It seems this season that no matter what NASCAR does in terms of competition, they get it wrong. Today’s race at Talladega was yet another example.
During the pre-race drivers meeting, NASCAR informed the drivers that they would not tolerate overly aggressive driving and bump drafting in the corners. Violators would be penalized.
The drivers took them seriously, and what proceeded was a 500 mile, 36 car parade with a little three wide racing mixed in. Jamie McMurray triumphed in the end after all hell broke loose with two late race crashes, one in which Ryan Newman ended up on his lid down the backstretch.
The frustration following the race was evident from both the drivers and the fans.
I think we can all agree that telling the drivers they couldn’t be aggressive during the race was the wrong thing to do. They couldn’t afford to push the envelope and risk a penalty, so they avoided contact all together, and the racing suffered. After the decision was made following the first Talladega race this year, in which Carl Edwards ended up in the fence at the finish, to make the openings in the restrictor plates smaller, everyone involved knew the fields were going to end up being even tighter. In order to counter a rise in the chance for the “big one” NASCAR warned the drivers. And we all witnessed the result.
The problem with this situation, is that NASCAR is really damned no matter what they do. They can’t have cars flying into the catchfence but they must strike a balance and still maintain a good show for the fans. And therein lies the million dollar question. How does the sport make the superspeedway races entertaining, yet still safe for the fans and drivers?
We heard this week that changes are coming to the COT for the 2011 season, and that NASCAR is seeking input from some of the teams and drivers. Hopefully, some improvements to the current car will allow the racing to be better at all tracks, including Daytona and Talladega.
You do have to hand it to NASCAR though, at least they are trying to be proactive.
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on Nov 1st, 2009 at 11:22 pm
No, NASCAR stepped ON it…
Today was pitiful. If you call that racing, then I need to find another passion.
We were fortunate no driver was seriously hurt today in that fiasco. I wasn’t watching a race but seeing my daily commute on the freeway everyday.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 am
Protect the fans – #1 priority – and NASCAR was extremely pro-active in that regard and Talladega fences were modified accordingly.
Now, I’m sorry, but telling the drivers ONE HOUR BEFORE THE RACE of the change was too much.
What should they have done differently?
(1) Made the decision months ago. You know it just did not pop into Helton’s head Sunday morning. Give the guys a chance to absorb it – and the fans to expect a different Talladega than they were used to and
(2) State the penalties outright – warning, pit road pass through, loss of lap, blackflag, out of race (for example). Don’t make the guys so damn freaked out about losing points that you take the competition right out of them.
Now about driver safety – unless NASCAR can change the laws of physics and keep the cars from going airborne, racing at 194 mph is going to lead to monster wrecks. Isn’t that the issue? Airborne cars? Seems the major wrecks are all airborne, tumbling cars.
Now I don’t like wrecks one bit – I didn’t think I took a breath from the time Newman spun until he said something and even then I waited to make sure he was moving all extremities (I’m an ER nurse, I watch for that stuff – LOL). But…
It reminds me of a line that is supposed to be funny from the latest Coke Zero commercial: When Biff asks if the dash-sized window decal is safe, the Coke guy says “Well, it might not have a 100% safety rating, but you drive 200 mph, so you’ve obviously made some choices…”
The COT can never be 100% safe, but they sure have done a great job with it. The thing is, at 194 mph on a superspeedway – s*** happens. You have 43 professional drivers out there (okay, 42 and Keselowski – sorry, couldn’t resist). Let them drive without NASCAR sitting in the back seat.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 5:22 am
Strengthen the catchfence more, remove the first 12 rows of seats (move them to the top of the grandstand), get rid of the plates, restrict speeds by a combination of gearing and RPM limits, and let them race.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 6:23 am
install 10k rev limiters ,remove restricter plates .limit horse power to 900 hp.any thing over pre race or post race auto dqd.realign rear axle .fix rear deck lid so that it raises when cars turn around backwards .connect trunk floor pan to rear deck lid to open at same time allowing car to stay on the track.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 6:31 am
Don’t fix the car, don’t dictate how the drivers choose to run there race. ISC should step up and fix the track or move both races to a track that does not require endless rules and tweeks to the cars.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 7:24 am
Nice try!
There isn’t a single planet in this solar system where waiting one entire year and four plate races to apply yet another misguided fix to the problem of dangerous racing at Daytona and Talladega can be considered “proactive.”
Proactive is having something in place for Daytona 2010 NOT Daytona 2011!
They should get no credit because they deserve no credit. Hint! Hint!
