August 12, 2007
By Kim Roberson

Kim Roberson

Today marks the last road course race for the 2007 season. Every time we come to a track where we turn both ways, there is debate as to whether we need to have any road course races in NASCAR

Jeff Burton commented earlier this week that while he doesn’t mind road course racing, he doesn’t understand why they do it if there isn’t a road course race in the Chase. If the Chase is supposed to be indicative of the entire season, then it ought to have every kind of track that is raced during the course of the year.

Mark Martin is not racing today because he thinks road racing isn’t really racing, but a fuel mileage game. The best car on the road course is on that gets the most out of a gallon of gas, not the one that races hardest and has the best driver in his opinion. He’d rather sit at home and watch it on TV than be a part of it on the track.

That said, a lot of the drivers in Nextel Cup say they look forward to road course races. Kyle Busch and J.J. Yeley and others who cut their teeth in go-carting or open wheel racing like the chance to get back to the tracks of their youth, where they honed the racing skills that led them to the sport's top tier.

There is a lot of complaining about the so-called road course “ringers”, who take the seats of the regular drivers; PJ Jones in for David Reutimann, Ron Fellows in for Tony Raines, Patrick Carpentier in for Scott Riggs. That said, if you look at the history of having a ringer in the seat, none of them have actually won a Cup race. They may get better finishes, but they have yet to steal a win from a NASCAR regular.

What do the fans think about road races? Personally, I like them. I thought last weekend, which admittedly was not a normal race, was great. It was exciting at the end, with cars spinning each other out, bumping each other off the track, and Robby Gordon thumbing his nose at the officials. (Robby has since stated he learned his lesson and he won’t do it again…).

I posed the question “Do you think a road course race should be in the Chase” to my usual group of suspects, and got the usual across the board answers.

“I'd love to see a road course in the Chase. The thing I like the most about road courses is that last pit stop. Cars short pitting thinking they can make it on fuel and hoping a caution comes out puts them right at the front. It's such a mix-up at the end of the race, it's just fun to watch.” said Conrad, a Kasey Kahne fan.

“I think it should be three road courses a year with one in the Chase. Better yet, maybe we can make it a street (course) race instead of a specific course that way it can be moved to a different location every year.” says Betty, a Casey Mears fan.

Shantell, a recovering Mark Martin fan, says “I'm not a big fan of the road courses. If it were up to me, there wouldn't be a track over 1-mile long on the whole circuit. I loves me some short tracks!”

Corky, the owner and operation of LLMS (found at Daytona, Turn 3, every year) added “Give us road races that have two groves. Every other race has at least two.

The road races become such a follow the leader its boring waiting for them to get back to turn whatever where they can pass.”

Deb, a fellow Michael Waltrip fan says “I agree with Jeff Burton that there should be a road course race in the Chase - I think the eventual Champion should be able to show over those last ten races that they're a well-rounded driver who can race well on every type of track that NASCAR goes to. I'd just drop one of the ovals out of the Chase. I'd say Kansas because I don't particularly care for that track, but one point they made this morning on Sirius was regarding having to think about the markets these tracks are in and they probably need to keep a track in the Midwest as part of the Chase.”

Road courses add adventure to the usual left turn life of the oval tracks. In some cases, like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, it shows that drivers have the ability to drive on any track, any surface, and win regardless of where they are. I do agree with Jeff Burton that if they have road courses during the season, they need to have one during the chase. Whether they move one of the current races to the fall, or add a whole new track, like the Daytona or Indy road courses or going someplace like Sebring, it should be a true test of the drivers ability, not just a mileage game. Following the leader is something children do, not something that highly paid race car drivers should do on a race track.

On a quick side note, I want to give Robby Gordon a pat on the back. Despite all of his craziness last weekend, he attempted to right a wrong by giving Marcos Ambrose a chance to race today. Apparently, the idea wasn’t actually his, but a fan's. Robby said he was reading through some of the thousands of e-mails he received after last weekends debacle, and one fan stated if he wanted to do the right thing, he ought to offer Marcos a ride this week in a Cup car. Robby immediately picked up the phone, made a few phone calls, and in 24 hours, had a ride ready to offer Marcos. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to ruin that opportunity, but it was the thought that counted. And Robby has stated that he will try and find a race for Marcos sometime before the end of the season.

For that, I give Robby a thumbs 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.