This old fan is still glowing with pride and gratitude for a gentleman named Andy Hillenburg, whose perseverance and belief in the old Rockingham track brought real racing back after a long and tedious period of drought. Think back, if you will. When was the last race you saw that might compare to that Truck race last Sunday? (Hint) If you’ve been a race fan for less than ten years, you’ve never seen the type of racing I’m talking about.
I’d wager that many might agree on the 1998 Daytona 500, where fans both in the grandstands and in their living rooms were on their feet screaming for a black #3 as Dale Earnhardt took the checkers in his 20th try at the race that so long eluded him at his best track.
Not an Earnhardt fan? That’s OK. Think back even further, to the season finale at Atlanta in 1992, a race that proved all too soon to have been the Race of the Century for oh, so many reasons. It was the last race for “King” Richard Petty, and the first race for a young driver named Jeff Gordon. The race was won by Bill Elliott, but the “war” was won when Independent driver Alan Kulwicki was crowned the 1992 Winston Cup Champion.
So why don’t we see races like those today? The answer is “Change” and no, I’m not being political in any way. In a very short time frame, we lost Dale Earnhardt (2001 Daytona 500), experienced a major changing of the guard with the retirement of “Little Bill” France and the assent to the NASCAR throne of his son, Brian France along with Mike Helton assuming the office of President of NASCAR.
With the new regime, fans were introduced to concepts such as “The Chase”, the “Lucky Dog rule”, the “guaranteed start” for the top-35 in points and that was only the beginning. Enter the “COT” or Car of Tomorrow. With the COT came an endless number of templates specifying the exact configuration required to even take the car on the track. It became known as “parity.”
Around the same time that we adopted all of those “Changes”, there began a rash of track repavings. Really? Is it wise to rip up every track on the circuit in the name of parity? Add to that the tires. Those round rubber things that “meet the road” under the car are perhaps the most important part of that car, so who chooses them, Goodyear tire and Rubber Co., acknowledged experts in their field? No way! The tires have to conform to NASCAR’s demands. I have a problem with that. Your results may vary.
Can we ever get it all back? I'm sorry to say there is no way that will happen, despite the dreams of the very old. Time marches on and conditions change with circumstances. But what are the things that should be considered first in returning racing to being about the race?
From the top of your program down:
Parity is a fine thing… in some contexts, but racing is not one of them! Racing, by definition, is all about who is fastest; who arrives at a given point first? Speed is obtained or increased through knowledge and adjusting to conditions. If no changes are allowed to the engine or the chassis, then all of the cars are alike. They might indeed arrive at “Parity”, but even the definition of that word presents the antithesis of “Racing.” Ask the good folks that ran the IROC series.
Tires are important. They don’t just allow a vehicle to roll. In racing, they can be everything or anything… your best friend, if you show them some love, or your worst enemy if you don’t. In a racing concept, tires should, and must, conform to the asphalt they’ll be meeting at the upcoming race. Goodyear does a fine job of testing to find the best combination of tires for any given track. (Well, almost… there was that thing at Indy around 2008) Listen to them! In a perfect world, parents should not outlive their children, nor should tires last longer than a tank of gas can take them. Tire wear makes thinking imperative. Learn to deal with it!
Pavement is merely a substitute for dirt! Sometimes, it’s a poor substitute, and most of those times occur when it’s brand new. Unless that pavement, like Daytona and its infamous sinkhole, or Martinsville, puking chunks of cement through grilles, becomes a danger to drivers or fans, leave it alone! Keeping up with the Joneses is NOT a part of racing.
This year, we saw the complete travesty that new pavement brought to one of, if not the best tracks on the circuit when the cars rolled off at Bristol. Yes, the racing was side-by-side, but it wasn’t "Bristol style racing." It seems that the fans prefer the rough and tumble, knock ‘em out of the way racing. Me too!
*Note to Bruton Smith: I loved your offer to “put it back the way it was”, but I really hated it when you asked the good State of Tennessee taxpayers to pay for it. They didn’t rip it up in the first place. That was all your idea.
Those are just a few of the items that could be considered in putting the “race” back in racing, and they’re only my own ideas. Others have other ideas, and that, thank goodness, has not yet been prohibited. You’ve heard some of mine, off the top of my (very hard) head. I’d love to hear yours as well. All I know at this point is that I saw a race last weekend that put me to sleep. BUT… I saw a race the next day that kept me glued to my TV and cheering in my living room. Certainly, there was a vast difference between the two, and I know which one I preferred. How about you?
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