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5 Minutes in the Pits

Written by RickfromFowler

Sunday, 14 January 2007

NASCAR's Super Bowl

I spent most of yesterday afternoon working on my race car as we enter 100 days till the Michigan Short Track season kicks into gear. 2006 ended in rather rough fashion for LSR Racing and it took several months of just staying away for me to "get over it". Mentally, I've been over it for a couple of weeks... nothing like Daytona Thunder, the early testing sessions for the Daytona 500... to rekindle the fire and get you looking forward to the next season and forgetting about the last season.

Talking about next season, fans and newcomers to NASCAR will be hard-pressed to find something that remains the same from the 2006 season entering the 2007 season. Not even the TV station that covers the race itself, or the size of the cars out on the track are the same.

The sport featured similar changes going into the 2001 Winston Cup season. FOX and NBC/TNT signed a huge deal to broadcast Cup races, leaving ABC/ESPN, CBS, TBS, and TNN (now Spike TV) without NASCAR. Dodge was making a comeback to the sport after a lengthy hiatus, and two new tracks entered the tour (Chicagoland, Kansas). This year, ABC and ESPN return to the sport, outbidding NBC to broadcast NASCAR's premier series for the first time since November 2000.

The Star of Cars

Many skeptics will be interested to see how well the TV ratings are for NASCAR, as, for the first time in awhile, ratings seemed to have plateued, with most races either matching the rating from the previous year, or doing slightly worse. Some think that it's because of the length of the races, which can range from 3 to 4 1/2 hours, some even longer. Whether or not NASCAR decides to shorten some of its 36 races on the schedule somewhat depends on how the TV ratings for this year wind up.

One thing that may play into the TV ratings is how much drama and/or action the Chase for the Nextel Cup produces. It was announced a few days ago that more drivers will be eligible for the Chase, but no word on how many more. Also, more points will be awarded to the winner, which may treat fans to more drama in the final laps of races, and may, in turn, increase TV ratings.

COT : Love it or Hate it ?

Perhaps the most intriguing question entering Daytona testing is how the Car of Tomorrow will perform when it makes its debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25th. Most teams, drivers, and fans all have a gripe or two (or 12) on it; “Backward”, “Ugly”, “Ridiculous”; all have been used to describe the “Car of Tomorrow” (COT). And some fans and sportswriters have gone so far as to use the word “hate”.

Ugliest Car Ever ?

Beauty is obviously in the subjective eye of the beholder. People really dislike change. Remember when the 1986 Ford Taurus hit the showroom... the upside down bathtub that every one hated... and it went on to become the best selling car of the 90s. Some of the most famous cars in NASCAR had a radically different look then the cars before it.

This '66 Chevelle got banned

Consider Smokey Yunick’s black and gold ’66 Chevelle. Smokey knew about aero long before anyone else, and Yunick was a forward thinker and applied his knowledge effectively. He frequently tweaked his cars to the edge of the rules or beyond, but boy, was that one beautiful racecar. By the way... I'll give away free triple admin rep for the first person to comment to this story with why Yunick's 66 Chevelle was ultimately found to be illegal.

So fast NASCAR outlawed car

Then there was Richard Petty’s 1970 Plymouth Superbird. This car was hated in the day and has now become so popular in the racing world and the muscle car world that it starred in this summer's kids blockbuster “Cars” as "The King". It is also the mostly highly prized and expensive car you will find at Barrett-Jackson's annual classic car auction. The Superbird, and the similar Dodge Daytona, had it all. A long, stable wheelbase, 426 cubic inches of stump-pulling power with no restrictor plates, and a shovel nose and (gasp!) a huge wing on the rear.

The COT is also simply a template car. But, the advantages are undeniable and are to NASCAR and Gary Nelson’s credit. The car is bigger, giving more energy dissipation capability, and it places the driver more toward the center of the chassis. These and other advantages are huge steps forward in safety. Additionally, it will give us better racing. Aero-push and mile and a half tracks have turned the sport into a yawner for many weekends out of the year. The new car is going to promote passing and allow side-by-side racing. And going three wide is what racing is all about.

Of course, we can't forget the simmering Dale Earnhardt Jr story. Could Dale Earnhardt Jr. be moving on from Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) to another team? Where could Junior go? What team would he go to?

The obvious choice one would think would be Richard Childress Racing (RCR). They have gone as far to say that if Earnhardt wants the #3 car he can have it. That in itself is could be a big incentive for Earnhardt.

But you have to wonder, if getting out of his father's shadow at DEI means getting into his father's car at RCR, is that really stepping out on your own ?

Red Sun rising on NASCAR

In the end, NASCAR would probably interfere to make sure that Earnhardt stays at DEI, because with out Jr. there is no DEI. Without DEI there is not a connection to the legacy and the merchandise that keeps many of the old fans coming back to the racetrack and buying that all important DEI merchandise.

Toyota will become the first foreign manufacturer to enter the series in its 59-year history. Toyota entered the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 with many expectations as to how well they would do in their inaugural season in NASCAR. It took them until July to win their first race, but since that win, many more wins have followed, and last year saw the top 6 all from the Toyota camp, and 7 of the top 10 en route to their first manufacturer's championship. Many are afraid of Toyota driving other manufacturers like Chevy, Ford, and Dodge out of the series, and if that happens, what will happen in the Nextel Cup Series in a few years when Toyota gets experience and a few wins under their belt?

Open Wheel Champ Joins NASCAR

We'll wrap this up talking about the 2007 rookie class. This years crop of driver's is more diverse, more talented and come into NASCAR from more different backgrounds then ever before, featuring Colombia-born former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, former Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger, Busch Series graduate Paul Menard, and Truck Series graduate David Reutimann among others contend for the Rookie of the Year Award at season's end.

Montoya is the most intriguing of the class because he represents NASCAR's desire to diversity their sport. NASCAR has always been seen as a white male sport, even though its fan base is 50% women. Several minority drivers have participated in the series in the past, Wendel Scott, an African American, even won a NASCAR race in the early years. More recent driver's haven't faired as well, but JPM is the most skilled, best equiped minority driver ever and his charistamic personity is sure to draw attention.

Its 30 days till the Green Flag drops at Daytona... lets go racing.

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AWelch

Author | 2007-01-19 10:46:15

Good Article, I can't wait till Daytona. But, Smokey built an exact 7/8 scale replica of his '66 Chevelle which is obviously illegal. He was an automotive genius. The Bud Shootout can't come soon enough!