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The Final Word – Mr. France, I’m afraid this is a terribly stupid idea

By
Ron Thornton
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Credit: Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images

Playoffs. As exciting as they might be from time to time, they are simply a gimmick to keep interested those who are not all that interested in the first place. Still, as long as they do not go beyond the pale, to be too stupid in presenting their post-season tournament, they can create a measure of excitement.

The latest NASCAR proposal that has come to light would have 16 cars enter the Chase. Rather a large number, but actually in line with what some other sports welcome among the season’s championship contenders. Then let us whittle that group down over the ten race “playoff” until we just have four left in contention in the final race. That might work, except for the 39 other guys who have no business even being on the field of battle.

Imagine the upcoming Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Let us play the game in San Francisco before only 49er fans, as we know just how much they love them Seahawks. Then, let us have the New England Patriots supply all the officials, on the field and beyond. While we are at it, let us have a few folks from the remaining 28 teams call a few plays, heck, let them even run a few themselves. Obviously, this would be a stupid idea, but thankfully no one in the NFL is stupid enough to institute it. NASCAR, however, might actually be thinking of implementing something just as stupid.

There is a reason they have a World Series. In 1903, they wondered who might be best, the champion of the National League or the American League. So, they played a series of games to answer the question. In 1969, Joe Namath and the New York Jets won the American Football League title, and then played the NFL champion Baltimore Colts to decide which champion was the best. Back in the spring of 1976, Guy Lafleur’s Montreal Canadiens were the best in hockey. Or were they? If they had played Bobby Hull’s Winnipeg Jets in a NHL/WHA showdown, we might have received a different answer. In each of the above cases, there was no cross-over, no common opponents. The only way to decide who was best was to have the two champions showdown for all the marbles.

There was no showdown prior to late October last year between the Red Sox and Cardinals, so the best team from each league needed a final series to determine the best. It’s the same this season in the NFL, where they can play no more than 16 of their 31 rivals during the course of the regular season. As Seattle and Denver have yet to play each other this campaign, we still need that final game to sort things out.

In NASCAR, we had the same 30 cars go head-to-head in each and every one of the 36 Cup races over the course of the season. From that number, Jimmie Johnson was the best over the season, beating Kevin Harvick by almost an entire race worth of points. Oh, but they had a 10 race Chase playoff, yet Johnson proved to be the best again, by 19 points over Matt Kenseth. Jimmie Johnson was the best over the season, the best in the playoffs, and any cockamamie system that would have deprived him of a championship would have made a mockery out of the sport.

Back in 2003, Kenseth won the title with but a single win (in the third race of the season) and that horrid occurrence spawned the Chase. Instead of giving out more points for a win, NASCAR decided it needed a playoff like all the other guys. In short, an attempt to artificially create some sort of excitement instead of being content with simply honoring the best over the course of the season. Maybe what they needed to do was rejig the points system at that time while adding more bonus points for victories, then possibly we would not even need the Chase. I mean, they had gone without it for 55 years just fine.

To be honest, we do not yet know the details of this plan, how 16 contenders would be whittled down to four over the course of ten races before determining a final champion. We do not even know for sure if this is the real deal. However, I think most of us have learned that when you hear someone proposing something stupid and you say nothing, don’t be surprised when you end up with stupid. If they want to trade legitimacy for drama in declaring a NASCAR champion, might I suggest a coin toss? It would save us all a lot of time and money.

American Blade Runner Blake Leeper Named Honorary Race Official For The 56th Annual Daytona 500

By
SM Archive
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NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Major changes to the Chase could be coming soon

By
SM Staff
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There has been a lot of speculation recently that indicates some highly significant and sweeping changes could be coming regarding the points format used for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

The first indication of these changes came right after the arrival of the new year and stemmed from comments made by NASCAR Chairman Brian France during an interview with the “Motor Racing Network.”

At that time France indicated a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the current Sprint Cup championship’s point structure and said he felt there was a way to modify the system that would place greater importance on winning races to determine the champion.

Needless to say, those comments set off a firestorm of speculation that said changes to the Chase format were forthcoming. That firestorm was greatly enhanced by a January 17th article in the “Charlotte Observer” that indicated the proposed changes could be even more sweeping than originally projected.

The major bullet points for the rumored change are as follows:

  • The new format will expand from the current 12 teams to 16.
  • Winning races during the regular points season, races one through 26, will become a high priority regarding which drivers makes the Chase lineup.
  • Full time series drivers who win at least one race during the regular season schedule will be seeded first in the championship lineup.
  • In the event that the first 26 races does not produce 16 winners, then the remainder of the Chase lineup will be seeded based on driver’s points. It should be noted that this particular scenario is very possible. There were only 13 different winners during the first 26 races of the 2013 season.
  • Once the official Chase lineup is set, NASCAR will employ the use of a series of elimination rounds somewhat similar to the process used by college sports. At the conclusion of Chase races number three, six and nine, four drivers from each of those races will be officially eliminated from the post season championship run.
  • The points will be reset to an even amount for the remaining four drivers, prior to the tenth and final Chase event, which will be held at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16th.
  • This final four man runoff will employ a winner take all format. The driver who accumulates the most points in the season finale will become the 2014 Sprint Cup champion.

