Thoughts, observations and a few questions:
Raise your hand if you had a tough time staying awake for a four-hour long, 500 mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race on a Sunday night. It might have been the most exciting race in NASCAR history, but be honest – how many of you fell asleep for some portion of the race broadcast?
Winning one race en route to the Chase doesn’t make two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart’s team a real contender for the title in my book. I’m still betting on the Lowe’s 48 car team as the squad to beat down the stretch.
Unless Kevin Harvick’s team can have ten error-free races.
I’ve lost track of how many IZOD IndyCar Series races have been won over the past couple of years by the team that relies on a strategy that counts on everyone else having to pit during the last handful of laps for fuel. Although on Saturday night in Kentucky it wasn’t planned for Helio Castroneves to pit off-sequence with the rest of the field, it was sweet redemption for the Brazilian driver who lost he 2008 race at that venue when he found himself on the wrong side of the fuel equation.
After referring to Homestead Miami Speedway as “North Cuba” it makes you wonder in how many other insensitive and inflammatory ways that Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) Chairman Bruton Smith will insult and alienate the large population of Cuban-Americans in South Florida? Smith’s comments about the area came during another one of his seemingly endless media sessions whining about NASCAR holding its season finale in Homestead instead of at Smith’s track in Las Vegas. It’s as if having the media write about it will effect change in the schedule. When it comes to comparing the culture, weather and overall atmosphere between the Miami area and Las Vegas, Miami wins every time, as far as I’m concerned.
Have you seen the new promotional spots on television for The Chase? The one that has The Chase drivers in black and white making reference to “the last man standing.” That campaign was my idea. There’s a killer new song (Last Man Standing) by the band Pop Evil that should also be a part of the promotion, but NASCAR execs said it was “too hard.”
Let me get this straight – Todd Bodine wins the truck race at Kentucky, yet he still badmouths Kyle Busch in victory lane? When Busch made his appearance in victory lane I was really hoping for an A.J. Foyt vs Arie Luyendyk – like moment.
I wonder how long it will take NASCAR to make the transition away from being the “Dale Jr. & Friends League?” The sooner it happens, the better. For my money, at the moment, Kyle Busch is the best thing going in NASCAR. Don’t you agree?
In spite of all the carrying on about “I can’t believe we’ll only be racing in Atlanta once a year” that went on in the media and quoted by drivers in the past few weeks, one Cup race a year at Atlanta Motor Speedway is enough, thank you. And from the number of empty seats in the grandstands on Sunday night, it’s obvious that the local race fans agree.
To be honest, I can only think of a handful of tracks (Daytona, Talladega, Richmond, Texas and maybe Bristol) worth making a return visit to every year for the Sprint Cup Series. What do you think?
I don’t know about you, but I’m not holding my breath in anticipation of the announced 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. It’s likely I’ll be stifling a yawn. And I certainly don’t care if there are or are not any International Speedway Corporation tracks left on the series’ schedule. And neither do the remaining fans of IndyCar racing .
Finishing the IndyCar season in Las Vegas, racing down the streets of Baltimore or returning to Milwaukee isn’t going to help keep what has sadly become a faceless, nearly lifeless and poorly marketed open wheel series in the psyche of the American racing fan. Does anyone outside of IndyCar’s hardcore fanbase care if Will Power or Dario Franchitti wins the title this season?
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Postscript
Extend a hand…
With so many of our fellow Americans out of work on this Labor Day 2010, my thoughts and prayers go out to those who are struggling to make ends meet. We are living in challenging times for many good, hard working people. Perhaps you or someone you know is having a difficult time, financially. Keep in mind, there are many others who have it worse. Please keep that in mind next time you have the opportunity to help someone who is in need of your help.
Nice article as always, Mr. Margolis. These are my thoughts (since you asked
:
a) about other races deserving two dates: I think Charlotte deserves their two races. I’m tired of it being called a cookie-cutter track, because it is very, very different than all other 1.5 milers (yes, I know they each have some unique characteristics), often produces outstanding races, the Coke 600 is a classic, and it’s nice to have a night race there as well.
It’s also the true capital of NASCAR and can help draw more to the ever-expanding and slowly improving Hall of Fame.
b) I didn’t fall asleep, but I did pay more attention to a fun NASCAR chat I was having than the race for a couple 50-mile segments. There are only a few races I wouldn’t shorten that are 500 or more miles … the Coke 600, Daytona 500, the spring Talladega race, and … yeah, um, I think that’s about it. I admittedly don’t know how it impacts $$, but it sure negatively impacts my viewership when I’m not there. And if I WAS at the race, I wouldn’t feel “gypped” by getting 400 instead of 500 miles.
c) 100% agree on getting away from “Dale, Jr. and Friends”, though you have to admit he’s doing a remarkable job in helping them do that by running like crap – sorry, with extreme mediocrity – every week. They have the golden opportunity to do it, and Kyle Busch … w/ Kevin Harvick and others are practically handing it to them on a platter.
d) People think Bruton Smith “truly cares about the race fans” because he upgrades his facilities. B.S., hogwash, and every other synonym. He is a megalomaniac who cares about his wallet and his power. He FORCED the Concord City Council to name a street after him (the previous Speedway Blvd, from the interstate to CMS) after they dared defy him over his drag strip – read the City Council minutes (also good if you’re an insomniac) if you don’t believe me.
e) I might not have been rooting for Kyle Busch to win the Truck Race, but watching Todd Bodine’s idiotic comments in Victory Lane makes it hard to be happy in any way that HE won. He does remember that HE’s not exactly the most popular guy in the garage due to HIS racing style, right? I don’t know him personally, but he comes across as arrogant, egotistical (we’re the only two cars that can be competitive for wins right now …) and hypocritical.
f) Finally, a question for you. Has Indy Car’s reliance on Danica Patrick (nearly solely) to market their product for the last 3 years hurt them or helped them? Like Dale, Jr. in Cup, is she wearing off, attractive or not?
Thanks for the great read!
Nathan
IndyCar’s reliance on Danica to sell the series has been good for them. But, her performance this season has turned away the casual fan. Dale Jr.’s performance won’t turn off his and the sport’s diehard fans, but it will impact the casual fan — fans who should be focused more on Kyle Busch, anyway.
I think the Danica hype has worn thin. The fit she threw at Indy didn’t help, and when TK charged from 33rd on the starting grid all the way to 2nd in the same equipment, people noticed. The mood in the stands seemed to change from anger at how she had handled the earlier situation to laughter at the difference between the two drivers. Maybe she learned from that, but the fact is that she’s not only not one of the top drivers in the series, she’s not not even one of the top drivers on her own team. And the fans can see that.
1. I feel asleep and missed the finish. Worst of all, my DVR stopped recording and did not catch it either.
2. Bristol definitely warrants two races. Pocono does not.
3. Dale Junior, in top equipment, has proven himself to be a mediocre driver. I predict, in RCR equipment, outruns him next year.
4. How about some more exciting race plans: My Hope: The Sprint Cup Sprints: run two 200 mile races for full points. Invert the field after the first race.
Oops – fell asleep.
IndyCar’s reliance on Danica to sell the series has been good for them. But, her performance this season has turned away the casual fan.
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If people are turned away by her performance one year after having her best year in Indycar, they clearly don’t understand the peaks and valleys of racing, let alone sports and probably shouldn’t be watching. Just my opinion.
As for the fuel mileage races in Indycar, what do you expect when they don’t rely on bogus cautions to bunch the field up and make the last 20 laps “a show” for the fans like Nascar does.