My rebuttal?

When haven’t drivers done that? I’ve been in and around this sport since 1964 the major difference between now and decades ago isn’t timid complaining drivers versus the more “aggressive” drivers of yesteryear.

The difference is public access to the complaints and whining you hear now.

NASCAR drivers have always complained about “early in the race” aggression, they have always “just rode around” until the last 50 miles or so it’s just more publicized now.

WE know about it now, WE didn’t then at least not so much.

So what is the bigger problem? Simple. Boring races. 180mph parades.

We’ve blamed the tracks, the cars, the tires, the dominance of Jimmy Johnson, the format, and everything else under the sun.

In my opinion, the “format” is getting pretty close but it is merely a tool to fix the real problem.

So what is the real problem…drum roll please?
.
.
.
.
THE DRIVERS.
.
.
.
.
And the culture of “track etiquette” that they have created under the current format.

The drivers are the problem because most simply do not want to race until 20 (or so) to go.

Remember Stewart lighting up Reutiman and one of his crew on national TV during a rain break because Reutiman was being “too racey, too early”?

Remember Johnson moaning about Edwards being too aggressive too early at the last race of the season?

Gordon? Yeah he complains too when someone like Juan Pablo wants to actually race.

So here we have the three top names in the sport whining about people around them being “too aggressive”.

I’m sure one of them would have some flippant remark about how stupid anyone is who’d point the finger at them (and it wouldn’t be the drivers with the last initials G or J). But the bottom line is we have top drivers chewing out other drivers and in some cases even their crew on national TV, for…now get this folks…”racing too hard”…

Don’t get me wrong, I know all of the rationale behind this mentality and from purely the driver perspective I don’t totally disgree. But from the business perspective I do disagree completely.

So how to fix the problem of a three hour 180 mph parade?

Back to the future: heat races.

Make the heats short enough that the drivers actually race, make them long enough that pit performance matters. Keep the last chance qualifier and take more than one driver from it. Award meaningful numbers of points in the heats themselves. Make ‘conserving the car’ a vanishing concept.

Would heat races fundamentally change the mentality of the drivers so they actually want to race before 20 to go? Probably not. But at least the fans would get five or so “20 to go moments” in three hours instead of one…which gets the excitement per unit time more on par with a really good NFL game…which will bring the sponsors back because they know people will be watching.

Just my opinion of course…

The Miccosukee tribe is running a business and at the end of the day Kyle could provide them with more than Billy Ballew could. As TC said it’s not personal, it’s business.

Mik- Remember NASCAR sponsorship is a lot more than just how much time you end up on TV. If the end goal was to just be seen during a broadcast companies would just buy commercial time. It’s certainly a lot cheaper.