FUMES

August 15, 2012

NASCAR + Road Courses = Ratings Gold.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 8/13, 7:00 p.m.) Detroit. Well, that actually was special. The riveting finish of Sunday's Finger Lakes 355 Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International was as good a race as you'd ever want to see. Kyle Busch sliding in the oil going into the Esses on the last lap, Brad Keselowski tapping him out of the way and then Marcos Ambrose in turn pouncing on him to take the lead and the win (you can get highlights in a link in The Line - Ed.), it was the kind of finish the NASCAR marketing brain trust couldn't have scripted better if they tried. And yet as recently as a couple of weeks ago I actually saw stories rolling around the net debating whether or not NASCAR should eliminate road races all together. Seriously?

It's no secret that the two road races provide the best racing on the NASCAR Sprint Cup calendar, but the real question is why the powers that be in Daytona Beach steadfastly refuse to do anything about it. Yes, there are rumblings that a road race will finally - finally - be added to the Sprint Cup schedule in The Chase by 2014, but what is the problem? Why not add multiple road races to the Sprint Cup schedule now? 

When you witness an event like Sunday's road race at The Glen, should there be any doubt as to the efficacy of adding more road races to the Sprint Cup schedule? The predictable response from NASCAR in the past is that they have no way of accommodating additional road races, and I say that's just corporate stonewalling. I can produce two "holes" in the Sprint Cup schedule instantly. How? By eliminating the most glaringly obvious weaknesses on the schedule, like the double visits to the same tracks - Pocono and Michigan - in a matter of weeks. Eliminate those second races at those tracks and you would make room for two new road races overnight.

Does NASCAR have anything to lose by doing this? No. Plus, they would give their intermittently anemic TV ratings a huge shot in the arm. And in the midst of new TV contract negotiations underway, I would think that's an idea that NASCAR would willingly want to embrace.

None of this is new to the readers of this column, as I've been espousing just this sort of thing for years now. But the good thing is that after Sunday's spectacular Sprint Cup race at the Glen, even the NASCAR brain trust can't ignore the obvious.

Let's just hope they finally do something about it.

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 and Wieck Media)
Watkins Glen, New York, July 21, 1973. The No. 1 Gulf Research Racing Co. Mirage M6/Ford-Cosworth driven by Derek Bell/Howden Ganley at speed during the Watkins Glen 6-Hour. The duo would finish fourth overall behind winners Gerard Larrousse/Henri Pescarolo (No. 33 Equipe Matra MS670B), Jacky Ickx/Brian Redman (No. 10 Ferrari SEFAC SpA Ferrari 312 PB) and Arturo Merzario/Carlos Pace (No. 11 Ferrari SEFAC SpA Ferrari 312 PB).

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.

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