any race, any series, any track, any distance) can turn into a parade, if by that you mean one guy running away with the show and everybody else chasing him in frustration. Even a drag race, as Doug notes, can be "spoiled" by a red light. If whatever the show turns out to be is not good enough, if you insist on better value for your entertainment dollar, frankly I suggest you find something other than motor sports, although I'm not sure what to suggest. In my almost-54 years of experience, I haven't found very many sure things in life.
328, I have no idea what your post means. To start with, I don't know if you misspelled "winners" or "whiners," but there's no such word as "whinners." If you meant "whiners," as MoparDave obviously interpreted it, I don't know if you're referring to me and the respondents to my post or to me in particular or to one or more of the respondents. If you were referring to those who embrace Tom Sorenson's philosophy as he stated it in his "pizzazz" column, I would be inclined to agree with your assessment.
Posted by: David Green | Nov 26, 2006 4:28:22 AM
Hey David,
Enjoy your holiday.
Posted by: Larry | Nov 26, 2006 10:38:20 AM
It was great, Larry. Hope you had a good one as well. Now, back to school in the morning. My honors students will be reading "The Great Gatsby" between now and Christmas break.
I should be able to find a racing-related thread in Fitzgerald's Great American Novel; after all, Jay Gatsby's money comes from bootlegging. ;D
Posted by: David Green | Nov 26, 2006 11:32:35 PM
Gatsby, well, he was...great!
Posted by: Kurt Smith | Nov 27, 2006 8:30:19 AM
I think they should do it like "Cars" the movie. The top ten go to LA (because it might sellout) and have a shoot out..lol
Posted by: Derrick | Dec 5, 2006 1:53:22 AM
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