Regarding the status of these rumored changes, a January 17th press release, from NASCAR Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes, read as follows:

“NASCAR has begun the process of briefing key industry stakeholders on potential concepts to evolve its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship format. This dialogue is the final phase of a multi-year process that has included the review of extensive fan research, partner and industry feedback and other data-driven insights. NASCAR has no plans to comment further until the stakeholder discussions are complete. We hope to announce any potential changes for the 2014 season to our media and fans very soon.”

There has been further speculation that says this announcement could comes as early as January 30th.

NASCAR Good Guys: Laps for charity in Las Vegas

By
SM Staff
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speedwaycharities.org

Have you ever found yourself sitting in the grandstand, at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, wondering what it would be like to drive around one of those massive speedways? Even just the opportunity to drive your personal street car around one of these tracks would be a genuine thrill and a great story for the Monday morning water cooler when you returned to work.

The opportunity to drive your personal vehicle on a 1.5 mile paved oval will be available at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at the same time, will allow you the opportunity to support a very worthy charity.

Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) will present its annual Laps for Charity event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, January 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NASCAR fans and auto enthusiasts will have the unique opportunity to drive their personal vehicle around the 1.5-mile super speedway at speeds up to 75 miles per hour (behind a pace car).

“Drivers will feel the rush as they drive their vehicle three times around our track for a $30 donation to SCC.” The $30 entry fee is per vehicle; not per person.

You can register for Laps for Charity online or by calling 702-632-8242.

Speedway Children’s Charities mission “remains true to the ideals it was founded upon in 1982: To care for children in educational, financial, social and medical need in order to help them lead productive lives.”

“SCC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and provides funding for hundreds of non-profit organizations throughout the nation that meet the direct needs of children. Their vision is that every child has the same opportunities no matter what obstacle they are facing.”

The charity was founded by “Bruton Smith, Chairman of Speedway Motorsports and Sonic Automotive, as a memoriam and legacy to his son, Bruton Cameron Smith, who passed away at a very young age. Given his experience, Smith became passionate about wanting to help children in need and Speedway Children’s Charities was created focusing on communities surrounding SMI speedways.”

“Our sole concern at SCC is to help a child in need,” says Smith.

In 1982, SCC went national and now funds thousands of organizations throughout the country “that help children directly with everything from educational support to the basic need of a coat or a simple meal.”

They describe themselves as “more than just a fundraiser.”

“Our local chapters are partners in change, working with a broad range of people and organizations to identify and resolve pressing issues dealing with children in their communities.”

Each community’s needs are assessed locally. “Challenges ranging from learning disabilities, broken homes, and childhood cancer are on the agenda for the local chapters of SCC and the numerous non-profit organizations they support. Although priorities for Speedway Children’s Charities are set locally, we have one common goal – to ensure every child in need be given the tools to build a better, brighter and healthy future.”

The reference to the SCC’s priorities being set locally was generated by a brilliant idea from Speedway Motorsport’s founder and Chairman Bruton Smith who set up local chapters at each of the speedways owned by SMI.

Those local chapters are located at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, the Texas Motor Speedway and the aforementioned Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Over the years, each SCC location has been extremely successful in presenting very creative fundraisers while interacting with charitable organizations, in the communities where the speedway’s are located, to address the needs of children.

In its three decades plus years in existence, Speedway Children’s Charities has more than earned the title “NASCAR Good Guys.”

Mason Mingus; Win-Tron Racing Announce 2014 NASCAR Truck Series Plans

By
SM Archive
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Regan Smith taking lessons from last year into championship chase

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Noel Lanier

Last year, Regan Smith started the year off strong, including a 58 point lead midway through the year. However, as races added up, the points gap faded and Smith ended the year third in points behind Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr.

Looking back on the year, Smith recognizes there were many things that he could’ve done better throughout the year.

“You hear everybody talk about you can’t‑‑ you can talk about it and say this is how it’s going to be, this is going to be how it’s going to happen,” Smith explained. “You hear people say that and you always think that’s not going to be the case, but it really is.  You have to experience this stuff before you can have a full understanding as to how it’s going to play out.”

Smith said he thought they were doing good last year, until they got caught in a late race incident at Mid-Ohio. Then they followed that up with a parts failure, which resulted in another bad finish. Rather than rebounding from it, it changed Smith’s view on the year.

He began thinking that he should start winning races to get back in front – when in reality, he wasn’t in that desperate of a situation.

“We had the spiral in the middle of the season that was tough to get over and tough to understand what was taking place,” Smith said. “We still had the same race cars, the same speed, but we started doing things a little more desperately than early in the year and probably didn’t need to, myself as a driver and other things along the way.  And then we had a couple other hiccups here and there, which are going to happen throughout the course of a season, and just I think we got too desperate too early to be blunt about it.”