It’s the design of the two tracks stupid! Too much banking is the problem and the next fix should start and end right there. Reduced banking will save save lives.
Click! Click! CLINK! Clink, click, click, Clink! Clink! Clink! Click! Click!
(That’s the sound of NASCAR fans switching off their TV’s and radios and finding some other wholesome activity for a Sunday afternoon.)
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 8:18 am
No they are not damned no matter what they do. They just won’t do what they need to do and change the track itself so that restrictor plates aren’t necessary.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 8:22 am
I’m surprised there actually haven’t been more parades at Talladega. Given that track position is less important there (and Daytona) than anywhere else, as cars go from back to front (and vice versa) pretty easily, what is the incentive to race hard except at the end? Other than the 5 bonus points for leading a race and possibly wanting to test the car, there’s no incentive for drivers to race hard during the first 150 or so laps; a driver isn’t going to get too aggressive battling for, say, 10th place halfway through the race.
Now, if NASCAR followed my suggestion and gave points based on position during the race, that would encourage racing throughout the race and not just at the end. As things are now, Jeff Gordon got absolutely no reward for staying at or near the front while Johnson suffered no penalty at all for hanging at the back. How much fun was it for Johnson fans to see him at the back, trying only to not lose the draft, for the better part of 170 laps?
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 8:43 am
What is next no bump and run at Bristol and Martinsville? Oh I know Joey Lagano went flipping at Dover so let make sure there is no contact there either. That is a dramatic over reaction by NASCAR. Carl Edwards crash was not the result of 2 cars teaming up and bump drafting through the corners it was the result of a driver trying to block another driver to force him into the penalty of being below the yellow line and causing himself to wreck. Yes it was unfortunate that he ended up in the catch fence, but this IS RACING and accidents happen. Nascar the best hobby in the US, can’t call it a sport when the rules change every race.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
I know no one asked — but if I were King I would get rid of the retrictor plates but keep the new rule about bump drafting in the corners.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
I dont get it, NASCAR has had how long to fix this problem? All they have done is make rules that encourage “The Big One”
Back in the day when you had “good” racing you had cars with 600 hp doing 200 mph. Now you have 900 hp, wings, and no one is allowed to do 200 mph!
Its simple. make the engine smaller for what is deemed a plate track! make them have 550 hp with no restrictor. Dont tell me that it would cost to much, this has been going on for so long that any cost would have been long gone. Please get rid of the wings, Nascar has no idea what they are doing in this area. Look for flaps in the wings next!
Fans want to see racing, drivers want to race, where is the problem.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:43 am
The rule change sort of confuses me. I was thinking NASCAR already had a similar rule. It just maybe wasn’t as strict. It seems like we always talked about no bump drafting in the corners in previous races. It seems like this rule & the reason for it should have been something that they discussed in an open forum-type situation with the drivers and teams to try to figure out how to maybe fix the issue instead of issuing a very strict rule minutes before the race started.
Also, did the plate size change really fix the problem NASCAR was trying to fix from the spring race? While there was no catchfence hit, it seems to me that Ryan Newman’s wreck still happened. I could maybe not be as informed about what the plate change was supposed to prevent, though.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
Maybe its time to move this race out of the chase.
Thanks to yesterday’s two late-race wrecks, the “Chase for the Cup” is all but mathmatically over. Johnson’s closest pursuers, Martin, J. Gordon, Ku. Busch, Montoya and Stewart were caught up in those wrecks. Now, with a 187-point lead, Johnson could take off one of the last three races and still keep his #1 position.
If Johnson runs well at Texas, and he probably will, he will be able to clinch the Cup at Phoenix. Which should do wonders for attendance and TV ratings for Homestead.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
INHO the racing at Talledega yesterday was pretty good. Unfortunate to finish under yellow, but JM was up front for quite a bit and deserved the victory.
#48 played their cards right, but one question. Why was #48 allowed to pit for fuel/tires on same lap as cars parked on back straight for red flag? Not so cool for those that ran out of fuel.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
I don’t think I agree with removing a plate race from the Chase altogether. In my opinion, the Chase should be a mixture of all types of tracks (including road courses). A driver/team needs to be good at all types of tracks essentially to win the championship. I know a plate race is a pretty big gamble but a driver could get caught up in something not of his own making at other tracks too.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 10:19 am
i say let them race they’re pros at what they do.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
The number one NASCAR needs to make to improve the overall sport is:
Publish the rule book on the web for all to see.
