Last week was the induction of another class into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Fireball Roberts, Jack Ingram, Maurice Petty, Tim Flock and Dale Jarrett. It was a wonderful evening and I want to thank Matty McDaniel, grandson of Fireball Roberts, for the invitation to the evening events. Matty and his entire family are really fine folks and let me tell you those folks at the NASCAR Hall of Fame give the very best service you will ever get anywhere. What a precise group of folks.
This week the Winter Olympics get underway in a seaside resort area of Russia where there is more emphasis on security than anything else. Somehow this just doesn't sit right with me. I will, as always, watch parts of the Olympics as there are certain events I enjoy. Certainly the opening ceremony, although most times too long and too inundated with Bob Costas' pointless remarks, is, nevertheless, an impressive event.
Oh, and one more thing! Last week was the media tour for the NASCAR folks in Charlotte. The press corp was in full force to ask questions and interview the drivers about the upcoming season which gets underway in just a few days. There were questions and answers flying around like flies at a June picnic near a pig farm. I admire those drivers who answer the same things over and over without reacting alike a congressman who recently promised to "break you in half" to a member of the press.
Last week was also the massive snow storm (2 inches where I live) that absolutely shut down Atlanta and will be long remembered as Atlanta failing to heed the warnings while South Carolina schools closed when there was no snow, no ice, and no reason other than the weather prognosticators telling them the snow would be falling. The fact that the snow was about 8 hours late arriving in South Carolina did not deter the local television station from touting the fact that their "weather team" was on target with the prediction.
Thursday of last week, as the snow was melting here, the rumored changes to the dreaded "Chase" were made official as Brian Z. France made the formal announcement in Charlotte. I am certain that every one of you listening tonight, or who will read this later, have already read of the changes to the Chase and have read probably hundreds, if not thousands, of comments on social media sites everywhere . I will not go into the details of the changes but I am going to take this opportunity to follow-up on what I've already said in a Forum post on the subject and in a response to the beautifully written and well expressed opinion of our fearless leader, Jeff Gilder.
But first, let me ask you all a couple of questions, or more accurately, what am I describing in the following:
1. Force exerted on a thin metal cylinder will cause the metal rails to slide along the glass rails until the metal cylinder is loosened from its moorings.
2. Heat crystalline carbohydrate at 350 degrees for 2.5 minutes then add other ingredients and heat at 280 degrees for 8 minutes.
Well, do you know? The answer to number ONE is opening a jar. Answer to number TWO is a recipe for making Candy. Would it have not been more simple to just say "opening a jar" or "making candy"? I had to laugh when recalling these examples from a cell phone advertisement from years ago while at the same time admitting that I know people who often prefer the complicated version to flaunt their supposed superior intelligence. That gets a big HA HA from me.
Remember the simple ways of racing in the early days? Get a car, either from the showroom or sometimes from the junk yard, and race it. Then roll bars came along, beefed up suspensions and engine modifications. What started as stock car racing prior to World War II evolved into what we have today where there is nothing stock about stock car racing. I have seen the hand-made tools both in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and those Bill Blair has actually allowed me to touch, that were both imaginative and crude by today's standards, but did their job and did it well.
We are approaching the time of year when the drivers of the early period of racing were preparing their cars to head for Daytona and the sands of the beach. In the Piedmont of South Carolina, the red clay of Georgia, the cold and damp sheds and barns in North Carolina, and in the foothills of Virginia, a driver and his one or two-man crew were making all necessary preparations to tow, or even drive the race car, to compete for the trophy on the sands. I can just feel the anticipation of the guys huddled in the old barn putting the finishing touches on the cars as it misted rain outside and the cold wind blew through the cracks in the barn walls. Things were simple then. Men raced for the glory of winning more than for the money because, truthfully, there was not that much money to be made unless you were winning. Seems I recall Bopper relating a story about some drivers receiving socks as the reward for where they finished at Daytona.
