July 7, 2011
By Nicholas Schwartz
Dale Earnhardt Jr., far and away the sport’s most popular driver, is not happy about the current state of restrictor-plate
racing -- which now effectively cuts the field of drivers vying for the win in half, as every car is only as good as its partner.
And he wants tandem, two-car racing banished for good, never to be seen again.
That fact alone should have NASCAR executives scrambling to find an appeasing solution to what is a rapidly snowballing problem.
When your biggest draw and greatest asset pipes up and says something is wrong with the sport, you have to do everything possible to right the ship before the legions of loyal fans cry foul and withdraw their support.
A visibly frustrated Junior even implored the media to do their best in an effort to have the tandem style of racing revamped in a fiery post-race interview outside his hauler in Daytona, as he let loose a few too many expletives and did all but throw his hands in the air and beg for restrictor plate racing to go back to the way it ought to be, with 43 different drivers all gunning for the win and driving for themselves, for “No. 1” as Earnhardt called it.
"Been growing up all these years racin' for No. 1, lookin' out for No. 1, doing my job. This is what I need to do, I need to do this to get up through the pack,” Earnhardt said last Thursday before even taking to the track. “This is how my car drives. Now you are doing it so different. Your thought process and everything you think about during the race is nothing near that.”
Take some of the other Hendrick cars for example. Jeff Gordon, who is relatively safe in the standings at this point, and his crew chief Alan Gustafson openly admitted that if Gordon and his race partner, teammate Mark Martin, were in contention in the late stages of the race that under no circumstances would Gordon be the one leading the duo. Martin needed the points more to try and secure himself a spot in the Chase, and Gordon simply had to deal with it.
Who can say what might happen on October 23rd then in Alabama, when the Sprint Cup Series makes its stop at Talledega, already five races deep into the Chase, where it is entirely plausible that four Hendrick cars could be fighting for a championship.
Where do a five-time champion (Johnson), a four-time champion (Gordon), the sport’s most popular driver (Earnhardt) and perhaps its most respected driver (Martin) fall in the pecking order?
Tandem style racing not only unfairly divides drivers within their own team, with each tandem knowing well in advance which driver will be in front come the end of the race, but it calls into question the integrity of the event as a whole. Instead of racing to win yourself a championship, you could be forced to help improve your teammate’s position in the standings instead, and put yourself at a disadvantage later in the Chase. Moreover, tandem racing widens the already insurmountable chasm between the sport’s few power teams and the rest of the pack.
That is why it would behoove NASCAR to make the only real logical move it can with regards to restrictor-plate racing, and strip Talladega of its spot in the Chase.
I’m not saying Talladega is not a wonderful track, and an important place in the history of NASCAR. And I’m not necessarily saying that the races are not fun to watch as a whole -- who could forget the epic finish last week in Florida -- but if NASCAR wants it’s crowning achievement, the Sprint Cup, to remain a legitimate championship, it cannot have it be partially decided by a markedly unfair race. I’m sure Earnhardt would agree with me.
Instead of perpetuate a style of racing which goes against every natural instinct a driver has -- the instinct to win, and do everything you can to beat everyone else in the field -- why not make the Chase more respective of its requirements for entry, and include a road-course race? It may be a little cold in Watkins Glen around Halloween, but a date swap with the fall Talladega race would give fans a scintillating trio of races throughout October, with the Glen sandwiched between a race at Charlotte and one at Martinsville.
The possibilities are endless for a potential schedule shake-up, but one thing is for sure: There will be partner-racing at Talladega this October. Fans can hope that their favorite driver is the one leading the train that day, and not the one hopelessly pushing from behind.
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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