There needs to be more openness about the rules of this sport.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
There was a race on Sunday? Who knew. Restrictor plate racing sucks. Never crossed my mind to watch it.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Dega has always been my favorite race to watch, unfortunately this year I was completely disappointed. I read an article this morning saying the single file racing had nothing to do with the warning about bump drafting, yeah right, it was all about the warning, even the commentators were saying it. Between telling the drivers what they can and can’t do ON THE TRACK and the main focus on Hendrick Motor Sports drives, Unfortunately NASCAR as well as some of the TV stations are ruining racing for everyone, but the Hendrick Motor Sport Fans. I am and always will be a JR fan, but the fact that ABC couldn’t even talk with 2nd place Kasey Kahne or 3rd place finisher Joey Logano after the race, but found time to speak with 3 people other than the winner – Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, truly shows where NASCAR is coming from. My husband and I have been fans since the late 70’s and we are slowly loosing our patience with NASCAR – they might as well just have the chasers race the final 10 races, cuz what they are doing to the rest of this guys is ridiculous.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
I don’t know why all the complaining now about the plate races. You can sleep during the 1st 450 miles and wake up for the finish. You will miss nothing. Did anyone hear Tony’s radio? He was bored stiff!!! The fact is that some of these tracks are outdated for the type of racing that can be done. The racing is not good because some track promoters are trying to save money in the guise that fans will still come. I have a suggestion. Have a couple races at Newton Ia. and re-open N. Wilksboro. You WILL see good racing at these places.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 11:57 am
Anyone notice just how may empty seats at Dega? Sign of economy, weather, fans fed up w/ NASCAR, or a combo?
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
wow looks like NASCAR just upset all it’s fans, and solved nothing…well aside from raising the catch fence.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
NASCAR screws up again! Geez, smaller restrictor plates? The guys did what they needed to do. Got in line and ran around in circles until the end of the race and then they started wrecking. That has become the norm at the RP tracks. A friend said he was going to watch the race when we were leaving work on Friday — I told him then to not bother wasting his Sunday until around 4 p.m. or 30 laps to go whichever comes first.
I was worried when I saw Newman’s car get airborne like that. It’s a good thing it landed on Harvick’s front end since it looked like that actually cushioned some of the first impact onto the roof of the car. NASCAR had plenty of people on site at the wreck, they should have made sure the info that he was OK was transmitted to Ryan’s wife ASAP and maybe to the booth so the viewing audience knew he was OK, too.
I’ve been bored with most of the TV broadcasts of the races for most of this year. Since Johnson has it wrapped up at this point, I guess I have 3 weekends free. I think I’ll start getting the house ready for the holidays next weekend.
NASCAR got to Larry Mac and others about saying negative things about them, but really, the fans aren’t stupid. We can see with our own eyes that things aren’t right. Talladega just made that clear once more.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
The COT was supposed to mitigate some of this. The larger car was supposed to be less aerodynamic, punching a larger hole in the air. The engines were supposed to be LESS restricted so drivers had some throttle response and could avoid these massive packs that always lead to wrecks.
The latest restrictor plate decision completely negated the COT’s benefits. We are right back to where we were 5 year ago. This is progress?
I understand why NASCAR like plates – they are cheap, easy to produce, and easy to police. It’s hard to cheat when NASCAR not only writes the rules, but gives you the tools to ensure the rules are not broken.
Problem is, the plate concept is played out. The idea no longer works. What was effective in 1988 is not in 2009. Time to move on to something else.
I have always felt that if you removed the rear wing completely, and gave the drivers more power, some of the problems might be reduced. Make the drivers hit the brakes before entering the turns. The only problem is drivers will be doing 200+ down the straights, but they are doing that at Charlotte, Atlanta, and Texas. We don’t see huge pile up’s at those tracks because the field is spread out. That is the key, spread out the field, eliminate the huge packs of cars running around at 190+.
The other alternatives are really expensive – institute a smaller engine rules for superspeedways; modify the track to lessen the banking and slow the cars that way; develop a “superspeedway body” that is not as aerodynamic as the current car, which will eliminate the benefit of drafting.
Give the drivers the ability to drive the cars and I think you will see fewer wrecks and better racing. Right now a robot could drive the car while the human driver sits in his motorhome with a remote control directly the robot.
Restrictor plates only seem to make this problem worse, its time to find another solution.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Yes, the race was terrible. When fans and drivers are miserable there’s a problem.
NASCAR’s “knee jerk” reactions to accidents and situations are getting tiresome. It makes you wonder who is making decisions. I think the wrong people are getting drug and alcohol tests.
