Hey Tim did Nascar fine you? They didnt fine me either ---YET

If anyone missed this, you can find the whole article here:

http://tinyurl.com/36j7pnv

It's enough to make one cry...and I just might. NASCAR just refuses to "get it." The new regime whips in like dust in a tornado, rips up everything we'd loved for years on end, refuses to listen to fans with regard to anything, calmly pronounces, "It is what it is" and expects us to like it. Wrong!

No, we didn't like it, and we voted with our feet. Recently, when they could no longer deny those empty seats and sagging TV ratings, the powers that be decided that everything would change once again. Now, we have "Have at it boys", which so far has only resulted in on-track wars and heavy expenses for every car damaged or destroyed as a result of someone's little temper tantrum.

What are they thinking...or are they thinking at all? From its inception, NASCAR was in control of the situation, whatever the situation might be. When the drivers boycotted the first race at Talladega, Big Bill didn't just get mad, he told them to either race or leave the grounds. The race was run, though it was not NASCAR at its finest, to be sure. If you crossed him seriously...see: Curtis Turner or Tim Flock...you were banned for life, not given double-secret suspension. Bill France ruled with an iron fist...or a gun...and was the epitome of a dictator...but he was a benevolent dictator. Everything he did stemmed from a firm belief that it was best for the sport. (Don't get me going on "sport vs. show" today)

Young Bill followed suit, keeping hold of the reins, but with the help of R.J. Reynolds' excellent system of marketing, made far more money with NASCAR than his Dad had done. May they both rest in peace...but today, we have the third generation of the Family France seated at the helm, and in seven short years, he has managed to undo almost everything that his Father and Grandfather spent their lifetimes building.

Brian has, from the start, tried to fix what wasn't broken, but like most spoiled little brats has managed to break his brand new toy, all by himself. If they truly wanted to "fix" things, my advice would be to somehow erase all that has changed since January of 2003, including the IROC car known as the COT. Keep the safety features please...any and all of them...but there never was a reason why they couldn't have been incorporated into the "old" car...the one that still sorta, kinda resembled something you could recognize had once been a Ford, Chevy or Dodge...or Mercury, Olds, Buick, Pontiac...you get the idea.

Remove the incompetent child from authority and put Uncle Jim in that seat...as I believe Big Bill would have wanted. If Jim refuses the honor, then go with Mike Helton (I can't believe I said that), as he is the next best choice by a country mile. (Jim Hunter is sadly in failing health, or I would include him)

Lose that phony thing called the "Chase" and get real. Championships are not made in only ten races with only twelve (optional) drivers eligible. You just can't create a "playoff" when there is only one series to begin with. Now, it appears, they are once again about to "tweak" the format of that particular nightmare to institute some further sort of "eliminations." Here's a clue...eliminate the Chase!

Ah, but returning to the beginning of this rant, just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water...or back to the track...because drivers were once again being allowed...even urged...to show some of their individual personalities, as in the "old days", here comes the Gestapo, seemingly out of nowhere, making decrees and levying fines. Why? Because they had seen that the NFL and the NBA had done so and perish the thought that NASCAR should be seen as different than those two shining examples. Oh please!

Now, I happen to love NFL football...basketball, not so much...okay, not at all...but stick and ball sports bear absolutely no resemblance to motorsports other than that all charge exorbitant prices for the privilege of sitting in one of their seats. NASCAR was never the NFL, nor should it be. The sport is different, the thrill is different, and the skills are very different.

If drivers are knocking the sport, look to the reason, 'cause for sure you're not going to hurt them by going after their pocketbooks. Most of these guys carry $50K as "walking around money." And for goodness sake, don't get cute by "leaking" the fact that drivers are being fined but then add, "But we're not going to tell you who they are or what they said." That just ticks off the fans and is a far bigger turn-off than whatever a hot-under-the-collar driver might have said. One more tiny hint...you might want to stop attempting to interview those guys right after something nasty just occurred on the track. That's a sure way to hear things you might not want to hear.

Off the soapbox,

~PattyKay

I have not yet received my "official" notifcation from Daytona Beach, but I would expect, from what I see here, that Pkl will get one before I do. But then I would be in good company. As you may remember, several weeks ago I said, on the radio show, that I was going to give NASCAR the benefit of the doubt and try to support what it is doing because NASCAR made stock car racing what it is, or was. I did not take into consideration, apparently, that things would go this far. I'm just a lost soul in this evolution of the sport that raised me and which I loved so much. I was at the dirt track in Sumter, SC Saturday night with several Racers Reunion members and it was easy for me to know that the problem is not disenchantment with racing, but disenchantment with what NASCAR has become and is becoming. There are blogs right here on RR talking about Kyle Busch getting credit for wins in ALL divisions in an effort to put him above Cale, blogs about Duck Boy Edwards and whether or not his penalty is appropriate. Blogs about empty stands at races (I even wrote one). What is going on here? I don't have the answer. I'm hurting because my sport has desserted me. Apparently, however, I am not alone.

Based upon 40 years in corporate America, I can tell you that there is a definite life span to family run companies. The first generation who start the business and the second generation who are brought up helping build it under the direction of the first generation are usually successful. By the third generation you have the "born with the silver spoon in the mouth" 3rd generation who have no understanding of the business trying to run it. They usually have college degrees in business, management, marketing, etc., and try to run a Harvard Business School model business rather than run the successful model they were handed by their elders who understood the fundmentals of their particular business. The fourth generation usually ends up selling whatever is left from what the third generation screwed-up at bargain basement prices. NASCAR fits right into this model. When they started trying to appeal to an audience outside their core fan base with gimicks like "The Chase" and turn races into demolition derbies with phantom caution flags and "green, white, checkered flag finishes, they lost a lot of long time fans. They have pumped huge amounts of money into diversity, while the demographic group that has shown the greatest decline in interest in the sport is white males, age 18 to 35. It is great to try to expand your sport to new fans, but you cannot do it by alienating you existing core fan base. There are two more dynamics at work besides the obvious one of the general economy. Do not underestimate the impact of the loss of RJR (Winston) on NASCAR. It was a rock of stability and source of a money that fueled the growth of the sport. When RJR left, the stability and money that it brought to build the sport left with it. A partnership of mutual benefit and growth was replaced with how much short term bang can I get for the buck. The same thing happened when Busch and Craftsman left their respective series. The final, and perhaps most fatal blow to the sport was Ralph Nader. From the end of WW II to the early 1970's speed was king and "cruising" was an adolescent right of passage. Sixteen to eighteen year olds worked on their hot rods during the week and showed them off (and illegally raced them) on the weekends. That era ended with the demise of the muscle cars and the introduction of all of the environmentally friendly devices on the engine that, unless you were also a computer technician, precluded a shade tree mechanic from working on his own car. Take away the car, the brand identification that went with it and you have the loss of interest that is affecting NASCAR today.