The Way It Is As Opposed To The Way It Should Be.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Elkhart Lake. That this past weekend is the best racing weekend of the year for NASCAR is probably news to the powers that be in Daytona Beach. They might think it's the Daytona 500, or the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, or the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but for most racing fans outside of the NASCAR sphere of influence, the road racing doubleheader weekend with the Nationwide Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Saturday and the Sprint Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, on Sunday can't be beat. And last weekend's races didn't disappoint in the least.

I had the distinct pleasure of being at "America's National Park of Speed" on Saturday, and the race had everything you could possibly want. Intermittent rain coupled with rain on only parts of the course while other parts were dry made for a riveting race. The fact that the NASCAR Nationwide regulars ran the race on rain tires was a novelty unto itself, and I must say that for the most part they acquitted themselves very well, making for a wildly entertaining day at Road America.

It's no secret that the most compelling races on NASCAR's calendar are its road races. They're competitive, unpredictable and fascinating to watch, and it's puzzling that NASCAR does nothing to add to that winning combination. George Bruggenthies, President of Road America, echoed what I've been saying for at least a decade when he said last weekend that the Sprint Cup needs to be at the bucolic track in Elkhart Lake. And that notion coincides with a burgeoning feeling in the NASCAR garage area among the teams and drivers that Road America needs to be on the calendar too.

But every time this idea is brought up the NASCAR management establishment insists that they have no room on their already ridiculously long calendar. Granted, the NASCAR death march of a schedule can't be lengthened, in fact I've argued for years that the schedule needs to be reduced dramatically in order to maintain viewing interest. But the double visits to tracks on the schedule - Pocono and Michigan just to name two - can be eliminated, and whenever the notion of "adding another road race" comes up that's exactly how the NASCAR brain trust considers it.

The fact that NASCAR doesn't have a doubleheader at Road America, with the Nationwide cars on Saturday and the Sprint Cup cars on Sunday is a complete travesty. And the fact that NASCAR doesn't have a road race in The Chase for the Sprint Cup is equally maddening. Put those two ideas together for a new NASCAR super weekend at Road America to open up The Chase and you'd really be on to something.

Unfortunately, the way it should be always seems to clash with the way it is with NASCAR.

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

(Photo by Dave Friedman courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Riverside, California, January 21, 1973. David Pearson (No. 21 Wood Brothers Purolator Mercury) qualified on the pole for the Western Winston 500 at Riverside International Raceway, the opener for the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Pearson would encounter clutch trouble and drop out of the race. Mark Donohue (No. 16 Penske Racing AMC Matador) would win that day, followed by Bobby Allison (No. 12 Coca-Cola Chevrolet) and Ray Elder (No. 96 Olympia Beer Dodge). The race was comprised of a but-gusting 191 laps on the 2.620-mile road course, or 500.4 miles. The race took an incredible 4.48.33 hours to run, with Donohue averaging 104 mph.

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