NASCAR: Fixing what's not broken since 2004

GRID REPORT 2: NASCAR, Fixing what's not broken since 2004

By now, you've probably heard the news that Brian France, CEO of NASCAR has sent out a exploratory balloon of sorts via the Charlotte Observer on new changes to the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. These changes include a 16 driver cutoff, with winners getting automatic bids, and a rolling elimination system where the top four drivers would race for the cup in a winner-take all championship race in Homestead. The reaction from fans was less than enthusiastic. In fact NASCAR fans were despondent on social media that Brian France was destroying the sport by fixing what wasn't broken: The NASCAR points system. The disconnect from fans and NASCAR management comes from Brian France's need to make the sport like the NFL instead of helping he sport stand on its own merits.

Since Jimmie Johnson won his fifth straight championship in 2010, NASCAR has been struggling with sagging TV ratings and empty seats as an unappealing car combined with an equally unwanted champion sapped fan interest. Even epic points wins by Tony Stewart, who won a championship via the NASCAR Tiebreaker rules for the first time in the Sport's history, and Brad Keselowski, who took the fight to Jimmie Johnson and ran the future all of famer hard to win his first career championship, did little to spark the fans interest as Jimmie Johnson lurked in the shadows each time. 

NASCAR alleviated one of its problems last season with the creation of the "Gen 6" race car, that gave the machines more street-car like look. The fans were intrigued, until lackluster racing pushed even more fans away. Coupled with Jimmie Johnson winning yet another Sprint Cup title, and NASCAR found itself with a crisis in its hands. Worse, the consolidation of open wheel and sports car racing series in the country, NASCAR finds itself in a battle for ratings.

But instead of opening up its stringent rulebook and shaking up the schedule, NASCAR has decided to attempt to fix what isn't broken. Embracing mediocrity by adding 16 cars to the championship chase, and including an NFL-like playoff system to try and boost ratings has turned off fans that believe that NASCAR is becoming closer to the WWE than an actual sport. These fans could be lost to other racing series, where stability and action during NASCAR's chaotic period have seen there fortunes rise in terms of audience and TV ratings. 

To be clear, none of these  changes have been confirmed, and it will be the end of the month until we find out what NASCAR will do, if anything. But Brian France must take the fans' vehement opposition into the proposed chase plans, and explore other options to shake up the sport for the future. If not, then Brian could go down in history as the France that destroyed Big Bills' motorsports empire.  

Grid Report #1:

Grid report #1 The winter of our discontent is over! Well, unless you’re an open wheel fan, then you’ve got another two months to sit and wait. But for the rest of us, the green flag has dropped over the 2014 racing year. Today we take a look at the wrap up of three days of sports car testing in Daytona, and the surprising results from the Tudor United Sports Car Championship test in Daytona.


 Tudor United Sports Car Championship: Ex Daytona Prototypes pace the field after three days of testing.

 The announcement that the American LeMans Series presented by Tequila Patron, and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Championship would merge at the end of last year was not as celebrated as you might think. Many fans, who felt that Grand-Am was “NASCAR-fying” endurance racing and hence ruining the sport, lamented the move, calling it the death of American sports car Racing. The target of their aggression was the Daytona Prototype (pictured here). Developed for competition parity, the Daytona Prototypes were made to keep racing close and operating costs down. With their lack of aesthetic features and performance, the cars drew more comparisons to NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow than the European-style prototypes seen on the American LeMans Series grid. With both types of cars merging to form one class of Prototype in the United Sports Car Championship, fans of the European Prototypes (pictured here) were quick to call out the “ugly, slow” Daytona Prototypes.

 After one weekend in January, however, the Daytona Prototypes proved themselves to be worthy race cars indeed. With a series of upgrades to the aerodynamics and engine to bring the cars more in line with ACO (the international sanctioning body for Sports Car racing), Daytona Prototypes paced the field during the three day “Roar before the 24” test at the Daytona International Speedway. Cars representing the former Rolex Grand-Am series lead at the end of each of the tests eight one hour forty five minute sessions. Cars that used to make up the American LeMans Series' Prototype 2 category, cracked the top three only twice in eight sessions.

But before we go off and celebrate the triumph of American ingenuity, let's examine where the test was taking place. The Series was at the Daytona International Speedway, where the Rolex Grand-Am Series kicked off their season every year for the last decade. On the other hand, teams from the American LeMans Series have never raced at Daytona before this year.For them the three day test was more about dialing in their cars to the track than going for all out speed, unlike the ex Grand-Am teams, who have a notebook full of data to rely on from previous competitions. Naturally, you can go faster when you actually know  the circuit than when you're trying to learn the correct line.

When the teams return in two weeks time, the two types of Prototype will compete for the first time under the same rules package, forming the centerpiece of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship's mission statement to bring a diverse field of cars to America's finest road courses and street circuits. No matter what which side of the European Prototype vs. American Prototype feud, the final assessment will play out on the track, and that's something fans all across the world can't wait to see.