As I have said before, the awarding of points for the Championship in NASCAR has undergone a number of changes throughout the years. When I have time, I'll go back and try to figure out how many times the formula has been changed but believe me it has been many. As I have also said before (sorry Chase) I absolutely detest The Chase. As so many have said, a champion should be determined from the combined efforts of the season. However, the one drawback to that scenario is that it is possible to have a champion that did NOT win a race during the season. Check out the Nationwide from this past year.
When The Chase was instituted, what, 10 years ago, I spent the first few weeks after that announcement trying to determine whether or not I would like that option for determining a Champion. When all was said and done, I did NOT like what it represented. It seemed to me, as to so many others, that only the last 10 races really mattered and that all the other competitors but the 10 in the Chase as was first used, were not important. When the field was extended to 12, it did nothing for me as that still left a bunch of other guys out of the picture. I mean that literally. Reason being is that television coverage of races, for which sponsors of the teams pay big bucks to be seen on television, concentrated mostly on the cars in the Chase. The only options for a non-Chase competitor to get some sponsor time on television was to be leading or experience trouble. Blame television for that one, but, ultimately, it was the fault of the The Chase.
The 2013 season, as we all remember, was a fiasco when it came Chase Time. Thanks to Michael Waltrip Racing and the spin of Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr., who should have been IN the Chase, was OUT and Jeff Gordon, who should not have been in the Chase was IN. The worse part of that travesty was that Clint Bowyer who caused all the mess was allowed to stay in the Chase. I wonder if the new "elimination" rule would have gotten him out after the first three races this year.
Repeating, I do not like The Chase. I think a Champion should be crowned from his accomplishments for the year. (I did not include a "her accomplishments" in this statement because by the time Sparkle Pony can compete for a Championship it won't matter). The Chase has, from its inception, been some kind of Voo Doo Championship. What is proposed for the new season is no better with the exception that it does reward winners and that is as it should be. As for eliminations after 3, 6, and 9 races, leaving only four drivers to slug it out at Homestead in November, came from a twisted view of what fans want. I can see so many scenarios where this will lead to mass confusion as NASCAR tries to determine if Jeff Gordon intentionally took out Denny Hamlin so Dale, Jr. could finish in the highest spot to win his first title. That could get very interesting.
When Daytona cranks up next week, all the competitors will be starting with a clean slate and have the same opportunity to show what they have throughout the season. There will be mechanical malfunctions, fuel mileage issues, and accidents, but they are all equal when the flag falls at Daytona to start the race. How that "equality" will play out with this new Chase format is an unknown to be feared.
It was simple once. It could be again, but as long as there is a Chase involved and not the direct awarding of points throughout the season for the drivers' performance throughout the season, we are going to have problems. Brian wants to make this a 7th game proposition, but as Patrick Reynolds has so properly said, this is no "stick and ball sport". Certainly the Super Bowl should have been proof enough that those special 7th game deals don't always work in stick and ball, and they aren't likely to work in racing.
I have been a fan of stock car racing for 62 years. I own NASCAR caps, NASCAR jackets, flags, badges, decals, labels, and even shoes. I have never turned my back on NASCAR although they don't get any of my money these days, or at least very little. I have resolved (not a New Year's type) to enjoy each race as it comes, as I always do, and not think about who is leading the points and who is qualifying for The Chase. I realize that money drives the sport these days in all areas. Technology is so advanced that I can't even understand half of what they talk about mechanically. I dislike "aero push", "drag" and "tandem drafting". I dislike some of the Prima Dona personalities in racing, both in the driver's seat and in the press. I dislike Fontana, California, not the entire town, just the track. I am not a fan of Chicagoland. But that only matters to me as not one single person with NASCAR has asked me what I think. Not one single person in marketing with any major sponsor has asked me what I think. The brand loyalty I once had for NASCAR sponsors, however, has "gone with the wind". What WAS will not likely return in my lifetime, but I do hope the memories of what racing was like before changes began around the turn of the century will never disappear. Long live those memories.
