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Should NASCAR change its point system again?

By Jeff Brown

The answer to that question is, yes. I don’t mean totally overhaul the system as they did a few years ago, but just the adjustment that fans and drivers have been asking for since the beginning of time. The beginning of time would be 1949 A.D., the year of the inception of NASCAR. It needs a change that would deliver a weekly race where the participants would compete to win, not just to survive.

More points to win

The simple answer is to award more points for winning a race. If the race winner is granted a sizable point increase over second place then the emphasis would be on winning. The driver who wins the most races is probably going to qualify for the Chase. That’s right I would keep the current format of the Race to the Chase and then the Chase. Just award more points to actually win a race. Other racing series seem to reward winning more than consistency. NASCAR rewards the consistent driver who may never win a race. Now it’s unfair to compare series because NASCAR has clearly won the battle of the most popular and consistently outdraws other racing series by a lot, so it’s hard to question their decisions as the current system was well thought out and planned and no question an improvement over the past system. It always seemed that in the past by the final 10 races the championship was a forgone conclusion, the excitement of a close championship battle was a rarity rather than the norm. It’s quite clear that NASCAR knows how to respond to the fans need for a tight battle up to the last race of the season, the fact that last year’s champion won races this year and is considered one of the best drivers out there but didn’t qualify for the Chase is a call to NASCAR that the current point system is in need of an adjustment.

Bad race and your out

With the current system if one of the 10 drivers who qualified for the Chase has a bad race then their championship hopes are dashed. Some people feel that a driver can overcome a bad finish and still win the championship. It can happen, but only if the other nine drivers in the Chase each have at least one bad race also. That puts you in a position of hoping other drivers have problems when you have a problem. More points for winning would help erase a big deficit and force everyone to race to win and not for just a good finish. It seems that if a Chase contender is within the top 10 in the running order of a Chase race then they are content to just stay there and ride to top a 10 finish. The urgency to win takes a back seat to the fear of bad races. The fear of that one bad race affects the way the driver, team, and owner approach a race and directly influences the outcome. The team may setup the car to be more stable to drive so as not to wreck and that in turn makes the car slower and unable to compete for the win. The owner may tell a driver not to take unnecessary chances on the track, may cut practice short for fear of wrecking, and may take horsepower from the engine for fear of mechanical failure. Basically tie the hands of the driver and team from winning a race that if they were trying to win might have achieved. The fear of losing overshadows the desire to win. More points to win could overcome that fear and make racing the Chase what it was supposed to be, racing to win.

Next Time: Advantages of Multi-Car Teams

Break out the sombreros and pour the margaritas.

Montoya is coming to NASCAR!

By Joe A. Chestnut

NARANJA LAKES, FLA (October 25th, 2006)

For years NASCAR as lusted after the so called, Hispanic Market and rightly so.

Today's 10 million-plus Hispanic households will soar to 13.5 million by 2010, up from less than 6 million in 1990. These households will control $670 billion in personal income six years from now.

Hispanic households tend to be younger on average than the U.S. population at large. Of the more than 10 million Hispanic households, 38 percent are currently headed by someone under 35, and an additional 25 percent are led by someone between the ages of 35 and 44 (the national average for homes with heads under 35 is 23 percent.) By 2010, the under-45 Hispanic market will increase to 8 million households, and its purchasing power will leap from the current level of less than $295 billion to $397 billion. In other words, $3 out of every $5 flowing to Hispanic households in 2010 will be in the hands of this younger-than-average segment. Blah, blah, blah……..

I know these type of stats can go on and on till your eyes roll back into their sockets but these are the kind of statistics that make advertisers drool and with the addition of Juan Pablo Montoya NASCAR is ready to pass out the towels to wipe their chins.

NASCAR going after the Hispanic Market is nothing new. It has been going on for years with little success and in my view will continue to falter. The reason is simple. The boys in Daytona are making the same mistake many others are making. They are thinking that Hispanics, myself included, are one big happy homogenous ethnic demographic.

