January 20, 2010
By Chuck Abrams
Thanks to all of you who wrote in and let me know your thoughts on last week’s topics. While most of you were sensible, a few were not. In either case, I appreciate the time you all take to read anything I write and then take even more time to share your thoughts with me.
Last week on www.racetalkradio, we debated the topics I wrote about with the question being: is NASCAR making these changes for money and not safety reasons?
Show host Dennis Michelsen has a good point. We all know that the all-important TV viewership as well as fan attendance has been dropping the past few years and NASCAR saw an even more dramatic fall off last year. TV generates money and that is what keeps the wheels from falling off the bus down in Daytona.
I applaud NASCAR for making an effort to improve the product on the track and I really don’t think they will sacrifice safety for the sake of viewership. NASCAR is nothing without its star drivers and they cannot risk losing them or appear to not be interested in their collective safety.
We also discovered, thanks to a loyal listener, that NASCAR did indeed test a spoiler and wing together before they mandated the wing on the new car. That tells me that for whatever reasons, NASCAR did believe that the wing produced a better racing product than the spoiler.
So just weeks away from the Daytona 500, NASCAR has made it (almost) official that the winged COT is going the way of the dodo. We will probably see the much-maligned wing through the first five or six races depending on how testing goes. Then we will see a metal spoiler (not see-through Lexan as offered up by Michael Waltrip) much like the older design going forward. The new spoiler will be manufactured by a NASCAR provider and sold to the teams.
I have contended that the wing is responsible for the airborne acrobatics we have come to fear and I hope the new spoiler will decrease the cars tendency to get so high in the air when spun at high speeds. Perhaps even a tweak to the roof flaps might be in order. A “shark fin” will be added to the rear window areas on the superspeedways as well. In any case, just how the spoiler affects the overall racing product remains to be seen. Let’s hope if is for the better.
Shorter races? Another change that I have to give a huge thumbs up to is the October race at Fontana, CA shifting from 500 to 400 miles. Not only is Fontana now a much shorter race late in the year, it has the potential to change up the winners. A Roush or Hendrick car has won ten of the last fifteen and nine of the past ten races there. Maybe someone else will have a shot this year. Please.
But don’t think that all races are going this way. Phoenix added about 60 laps to its spring race in an attempt to mix up the winning cycle there. Aside from Kevin Harvick sweeping the races there in 2006, a Hendrick car has won the last six races and Johnson has four of those. The additional laps will add about thirty minutes to the race and hopefully, a new winner.
More races to ESPN? Speaking of races going a certain way, ESPN is moving most of the races it shares with ABC to ESPN this year. 14 of the 17 races will be on ESPN this year, compared to six the past few years. So starting July 25th, only three races will be on ABC and all others, including nine of the ten Chase races will be on ESPN. Why is this happening? You guessed it, higher ratings. I would love to know what you all think about this. I have heard from fans for years, especially older fans, that they do not have anything but basic cable, if even that.
So will this impact your ability to watch races in the second half of the season?
Let me know.
Lastly. Nelson Piquet, Jr. has expressed his desire to leave F1 and join the ranks of NASCAR. His claim to fame is his 2008 Singapore crash that was allegedly orchestrated to allow his Renault teammate to win. Piquet was fired by Renault last July. If he makes it, look for him in a Camping World truck in a town near you. Or selling hot dogs at a track near you.
By next week we should hear what NASCAR has in mind for those danged yellow line and bump drafting rules.
Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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