Fan's Eye View ~ Six Answers To Six Hot Questions7/09/2014 |
Good day to you my race friends! You know, I make no secret of the fact that
if I had an original thought, it would rattle around in my head like a BB in a
box before it would die a slow lonely death.
No, I get inspiration from listening to you, to what you have to say, to
your ideas. So, that said, I’m going to
give six answers to six questions I have been hearing asked a lot lately. 1.
With only eight races remaining before the
cutoff for the Chase, will drivers without wins begin “points racing” again to try to secure a spot in the Championship
determining fray? Without question. In my opinion, drivers like Matt Kenseth,
Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, and a few other have to realize that
the clock is most assuredly ticking, and when it hits zero when the checkered
flag falls at Richmond, there are going to be a lot of drivers on the outside
looking in. Make no mistake, though,
there is still time to win, and as I see it, we will NOT go into the Chase with
the field set by eleven race winners and five by points. We are going to see at least one, maybe two
more winners. There are too many
talented drivers out there in capable equipment on very familiar track to wave
this battle flag as a points deal only. Indy, Bristol, Michigan, Pocono, Richmond, Watkins Glen, Atlanta
and New Hampshire. These tracks
have all provided some surprise winners throughout the years, and while maybe
we won’t get an Aric Almirola-esque type of surprise,
we may get a Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart or Marcos Ambrose type of surprise. 2.
What does the No. 43 returning to the winner’s
circle at Daytona mean to you? I asked this question to three people. Their responses? “My father was a Richard Petty fan for what seemed like forever. All I
can remember growing up was him going to races in the Carolinas and watching
his idol dominate everyone else. When the King didn’t win, my father would get
so mad and pout for the following week until the next race. I know if there’s a heaven, my dad’s up there
and he’s got a big smile on his face today!” Shelley; Naples, Florida “I think it’s cool. I’ve never
seen the 43 car win a race before, so seeing someone else win was
different.” Stephen; New Castle,
Delaware “Seeing the No. 43 in Victory Lane at Daytona without Richard Petty at
the wheel …I’m okay with that. I was
there in 1984 when he won number 200, and I know Bobby Hamilton and John
Andretti both won in the car, but seeing the 43 win here at Daytona, I think
that’s pretty special.” Jeff; Plano, Texas 3.
Ford has won three consecutive races for the
first time since 2006. What’s wrong with
the once dominant car manufacturer in NASCAR? Well, in simplest terms, it is all about
the numbers. If you look at the teams
which were scheduled to go full time this season, you’d see that Chevrolet has
22 teams, while Ford has less than half of that at ten teams. It’s not difficult to see that if Ford
doesn’t have a dominant product, (which is hard to do with Hendrick Motorsports
running Chevrolets) than the wins for Ford would be fewer and with more time
between. While Roush Fenway appears to been struggling this season, it would seem that the four
wins from Team Penske would offset that, and in a sense, it does, but remember
that Carl Edwards does have two wins as well.
With 18 races down this season, just at halfway, Ford has seven wins,
Chevrolet has nine. That only leaves two
for Toyota. Why is no one talking about
struggles from that camp? 4.
Has Matt Kenseth officially fallen into the year
after hangover from trying to win the 2013 Championship? Ahh, I rescind my
last question. After winning seven races
last season and coming oh-so-close to winning the Championship, Kenseth seems
to have fallen into that year-after hangover.
Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, and Carl Edwards have all felt
it in recent years. Going for the
Championship takes a lot out of you, and apparently it is now Kenseth’s
turn. If he’s going to break that curse,
he’s going to have to do it soon.
Kenseth is high enough in points that he will probably still make the
Chase, but a win would do two things.
The first would be to secure tat Chase spot, and the second would be to
give confidence, and show not only other teams, but Kenseth’s as well. 5.
What schedule changes should NASCAR make for the
2015 Sprint Cup Series season? This, for me, is the simplest answer,
because it requires so little movement, and solves the issues so many seem to
have and have commented upon in the past.
First, there is a large outcry for more road course racing, especially
for one in the Chase. Next, folks want a
more diverse track selection in the Chase, not half of them made up of 1.5 mile
tracks. So… Step 1: Swap Richmond and Chicago.
Let’s add another short track into the Chase. We’ll start the Chase at Richmond, and set the field to get into it after Chicago. Step 2: Swap Sonoma with the second New Hampshire race. Let’s get Sonoma into the Chase as the second
race, and move New Hampshire back to where Sonoma is. Stay with me… Step 3: Turn Indianapolis on its ear, and use the road course there. This gives the circuit a third event where
turning right is a necessity, and not a correction to avoid a wreck. That would make the Chase: 1.
Richmond (Short, ¾ Mile) 2.
Sonoma (Road Course) 3.
Dover (1-mile, Cut off) 4.
Kansas (1.5 Mile) 5.
Charlotte (1.5 Mile) 6.
Talladega (2.66 Mile, Cut off) 7.
Martinsville (Short, .526 Mile) 8.
Texas (1.5 Mile) 9.
Phoenix (1 Mile, Cut off) 10.
Homestead (1.5 Mile) Looks good to me, but then again,
it should, because it’s my plan. 6.
What’s this RTA about? Ah, what indeed? Well, The RTA (Race Team Alliance) is, to
date, a nine member panel of car owners in the Sprint Cup Series which has the
purpose of the creation of an open forum for the teams to collaborate on areas
of common interests in an attempt to better promote and preserve the sport. Now, as of now, it does not appear to be an
attempt to unionize the drivers, crews, and team members. From what I have heard, it is completely
centered around money, not in a “gimme a bigger slice
of the pie” aspect (not yet, anyway), but in more of a method of
sustainability. Consider the fact that there are, on any
given race weekend, 42-46 teams attempting to make the field for the Cup Series
event. Let’s drop that down, just for
arguments sake to the top 25 full time teams.
Assume each team has, for estimate’s sake, 12 crew members. Depending on the hotel, that’s between three
and six hotel rooms per team. Multiply
that by those 25 teams, and that’s between 75 and 150 hotel rooms for the
weekend, for just over half the field.
What my understanding of the RTA is, is that instead of one team getting
a block of three to six rooms, RTA will get a block of however many rooms are
needed. And we all know why we buy in
bulk, right? It’s okay…don’t be afraid
to shout it out if you know…that’s right…it’s cheaper. You buy more to pay less per unit. The same concept applies here. If the RTA can buy hotel rooms, and get
enough of them each weekend to save “X” dollars per night, all of that is going
to add up at the end of the year as money not spent outside of the sport, but
money that can be directed back into it.
(Let’s face it…they aren’t going to just “save” that money…) Now, on top of that, add in flights. Add in rental cars. Add in any expense which is required of all
teams. Spark plugs? Brakes? The cost for that company that transports the
war wagons from one track to the next?
I’m guessing they would give a discount if they only have one invoice to
process instead of 43 weekly bills.
There is money to be saved everywhere.
That includes when NASCAR makes a rule change that is going to cost the
teams money. Now, instead of thirty
voices crying out into the night, there can be one voice to say, “Yes, we see
what you’re trying to do here. However,
you should now that it is going to cost us ‘this’ to comply.” So, at this time, I’m not looking at this
as an attempt to circle the wagons against the powers that be. If it develops into that, I will be very
surprised, and then I will watch as the sport falls apart like CART. No, I think these nine folks on the panel are
smart enough to use this opportunity for what it is, and not to stage a coup
d'état. Until next time, my friends, feel
free to leave your comments and ideas below, and I’ll be sure to respond. I’m always listening….
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