You see Hispanics are not joined together by some Grand Latin love. What NASCAR has so far failed to grasp is that we are an extremely nationalistic lot. There is a distrust among us despite of what “La Raza” tells Madison Avenue.

Mexicans do make up the largest part of the Hispanic market by far. Their numbers almost exceed the other Hispanic groups combined. But all Hispanics are not Mexicans. Far from it. And NASCAR doesn’t realize it.

Puerto Ricans, the 2nd largest group, are not Mexicans. Aside from language they really have nothing in common. Music, Food, Art and Customs are demonstrably poles apart. The same goes for Cubans, Columbians, Venezuelans and all other South American or Latin Caribbean nationalities.

Cubans in Miami celebrate Cinco de Mayo Just like Billy Ray in North Carolina. They go to Chili’s and drink watered down Margaritas. Columbians eat Burritos like people in Cincinnati…At Taco Bell. Dominicans chuckle when hear Mariachi Music. Brazilians. Well they just shrug their shoulders because they speak Portuguese not Spanish.

This brings me to Montoya’s foray into NASCAR. Despite all the fanfare spewed forth by the NASCAR PR. machine this announcement was met with a collective “So what?” by most except those in the Columbian community. Sure the Univision and Tele-Mundo networks reported it but what is 30 seconds of airtime to keep one group out of many happy?

The only Hispanics who paid attention who weren’t Columbian were the race fans and all they saw was a driver who had great talent only to waste it due to his bad attitude. We saw a driver whose 1st lap accident that he caused at the US Grand Prix and his refusal to accept blame was the well deserved straw that broke the Camel’s back.

We saw a driver who nobody in Champ Car would return his calls when he was desperately trying to save face and land a drive in a series that he believed was worthy of his presence. Even the floundering Indy Racing League didn’t want him. He finally landed with his old boss Chip Ganassi( who also owns a IRL team but knows where the Money is.) and NASCAR then having to wait weeks before Mercedes would release him to run.

How much of a bad taste did Montoya leave at Mercedes that they didn’t want him to race in a Dodge? Owned by the same company as Mercedes!

But the Boys in Daytona saw it different. They played it up as if Montoya left Formula 1 to race in a better series. I know. I know. But some people actually think NASCAR is in the same league as F-1.( I believe these are the same people who think Elvis is still alive.)

The best example of how Juan Pablo Montoya will not be the bringer of all things Hispanic took place in the 2000 CART race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was there that Montoya started the race as defending CART Champion to a packed house with thousands of Columbian fans only to drop out early. With his retirement from the race over half of the people in the stands picked up their Columbian Flags and left. They Didn’t Care about Helio Castro-Neves or Oriol Servia or any of the other Hispanic drivers.

NASCAR is, of course, getting some good press out of this. Particularly with the European press which has been coming down hard on Montoya for his expressing of displeasure with his European experience. The Latin American press covered it for a bit and has now all but is already starting to ignore it. Judging by the amount of Latin Press who attended his news conference at Homestead he is all but yesterday’s news.

I see one of two things happening with this.

Montoya starts to run up front and actually contend in the 2007 season. This will garner press but also bring up some pointed questions. Like how can a washed up F-1 driver arrive and start contending with a Mid-Pack team? Does that mean NASCAR drivers aren’t really the best in the world?

The other and most likely scenario will be that Juan Pablo will run at the back and fade to obscurity only to be mentioned when the NASCAR faithful want to prove that their drivers are the best in the world.

Either way Montoya’s Honeymoon with the press is quickly coming to an end and with his past history of antagonism to press and fans alike the boos he hears cascading from the stands will rival those of Kurt Bush and Jeff Gordon..