After Thoughts: NASCAR AAA 400

On Sunday i was in attendance for race number two of NASCAR's chase for the cup at the Dover International Speedway. The usually hectic Monster Mile was tame on Sunday, with only three Service Master Clean caution periods during the entire 400 event. Despite the lack of yellow flags there were plenty of interesting tidbits to explore.

The first point of contention is the tires. The Monster Mile's concrete surface took in plenty of rubber thanks to the softer goodyear tires. But Goodyear may want to look at using a harder compound next year. The rubber on the track created buildup on the tires that created a loose condition for many cars. That being said, it was a wonder that only 3 yellows flew during the event, a testament to the quality of drivers in NASCAR's top series.

The second surprise of the race was Ford's strong effort from its teams. AJ Allmendinger lead a personal-best 143 laps before a softening left rear tire dropped him to a 10th place finish, Carl Edwards ran in the top ten all day, and Paul Menard had a strong day before a misque late in the race dropped him out of the top ten. When the dust settled, three fords were in the top ten of the finishing order, showing the strength of Ford's new FR09 engine.

Finally comes the curious case of Jimmie Johnson. The 4 time champ won Sunday's event by 2 seconds over Jeff Burton after claiming the lead from Kyle Busch after the final restart. However, I'm taking a wait and see approach to the 48 team. After his win in Sonoma, Jimmie struggled through the next ten races leading up to the chase. Dover has also been Jimmie country over the last few years, so it'll be interesting to see how he builds on this momentum as we head to Kansas.

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PGCC: Interviewing Keith Antar Mason

Today I took a break from the usual world of four-wheel racing to discuss an upcoming project with playwright Keith Antar Mason. We discussed his upcoming project "For Black Boys that have considered homicide when the streets were to tough". We also had a lively discussion on the state of the African-American community and how people can organize with social media in the 21st Century. PGCC will perform a staged reading of his play this Friday at 7:30pm.

BREAKING: Bowyer docked 150 pts, crew chief suspended six weeks

Bad news for Clint Bowyer fans, the number 33 car has been docked 150 driver and owner points for a rules violation regarding NASCAR's certified chassis.this infraction drops Bowyer back to 12th in the points and all but ends his championship chances. More news when it is available

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Loudon review: Bowyer and Hamlin Shine. Johnson's hopes in jeopardy

Race number one of NASCAR's chase for the championship revealed a new dark horse while spelling trouble for a four time champ. Clint Bowyer won the Sylvania 300, Catapulting the RCR driver from 12th to 2nd in the chase standings. Points Leader Denny Hamlin maintained his lead in the points after the reset with a second place finish in Sunday's race. The race proved costly for other chasers, as Jeff Burton and Tony Stewaert both ran out of gas with 2 laps to go. Jeff Burton finished 15th and held onto the tenth position in points, while Tony Stewart fell the most of all chasers with his 24 the place finish, dropping him 5 points to 11th in the standings. Also, the mid season struggles for 4-time champ Jimmie Johnson continue as a lose wheel dropped him to 25th and last of the Chase for the Cup racers. The finish dropped Johnson to Seventh in points from 2nd, making the next race in Dover critical if he wants a chance at an unprecedented fifth title in a row.

Opinion: Bruton Smith WAY out of line.

Fans, as we all know NASCAR's top three series have ended their seasons together during Ford Championship weekend at the Homestead Motor Speedway since 2002. Many of the drivers and teams use the trip as a post-season vacation after the championships have been crowned in the final racing weekend of the year. But not all people,especially where their money is concerned, are not happy with the idea.

One of those is a one Bruton Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports Incorporated, which owns most of the tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Bruton Smith, in a conversation with the Associated Press, said that its improper to hold the final race of the season in Homestead, and says that NASCAR would be better suited to have the final Cup race at his Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which according to Smith, will host the Izod IndyCar's last race in Las Vegas next October, although that detail is not set in stone, as Indy Car's schedule will not be officially released until this Friday.

Smith's want for NASCAR's final race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been known for years, but when he went so far as to call the South Florida area "North Cuba", which I'm guessing has something to do with the high population of Latinos living in the area, crossed a line. We all know that the final race of the Season, with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it now with the Chase for the Cup format, means big bucks for the organization that hosts the race, not to mention the Title Sponsor, Ford Motor Company. But as to go so far as to insult the people of Homestead Miami, not to mention the original owners, Ralph Sanchez and Wayne Huizenga with his statement is uncalled for.

From this fan's view, Bruton Smith's comment, however in jest it may have been, drips with a bit of prejudice, and with NASCAR struggling to shake the "good ol' boys" stigma attached to the sport, the sanctioning body can not stand by and let comments like this slide , even if its just from a track promoter. If I was the owner of NASCAR, and I heard a track owner affiliated with my league insulted a region in which we are holding a race, so that we can switch that date with a track of his own, I would seriously have to make a phone call to remind him how his words could reflect negatively on the leagues that run at his tracks.

I understand Bruton Smith has to make money, I understand that he wants to make "Sin City" a major racing hot spot, but trashing the association's decision to end their year at a certain track is not and should not be tolerated, especially when he trash-talks a region of your fan base.

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