FUMES

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Feb142011

Monday, February 14, 2011 at 12:37PM

February 16, 2011

A new season and same old problems for NASCAR.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. If NASCAR was hoping for a lift at Daytona -- and Dale Earnhardt Jr. sitting on the Pole provided some much-needed positive news -- the reality is that here we are again at NASCAR's "Super Bowl" -- their terminology, not mine -- with a potential for a snoozer of a race on Sunday. The brand-new pavement at Daytona -- and a superb paving job it is, by the way -- has changed just about everything the drivers have come to expect about restrictor-plate racing. Yes, the new track is blistering fast, but along with the smooth, fast track the big packs of drafting cars have been eliminated in favor of two-car drafting partners seeking to separate themselves from the field. And if last Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout is any indication, we'll see two-car drafts all day long on Sunday, with some sort of finish. What kind of finish is anyone's guess at this point.

As I've made it very clear from the beginning, I despise restrictor-plate racing, and no matter what form it takes -- big packs, two-car packs -- it really doesn't matter to me. Once again we're dealing with a situation where NASCAR has been historically resistant to making any dramatic changes for fear of what, I have no idea -- change, the vast Unknown, sun spots -- you name it. There seems to be an ingrained fear down at Daytona Beach that if they alter "the show" too much it will negatively affect their fortunes.

Uh, really?

Just how much more negativity can be attached to NASCAR at this juncture? And no I'm not going to regurgitate the litany of NASCAR's problems again but suffice to say that the Daytona 500 is in fact NASCAR's biggest event and they can't afford another bad race. After all, we've seen race stoppages for pothole repair and a lengthy rain delay over the last two years -- and the subsequent disappointment and fallout from the fans afterward -- and NASCAR can ill-afford yet another negative story associated with this year's race.

What can be done? When there's a general unwillingness on NASCAR's part to embrace serious change then I would say not much. After all, Brian France has made it clear he feels that in an enterprise as old as NASCAR there are bound to be ups and downs and that the racing organization is just in a bad patch at the moment. And who's to argue that point when NASCAR -- even in the midst of the most severe downward spiral in its history -- is still the most popular form of motorsport in this country by far?

But it seems to me that when an organization is mired in a downward spiral, rationalizing it or maintaining the status quo, or thinking that things will get better "right around the corner" isn't the answer. As I've said many times before, I watched the Detroit Three do this "it won't be long now, better times are right around the corner" dance for years and it didn't go well for them, now did it?

NASCAR either has to go to drastically smaller engines and take the restrictors off completely, giving the drivers some real throttle control on super speedways again, or -- and this is my preference -- rip rows upon rows of grandstands out to maintain spectator safety and take the restrictors off the current cars completely and let them lap the super speedways at 220mph+.

And to those who say carnage would ensue I say, why? These are supposed to be the best of the best in American racing, right? And what's wrong with drivers having to lift going into a corner? I'd bet we'd see the great drivers separated from the merely good ones in a hurry, unlike today, when we have to watch two-car drafting partners circulate for 495 miles before anything of consequence happens.

Will I watch on Sunday? Yes, I'll watch the start, and then I'll pay attention for the last five laps or so.

After all, that's all the attention the present state of NASCAR's "Super Bowl" requires, or deserves.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Daytona Beach, Florida, February 26, 1967. Mario Andretti celebrating after his big Daytona 500 win. He drove his No. 11 Holman-Moody Bunnell Motor Co. '67 Ford to victory averaging 146.926 mph. Fred Lorenzen was second in his No. 28 Holman-Moody '67 Ford, and James Hylton was third in his No. 48 Econo Wash '65 Dodge. Curtis Turner sat on the Pole in his No. 13 Smokey Yunick '67 Chevrolet with a lap of 180.831 mph. Turner DNF'd with engine problems on lap 143.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.