Fulford-Miami Speedway

By Anthony “Big Tony” Castaneira

MIAMI, FLA (Oct. 30, 2006)

We watch a Champ Car race these they with more than a bit of awe. Brutal, yet sleek looking missiles diving into turns at incomprehensible speed then blasting out of the turns of a concrete canyon at speeds that are close to defying physics. The driver slumped down low with their head exposed of the open cockpit machine, their eyes at the level of the wide rubber that glues them to the smooth asphalt.

We look at these drivers as modern day gladiators. Even with the latest in helmet design, crash tested chassis, 6-point harnesses, Flame retardant suits and Hans devices we admire the risks they take.

It is this belief that makes me wonder if those guys who raced at the Fulford-Miami speedway were brave, practically suicidal or just plan nuts.

I am sure most of you have never heard of the Fulford-Miami Speedway. I’ll be honest and admit that this Miami native had never heard of it until just a few years ago. The fact that most don’t know about it is as almost amazing as the fact that it actually existed.

I first heard of it while watching the Champ Cars race at the state-of-the art Homestead Miami Speedway. Little that I know that it would be the last Champ Car race there. But that is another story. A dear friend who worked for Ralph Sanchez, whose dream brought us the Homestead-Miami Speedway, must have saw the wonder in my eyes when she told me she had some photos to show me. I saw a 1920’s era Champ Car on a ridiculous high bank corner. I must have looked like a kid walking into a candy store for the first time when she told me that it was taken at the Fulford-Miami Speedway. I had to learn more and I did.

Transport yourself back to 1925. Miami is in the height of its Real-Estate boom which caused its population to jump from 30,000 in 1920 to 200,000 in 5 short years. Leading that Boom was Carl Fisher. The very same Carl Fisher who had built the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ever the entrepreneur Carl Fisher decided to make Miami the home of winter auto racing. But Mr. Fisher didn’t want to build just any track. He wanted to build the World’s Fastest Track and do it quickly and cheap. In 1925 there was only one way to build a track quick, cheap and that was fast. It was to be a board track.

Board tracks are just that. Tracks made of wooden boards. The first board track in the U.S. was constructed in California and used the same technology as was used in France for their Bicycle tracks. Soon board tracks were popping up all over the U.S. and were used for both auto and motorcycle racing.

Wood was cheap and plentiful as was labor. The downside of board tracks was the upkeep. As one can imagine the track took a beating during a race with the hard rubber tires of the times. During some Board track races they in fact had workers working under the track during the actual races repairing loose planks after the cars roared overhead.

Carl Fisher selected a area in Fulford-by-the Sea(Later re-named North Miami Beach) for his location, hired Ray Harroun, The winner of the 1st Indy 500 to design the track and quickly the nails were being pounded into wood.

To make sure the track was fast they built the 1 and ¼ mile speedway with 50 degree banking in the turns. For reference sake the highest bank track today is the Talladega Motor speedway with 33 degree banking. Even the famous “High Banks” of the Daytona Speedway are but a meager 31 degrees. At 50 degrees a car had to maintain a speed of over 110 mph to keep from sliding off.

Well the track was built and on February 22nd, 1926 twenty thousand fans, some of whom paid up to $15 for a box seat poured in to watch the Champ Cars roar.

Tommy Milton set the fastest time in qualifying with a speed of 142.93 MPH. This in a car in which the driver sat totally exposed from the waist up and the only safety gear was a pair of aviator goggles. They had no seatbelts as some actually believed they were safer if they were thrown clear of the car during an accident. No helmets were used. Remember this was the time of gentleman sport. Some of the drivers even competed wearing neckties. The cars they drove were front-engine roadsters with what looked like bicycle tires at the four corners. Suspension was a back bruising leaf-spring all around.

Now you are beginning to understand my Suicide or Nuts question.

Auto racing legend Barney Oldfield was the official starter for the race which was called the Carl G. Fisher Trophy. Modesty wasn’t Carl’s strong suit I assume. After 300 miles Peter DePaolo (the 1925 Indy 500 winner) was the victor with Harry Hartz less than a minute behind in 2nd. 19 cars started the race with 6 finishing, the must have been a grueling 240 laps.

