Forum Activity for @andy-denardi

Daytona Speedway Tax Break Bill Racing Through Florida Legislature

Current NASCAR

I agree. Stick & ball sports have been getting these tax breaks for their stadiums, so NASCAR tracks should also get them. Indianapolis just cut a deal for the Speedway. BUT, I don't think that we should be giving them to anyone. No doubt there's an expiration date on these discounts and the stadium/track owner will tell you that they'll pay full price after that. But they won't. They'll have their representative write up new legislation to extend the deal or they'll pull a "Bruton" and threaten to take their business to another city/state. Tf "less government" meant cutting out these types of deals, I'd be all for it.Improvements to your house would make the neighborhood more attractive, which would inspire others to catch up. Wholesale improvement of the neighborhood encourages more people to want to live there. Higher demand raises real estate prices and that means higher taxes for the city. So Charlotte should pay your landscaping bill and waive your taxes for five years if you get the house painted.Charlotte paid for a large chunk NASCAR's Hall Of Fame and continues to suffer for it. When governments have too much riding on a specific business they tend to overlook any wrongdoing that may be occurring by the prinipals that run the business.

NASCAR puts muscle into the penalty system

Current NASCAR

New penalty system

Since I was so harsh on NASCAR for their new chase gimmick, it's only fair to mention that this new structure for dealing with penalties is one of the better things Brian France's NASCAR has done. They're no longer making it up as they go along, but actually writing down what the rules are and what happens when you break them.

If P5 and P6 infractions are found in post-race inspection, wins would not be eligible to be used to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship or to advance through the Chase rounds. And if the same car repeats an offense in the same category during the season, the penalty increases 50 percent above the normal standard.

updated by @andy-denardi: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

Racing History Minute - 1959 Daytona 500 (The First)

Stock Car Racing History

I rmember from reading all those car magazines in the early Sixties that the fuel economy runs were a big deal. There were always big ads from the winners. I also remember the rumors about the fantastic mileage of the Fish carburetor and how it was squelched by the big oil companies. I'm wondering if this story formed the basis for those rumors.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

That was one of the points scenarios listed in the link I posted yesterday.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

Yeah, they said that they could make exceptions if needed. You can call it the Jeff Gordon rule.

What will really hurt them is if they lose a couple of star players. Let's say that Junior led the points all year and gets a concussion at Talledega during the chase. He has to sit out two races and gets eliminated when he could have won the championship under the old rules. What if Stewart is out too, and their final four is Truex, Logano, Newman and Harvick. Hard to generate excitement for that line-up.

They don't want the Wood Brothers winning Daytona and the championship and only running four or five races. If they had Pearson driving I could easily see that happening. They know it's not impossible for a start & park team to win Talladega or Daytona and not run more than twenty laps in any other race.

Frankly, I don't see how a part-time team has the money and organization to compete for the championship and they are worrying about a problem that doesn't exist. But if they open it up to more than 30 teams then you've essentially gotten rid of the chase. The only reason they expanded it to 16 is because it's an easy number to do several eliminations on.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

This article says Homestead has the smallest seating capacity at 46000 of any of ISC's ovals. Only Watkins Glen is smaller. With all of cutbacks in grandstands lately, there's probably a reason why they chose Homestead to end the season. Daytona has three times as many seats and it hasn't been full lately. It looks real bad when nobody shows up for game 7 of your championship. Naturally they want to declare a sellout, and hope to brag that scalpers are getting Super Bowl prices for tickets. Ok, maybe Stanley Cup prices.

I think they should rotate at least half of the chase venues every year, with the result that the mix of speedways, road courses and small tracks would also change. But that probably would hurt the tracks.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

Another loophole in NASCAR's rules that's big enough to drive a transporter through...

According to NASCAR's press conference:

Q. Is there a minimum points standing that a driver who records a win during the first 26 races must achieve to make the Chase Grid?
A. Yes. A driver must be in the Top 30 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points following the first 26 races AND have attempted to qualify for all of the first 26 races.

Someone has told me that this means the only drivers who can qualify for the last ten races are those that are in the top thirty and have tried to run every race. Qualify for the race, not the chase. So there will be a maximum of thirty cars on the track. Can anyone confirm this interpretation of the rules?

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

I'm not sure they can fill Daytona during football season. I do think that Homestead is a lousy place to end the season. The track has no history or personality. I think Las Vegas or Fontana would be better but my vote would go to Phoenix because it seems like a difficult track to conquer and has produced good stories in the past.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

In case you missed it, NASCARNOMICS proposes at least four points systems that I feel are better than what we had and what we will have. There's even one that keeps the chase but puts more emphasis on wins during the season. Then they list what the outcomes would have been going back to 1975. Each has positive points and I can't decide which one I prefer. I would eagerly accept any of them over what we've just been handed.

I also liked this paragraph that describes the experience of being a NASCAR fan.

In stick-and-ball sports, fans become fans via geography -- because you grew up in Boston or Detroit, you are a fan of the Red Sox or Tigers. Outside of the Southeast, NASCAR doesn't have a geographical component, and becoming a NASCAR fan is more like becoming a fan of an underground band.

You buy one CD, like it, buy another, like it, and so on. You show up in a dank concert hall to watch them play. You meet other fans. You evangelize new fans. When new material comes out, you measure it against the old material. When the band hits it big, you brag you've been a fan for years and watch for signs of selling out. If the band starts venturing into new musical territory, you wonder what was wrong with the old sound. At some point the band stops being the band you loved and becomes something else.

Changes to the Chase - Chime In

Current NASCAR

I've read that under the new system, Junior would have won the championship and Kenseth would not have been eliminated before the final four race.

Bear in mind that Junior won 0 races last year and finished 5th in points while Kenseth was second in points and won the most races - 7. I don't think the fans will be pleased if the same scenario plays out in 2014. In fact, the lack of wins by the champion is said to be the reason that we have a chase in the first place.

I don't like it, but I've been wrong about some of NASCAR's previous decisions. It's official, there's no point in arguing. Although I'm surprised that there were no last minute changes. Since the story leaked, I have seen no positive reports in the media. They had at least a week to read those articles and fine tune things but nothing changed in the interim.