Yes, we all saw Carl go in to the fence…. but how often does that happen?? Enforce the fence..move the seats back…but don’t screw with the racing!! A safer race? Sure..the HANS device, safer barriers, pit road speed, and car improvements have made a driver much safer…all good..but don’t screw with the racing!!
I hate restrictor plate racing..but I don’t think I would want to be next to Brad K going 240 mph. Make the engines smaller and take off the plates.
NASCAR being proactive?? Proactive would have been sitting down and actually thinking it through. The bottom line? This sport is supposed to be entertainment. It’s become boring, predictable and over managed. The good races are becoming the exception, not the rule.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I know it is sacrilege, but what if the France family admits that back in 1969 a mistake was made. What if they FINALLY ADMIT that the PDA was correct and Richard Petty and his fellow SMART DRIVERS were correct and that this race trackdesign is a mistake.
It is too big, and too fast and there were problems right from the start. PDA drivers left the track becasue, refusing to race in the very first race becasue they relized the danger. France’s ego refuse to admit anything, and they raced anyway, but with scab dricers, offering fans a douible ticket if they showed up.
These stupid retrictor plates are nothing but a bandage over a mistake, made a long time ago. Maybe they need to mothball this track, and move on. France made his money, it will not break NASCAR at this point ….. his dream is alive. …. but …
This track is a mistake, it has been since the beginning. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, and everyone always has, but no one wants to tell the France family that news.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
@ rain, I liked what you had to say.
@ Garry, I liked your post too. I wonder if Dega wasn’t an ISC track, would they even race there?
Funny, the car, walls, HANS, driver’s seats, etc are all about safety. However, some of the older tracks haven’t kept up with it. Maybe someone needs to look into this.
@ TC, you are correct. NASCAR did step in it. Let’s hope in the off season, they make rules that make the racing more exciting at RP tracks and not just the last 20-30 laps.
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Many people think the smaller/different engine package is impractical because it’s expensive. Teams already have separate restrictor-plate engine programs, or at least the three or four engine suppliers the whole field uses have separate progams. It long ago ceased to be “let’s just slap this on top of our Michigan engine & go.”
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Everyone is right so far, The Race really sucked and I was only interested in the finish, didn’t watch 3/4 of the race. Nascar has a problem ( Just like GM Management ) They don’t listen to what the public wants. THe COT sucks and Restricter racing sucks.
Mark X Nascar Off my list after 30 years of support. I did the same with NHRA, When they followed Nascar point system, and Like Hendricks Racing ,They have Force Racing. So what can real fans do. I now just read the results on Monday morning on the internet. 12 years of Force Racing killed NHRA , So will 4 + Championships by Jimmy Johnson. Enough sound. Good bye
on Nov 3rd, 2009 at 9:33 am
I can see the Jan 2012 headlines already. NASCAR listens to the fans and drops the COT, restrictor plates, plows up Talladega, scraps: the Chase, all rules, drug testing, green-white-checkers, dbl file restarts, the Lucky Dog free pass, testing ban, push rod engines, carburators, phantom debris cautions, promotes bump drafting free for all cage match, actually encourages passes below the yellow line.
Followed by Nov 2012 headlines that read, “HMS with Jimmie, Chad and the #48 crew win their 7th Winston-Nextel-Sprint Cup Championship. Fans are outraged for change in the sport to eliminate such a dynasty”.
Folks, I was at the Fall Talledega 500 of 2000. That happened to be the last win for Dale Sr. Although the COT was not even conceived yet, the cars had restrictor plates, bump drafting in huge packs ensued and the race was boring as hell until the last lap when Kenny Wallace teamed w/ Sr to go from 15th to the win. Fans were ecstatic! What’s the difference between 2000 and 2009? Aside from the fact that the spec COT’s are ugly as hell, I’m guessing maybe no Sr was the only difference?
Point is….NASCAR is in a damn if you do, damn if you don’t situation w/ the fans and competitors!
on Nov 3rd, 2009 at 11:57 pm
The race was fine – it was all the drivers deciding to ride around in a line.
on Nov 4th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Neon, right on. Unlike the professional media, NASCAR is not perfect – they make mistakes and sometimes big ones. However, to the nattering nabobs of negativism in the professional media NASCAR never does anything that cannot be criticized. It seems to me that the Cup cars have far more HP than is needed everywhere, as Robert Yates said years ago. I understand that Rusty did a test at Dega a couple of years ago with no plate, got up to 223 or 226, and said the car was undriveable – so taking the plates off doesn’t seem to be the solution no matter how far back you move the fans.
on Nov 8th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
GO MARK MARTIN …
YOU CAN DO IT!!!