Unfortunately this was to be the only race at the Fulford-Miami Speedway. On September 17th strong hurricane roared over the Miami area not only causing major damage to the city but totally destroying the Speedway. This happened when the great Miami Real Estate Boom was starting to go bust so the wood from the speedway thought to be of better use to rebuild damaged buildings on Miami Beach.

Today’s Champ Cars are marvels of technology and physics and the drivers in the series are arguably the best in the world but never forget those brave men who raced one time, under the bright Florida Sun. Long before most involved in Champ Car were even born.

NASCAR is dominated by Multi-Car Teams

By Jeff Brown

HOMESTEAD, Fla (November 13, 2006)

NASCAR has over time built itself into one of the biggest professional sports series in the world. It has record TV contracts that reach people all over the globe. They have also made attempts at attracting a wider diversity of fans but in most part have failed to capitalize on many markets that have yet to be tapped. They have a “Diversity Program” that has been mainly used in the past in South Florida at the Homestead race to try to appeal to the large Hispanic population, but without a marquee driver it also was a disappointment. NASCAR hopes Juan Pablo Montoya coming over from Formula One will change that. What does that have to do with Multi-Car Teams, you ask?

NASCAR Family Tradition

Since NASCAR was founded its participants have come from a small fraternity of family and long time racers who slowly over time become a tight-nit group that is hard for outsiders to break in to and some feel that multi-car teams contribute to the problem. If your brother races in NASCAR then you can too. Outsiders need not apply. To NASCAR’s credit they have tried and that means they understand and are not ignoring it totally, but you look at how many families have had two or more drivers racing in America’s top series and it proves it’s all in the family.

Here’s a few family names off the top of my head; Petty, Earnhardt, Labonte, Allison, Baker, Woods, Jarrett, Burton, (breathe) Waltrip, Parsons, Busch, and Sadler. Let’s not forget the biggest family, the France family, who controls it all. Now the funny thing is most brothers were not on the same teams. They had a good sibling rivalry but would help each other only when needed. Now we get to multi-car teams.

Haves and have-nots

Pretty soon we could have only three or four car owners that would own all the cars in the field giving less opportunity to even fewer drivers. Teams only need to look as far as siblings to find replacement or new drivers. New owners to the series face long odds at making it without also being severely outnumbered. Unless you have the dollars to field at least four cars in Cup competition then you find yourself behind the eight ball. Unable to invest enough research and development into one or two cars makes even attempting to breakthrough and be competitive a losing proposition. What we have is mega teams dominating and shutting out the small guy who are actually just like the pioneers of this sport and are now outsiders looking in. As it becomes more big business and less sport it becomes more apparent that corporate America controls the purse strings and want as much return on their investment as possible and that means mega teams with the resources that come with them.

Roush Racing, the one that started this trend, is now finding itself in a position of maybe stretching resources to thin and having to reorganize and maybe cut back. What was inevitable was that drivers start competing within the organization accusing one driver of receiving better equipment or man power and leaving the other with the short end of the stick. Drivers have huge egos and want the focus on them not their teammate.

NASCAR should, as planned, limit the number of teams one owner can field. I say two is the limit and NASCAR always listens to me, right?

Winners, losers and stepping in it.

By Joe A. Chestnut

Naranja Lakes, FLA (March 20, 2008)

The dust is still settling since last month’s announced merger of the now defunct Champ Car World Series and the apparently victorious Indy Racing League. The casualty list has still yet to be finally tabulated as bodies are still being pulled from the wreckage but slowly the haze is lifting from the battlefield and now the historians can start assessing who won, who lost and who really stepped into it.