Smith said the process taught him many lessons – including the need to play it smart and stick to what they know, rather than grasp for straws. Take that set-up that works well and use it, rather than trying something else and finishing 15th.

“I think the experience from that last year is going to play a big part this year in understanding that until we really get down to a certain part of the season, you don’t have to panic,” he said. “You don’t have to get desperate.  You have to be smart and do the things that you know how to do.  As I said, I had probably 90 people tell me that, and until you sit back at the end of the year and you look at it, you don’t realize it.”

Smith will start his championship chase with the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Last year, Smith was in the thick for the win until he got taken out in the last lap wreck. With tandems being banned for this year, Smith is excited to see the style of racing that happens on track.

Will The Chase Be Expanded to 16 Teams?

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Harrelson/NASCAR via Getty Images

According to various sources, including the Charlotte Observer’s Jim Utter, NASCAR’s plan for the 2014 Chase is taking shape and it will have a new format. According to these sources, 16 teams would make the Chase with positions going to full-time participants who won a race during the season of 25 races. If there were not 16 teams with wins, the remaining positions would be based on the point finishers according to the standings at the end of the “regular season.”

There has to be a catch, right? Well there is one. The lowest four teams in the standings after the points are reset, which has always been the case since the beginning of the Chase, will be eliminated after the third, sixth, and ninth races in the final 10 Chase races. This would leave four teams and drivers to fight it out in the final race at Homestead next November. The “Final Four” would have their points reset to make them all equal in the final race. Whoever scored the most points in the final race would be the champion.

According to some sources, this might not be the final plan. Changes could still occur in the format, but it seems this is the direction NASCAR is headed. Details are expected to be announced at the annual Media Tour in Charlotte in about a week.

This is a radical change in the consistency based points structure created by the late Bob Latford, 39 years ago. It would virtually assure that the champion would be a winner and not sneak into a championship through consistency. Details will soon be known.

EIBACH CANADA TO SHOWCASE ITS PRODUCTS, EXPERTISE AND A NASCAR STOCK CAR AT THE CANADIAN MOTORSPORTS EXPO

By
SM Archive
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JEFF GORDON’S 2014 SPRINT CUP CAR TO MAKE ITS CANADIAN DEBUT IN THE CANADIAN MOTOR SPEEDWAY DISPLAY AT THE CME

By
SM Archive
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What’s In a Number?

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: David Yeazell

As this is being written, we are only 38 days away from the Daytona 500, and the news has come fast and furious leading up to the beginning of the season. It doesn’t surprise me somehow that it began with the number three.

Many great drivers have piloted a car adorned with the number three over the years. Notables include Al Unser (in 1968), Bobby Isaac (75), Hall of Famer Buck Baker (64), Buddy Baker (68), Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough (71 & 72), Hall of Famer David Pearson (62), Fred Lorenzen (70), Hall of Famer Junior Johnson, Richard Childress (81), and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt. That’s the rub. Dale Earnhardt was such a huge figure, especially in the 1980’s and 1990’s; many fans refuse to accept anyone other than The Intimidator in a car with the stylized numeral. The fact that the number is owned, or at least leased to car owner Childress doesn’t matter. The debate rages on and probably will for some time to come.

Among some fans, however, hope rises. Unfortunately, many think that young Austin Dillon, the driver of the No. 3 for 2014 will resurrect that car to the lofty heights that they watched years ago. The theory is that, just like Matt Kenseth, who left Roush-Fenway Racing in 2012 to almost dominate the season (almost is a big word), the chemistry and the good karma that surrounded Earnhardt while in that car will happen for Dillon. Don’t count on it. Remember Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in 2013?

Stenhouse was fresh off two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide championships, was in a car with a history of winning, and it just didn’t work out. The future is bright for Mr. Stenhouse, and will be for Dillon, but I don’t think it will be in 2014 for Austin. Despite his fast laps at Daytona earlier this month, it’s going to take time, just like Stenhouse, for his talent to become what No. 3 fans want the performance to be. The Sprint Cup Series is ten times tougher than the Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series. My only hope is fans will give the young man a chance to mature in that famous car. Of course I could be totally wrong, but history tells me that’s not going to be the case. Seeing Jeff Burton, Paul Menard, and at times Kevin Harvick struggle in RCR cars over that last few seasons, and considering the domination of the series by Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, it’s not going to be as easy as many think.

Now that we have that numerology out of the way, think about this for a moment. Last season, we had 36 races and two teams won 58 percent of the races. Chevrolet drivers won 16 times, Toyota won 14 times, and Ford Drivers won six. Hendrick Motorsports drivers won nine races and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers won 12 times. Maybe that’s the competition problem in NASCAR, and not any number of changes the sanctioning body is considering. We will tackle that and other issues next.

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