Smoke Screen: 5 Reasons Why The 2009 Season Has Been A Disappointment
by PB on Aug.31, 2009, under Smoke Screen
1.Rain Shortened Races-When two of the sport’s biggest races (Daytona 500 and Coke 600) are shortened by rain something is terribly wrong. Now, obviously you can’t control the weather, but you can certainly control what time the green flag drops. Not to mention that most of the tracks have lights installed; but that’s beside the point. What ever happened to the days of early racing? Well, it’s simple…they are a thing of the past. In this day and age the producers and the networks have the last say. Early start times get pushed back to make room for the hour and a half long pre-race show. Ridiculous. Could someone tell why they need an hour and a half again? That’s time you could be using for racing. The time has come to ditch the ridiculously long pre-race shows and start the races earlier.
2.Clean Air-It’s all about track position and clean air when it comes to racing these days. And it’s not limited to just the Sprint Cup Series. Both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series are dealing with the same problem as well. I thought the COT was supposed to fix this problem? I can see why it would be happening in the Nationwide Series, but not in the Cup Series. The engineering and the technology have become so advanced that it’s almost taken the drivers completely out of the equation. I guess with engineering and downforce now the name of the game, it’s become apparent that it’s less about the guy behind the wheel and more about the guys on top of the pit box. Guess that would explain why more drivers like Dale Jr, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch are starting to speak out about the need for drastic changes.
3.Start and Park Teams-Ray Evernham said it best when he said the “Start and Park” teams have become a “slap in the face” to NASCAR. Look, we understand that the economy is bad and that it’s hard to make ends meet right now for the smaller teams but it can’t be profitable to show up and run for a handful of laps just to pay the tire bill. If you can’t show up with the intention of running the full race then don’t show up at all. Take a page out of the Wood Brothers or Furniture Row Racing’s playbook. Pick and choose which races you can show up at and be competitive. Don’t show up and take a spot away from a team that could really use the track time just for the sake of breaking even. If Cup isn’t your thing then make attempts at the Nationwide or Camping World Truck series level. With hours of TV coverage devoted to all three series you could still find time to get your sponsor some good, quality air time. Bottom Line: If you are good enough to make the race you are good enough to finish the race.
4.Carl Edwards absence from Victory Lane-Where is the ‘08 version of Carl Edwards? At this time last year the 99 bunch looked unstoppable. Fast forward a year and the team has yet to find victory lane. Granted he and his team are solidly in the Chase, but the fans like it when this guy wins and it’s been disappointing to see him fall off from his pace of a year ago. You know, when Dale Jr was doing tons of commercials or making appearances on TV shows the media started to go after him. Especially when the results didn’t match the hype or expectations.
5.Dale Earnhardt Jr-From the green flag back at Daytona all the way up until the most recent checkered flag at Bristol this team has been a lightning rod of controversy. From the pit road mistakes all the way up to the crew chief change this team and its driver have been on the hot seat. The struggles and woes of the 88 have even taken its toll on the ratings and attendance as well. When Dale Jr is at the front and competing for the win the ratings and attendance soar. Don’t believe me? Go back and listen to the crowd when he took the lead a couple of weeks ago at Michigan. Still don’t believe me? Go back and check out the ratings from Michigan and Bristol. Plain and simple NASCAR needs this guy to win or at least contend for the win week in and week out. It’s why, love him or hate him, he is still the face of the sport.
Honorable Mention:**Richard Childress Racing-Not having at least one team in the Chase is both unacceptable and unbelievable. This is the same organization that won 6, count ‘em 6, championships with Dale Earnhardt. Looks like the collapse of GM affected this team the most.
**Racing/Qualifying in the rain at Montreal-For those of you who think rain tires are the answer to rain outs or rain delays go back and watch the last 15 laps of the Nationwide race at Montreal. It was a disaster. It was like watching a figure 8 or school bus race down at the local short track. It was by far the worst decision NASCAR has made in quite some time.
**The Jeremy Mayfield Saga-Need we say more?
Enough of what I think….what’s on your mind? Now that the smoke has cleared from Kyle Busch, Ryan Briscoe, and Carl Edwards’ burnouts it’s time to hear from you in this week’s edition of Smoke Screen.
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August 31st, 2009 on 9:36 AM
Earnhardt won 6 titles with Childress. His first one came with Rod Osterlund. Just sayin’.
August 31st, 2009 on 10:03 AM
You said yourself that the COT is less about the driver. Edwards has had a few shots to win this season in the Cup Series but either the crew or the car have let him down. Martinsville, dominant car. Came in 2nd, came out 9th, cut a tire racing with Reutiman, went 2 laps down in the pits. Texas, lost the race on pitroad on the final stop to Gordon. Gordon had clean air and drove away. Watkins Glen, very fast but could never get track position. Need I mention the last lap of Talladega? Edwards overdrew on the luck bank last season. He is still very fast and an unbelievable talent, one of the top 5 drivers in the Cup level. Between team issues and bad luck, he hasn’t won a race.
August 31st, 2009 on 10:29 AM
The start-and-park cars need to go. Morgan Shepherd may not run up front, but at least he runs the entire race unless there is a legitimate reason to be behind the wall.
August 31st, 2009 on 11:45 AM
Thanks for the correction juan! I forgot he had already won his first championship before he got to RCR.
August 31st, 2009 on 2:23 PM
I agree with this a lot-especially number 1. When it comes to Montreal, I think that it is the wrong track for NASCAR. We need a better track. It takes over a minute and a half to run the track in the dry, over two in the wet. Running in the rain isn’t such a bad idea, but Montreal overall isn’t the right track for stock cars. We need to find another Canadian racetrack.