Before continuing to read this opinion piece please realize that the whole story of this alleged merger may not ever be known. Many strange and bewildering events took place in the months, weeks even days before it became official. Business practices that would have made Gordon Gecko types call their mommies and a misinformation campaign that would have humbled G. Gordo Liddy. And that is what I know…..which isn’t nearly the whole story. But that is for another of my future attempts of Motorsports media immortality.

So here we go. The Winners, the Losers and who stepped into deep shit all because of the Open Wheel reunification.

Winner: The casual Open Wheel fan is the biggest winner. Now they won’t get confused about which series is which. Drivers with household names like Victor Meira, Tony Kannan, Ed Carpenter, Justin Wilson and Frank Perera can all be found together. Ok. I am kidding but at least fans can finally watch drivers with some name recognition on the track at the same time and not be confused about which series is which. Names like Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Sebastien Bourdais………..!!!!

Well at least you have “Twinkle Toes, the 11 year old Korean boy and the Andretti/Rahal kids.

Stepped in it: Tony George. No excuses. If you don’t bring Indy racing back to popularity rivaling the “Glory Days” everybody will blame you….and rightly so.

Loser: All the people who lost jobs because of the merger. This number is easily in the thousands. Not only some of the great people at Champ Car and the teams but all those who work for the different events that were cancelled and the suppliers for the teams.

Winner: Hardcore IRL fans: Go ahead and gloat.

Loser: Hardcore IRL fans: Well if you believe that real racers come from the dirt tracks in the Midwest, Road racing is for sissies and that CART everything that was wrong with Indy Car racing….Welcome to CART II.

Loser: Champ Car fans…..”Pass the tissues along with that beer will ya?”

Winner: The American LeMans Series (ALMS) is another big winner. Many of the hard core Champ Car fans are fans of any series that combines road racing and technology. Oval Racing is not for them. Driving nose to tail, side by side at full throttle lap after lap is not racing to them. So the ALMS is a natural choice for them to follow. The recent 12 Hours of Sebring had a distinct Champ Car vibe to it as I recognized many familiar faces from past Champ Car Paddocks. Forsythe, Walker and Rocketsports are all rumored to be looking into joining the series. Combine that with heavy manufacture support and a great TV schedule and things look bright for Don Panoz’s series. And in case anybody forgot with the demise of Champ Car there is a lot of TV time that now needs to be filled.

Stepped in it: Kevin Kalkhoven: Hailed as the savior of Champ Car and all that is pure in racing. You are now reviled as the Judas of the sport. Now you are just the owner of team. Well at least you have a backup career as a James Lipton’s impersonator.

Loser: Fans in Cleveland, Houston, Mexico City, Assen and everywhere else that lost a race with the merger. Hate to say it but they are never coming back.

Winner: Rally America. Arguably the most exciting racing series in North America (Actually there is no argument. If you don’t agree I am sure there is a NASCAR show on Speed for you to watch.). With one less series will it pick up the slack?

Loser: Danica Patrick: Now there will be even more drivers that will have to have mechanical issues and drop out before you can finally win a race.

Winner: International Speedway Corp is a winner with the fact that a merge series will create more fans for the series. More fans equal more people in the stands at their tracks. More people in the stands mean more $$$! How many more fans remain to be seen.

Loser: The Other IRL teams. By other I mean the teams that are not Andretti Green, Penske or Ganassi. You raced for a top 10 finish and the chance at the top if bad luck befell the frontrunners. Well now you have more teams to contend with. Do you really think That Newman/Haas/Lanigan will not be competitive right out of the box and join the Big 3?

Winner: Formula 1…..Why do I have a feeling that Bernie had a hand in this?

Loser: Mazda. I bet they are pissed! With all the news about the merger everybody seems to have forgotten the Mazda Atlantics Series.

Stepped in it: The former front office employee of Champ Car who planted false stories and deliberately lied in e-mails and internet postings all part of a misinformation campaign to weaken Champ Car.

We know who you are!.