Several sources have released that Brad Keselowski has been fined by NASCAR for criticizing electronic fuel injection.
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[/media-credit]During a Q&A session at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Keselowski said he was not a fan of EFI and it’s a “disaster”.
“We’re not doing this because it’s better for the sport or better for the teams. I don’t even think we’re really going to save any gas.” Keselowski said. “It gives them something to promote. And we’re always looking for something to promote. But (the) honest answer is it does nothing for the sport except cost the team owners money.”
The fine is reported to be $25,000. This is not new for NASCAR, they have been privately punishing drivers for making disparaging remarks for several years now.
NASCAR says that the move to electronic fuel injection part of its green initiative, so why can’t drivers tell how they really feel about the change? Remember all of the negative comments about the COT from the drivers? After a drivers meeting with NASCAR, now we just hear it’s just the way the car is.
Sighting Keselowski’s comments were detrimental to the sport, nothing has been more detrimental to the sport than the sanctioning body itself.
1. 2004, the first ever Cup season using the “Chase for the Cup” points format.
2. The Car of Tomorrow (COT): Introduced in the 2007, ran a partial schedule of 16 races and a full Sprint Cup Schedule in 2008.
3. 2011, new “dumbed” down point system.
Let’s sum it up.
1. The “Chase” is very unpopular.
2. The COT, is safer, costs less to maintain (according to NASCAR when it was first released) and was intended to make for closer competition, but it has created boring racing and misrepresents the car manufacturers due to the same body design. NASCAR may fix this by 2013, we will see. May meaning, they will change the car, not sure if it will be a fix or not.
3. The new points system is pretty much a wash, but a smack in the face to long time followers that now feel like rocket scientists since the old system was so hard to understand.
Still unknown, EFI. Electronic Fuel injection will replace the carburetor as the fuel distributor in the COT starting in 2012.
Hmmm Pamela. You need to check your facts a lot more carefully. The COT costs more than the old car. The EFI system will add millions of dollars to the costs over all and NASCAR will be releasing a new version of the COT for 2013.
The Chase has a 50/50 approval rate as of last year.
Yes the new system is much simpler and easier to understand. But that is a good thing for everyone including the drivers.
And where I agree secret fines smack of a lack of legitimacy it is not new in this sport.
Actually Pamela, the COT kit cost $250,000. That doesn’t include engine, drive train, fuel cell, driver’s seat, windows, rear spoiler, front splitter, suspension, or the body. It’s just a bare bones chassis. Rick Hendrick’s estimates each COT cost him $475,000 to complete. The previous car cost $150,000 and was ready to race. So the COT isn’t saving the teams any money. Now you can add at least $25,200 to the cost because of the Throttle body injection system that’s being added plus whatever the cost of certifying the team chip by NASCAR will be. So you’re looking at a car that will cost well over $500,000 a piece. For that price you could have 3 of the old car with money left over.
Last poll I saw said that over 80% of the fans still dislike the everchanging play-off format.
The new points system is nothing more than a gimmick to generate media coverage, PR, and hype and is a part of Brian France’s continuing efforts to bury the sport’s history. Hopefully Alan Kulwicki’s championship win still stands after Sunday as being the closest championship win ever.
Who is Pamela and why do we care what she has to say. If you are bold enough to give your opinion then be bold enough to back it up with a real last name.
Who says the Chase is very unpopular? May have been when it started but I barely hear a grumbling about it today.
Who says the racing is boring? Some race may be boring but can’t be any more boring than 5 cars on the lead lap or worse the winning car several laps up on 2nd. To the contrary, I would suggest the racing this year has been some of the best I’ve seen in the 30+ years I’ve followed the sport.
COT might not be a good representation of “stock” cars but that’s been the case since 1970-something. And fewer dead drivers is a good thing, in my humble opinion.
I don’t see many old time followers of the sports with bruises on their face. The fact we don’t need a slide rule or super-computer to figure out how many points someone needs to win the championship is a good thing.
As for EFI… if one driver didn’t make dumb comment you wouldn’t even know how to spell EFI so who cares. In the end it won’t make a hill of beans one way or the other.