It looks that after years of speculation, the Sprint Cup series will be getting a scheduling makeover for the 2011 season. Atlanta, Fontana, and Loudon all appear to be losing dates in favor of Kansas, Kentucky, and Las Vegas. Of course, this is not yet set in stone, but losing an Atlanta (has become the new Darlington) race and a short track date in New Hampshire is not what the series needs. Many fans wouldn’t mind seeing Fontana lose a race, but I am getting off the subject.
Anyway, we know SMI’s CEO Bruton Smith has long wanted several of his track’s to have another race (in Kentucky’s case, one race) in the Sprint Cup schedule. Of all the tracks mentioned, Las Vegas is the most interesting. With each passing day, I hear more about Vegas hosting the season finale. It makes sense, if you think about it. With the season ending banquet held there anyway, why not have the last race of the year in the same place? You could make a whole other week out of it.
I know Las Vegas isn’t where most fans would like the season to end. It is just another 1.5 mile cookie cutter track that doesn’t need more than one race. In the track’s defense, though, it certainly is a much more appealing race now that they have added some banking to it. I am feeling nice, so I am not going to bash any tracks right now and say Vegas would better than (insert track you hate here). Point being, there are plenty tracks that would be worse to host the finale, whether it’s racing or seasonal weather.
Personally, I enjoy Homestead hosting the last race of the year. But, say Vegas does indeed replace the south Florida track for the last race of the year. Where will its new date go? I have heard speculation that it would go to the second race of the season, right after Daytona. This would be great for everyone. With it still being cold in February, Homestead would be the best fit for a race this time of year. And no one would love it more than the team truck drivers, as they would only have to go 200 something miles south for the next race. It sure beats the current 3,000 they have to drive all the way to California.
So, yes, we all shouldn’t be surprised with a major schedule overhaul in the schedule for next year. But if you are a betting man, you can’t go wrong gambling on Las Vegas to host the season finale starting in 2011. Now lets just hope we don’t watch 5 drivers shoot for the Cup in an elimination style Chase while we are out there.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Strong run for Bayne overshadowed by Keselowski-Edwards incident
All the talk this week will be about yet another Carl Edwards Brad Keselowski run in. While I have an opinion on this, I have decided to stop talking about their feud because they don’t deserve the attention. Sure, it’s worth talking about if it happens in the Cup Series, but for it to happen in the minor leagues is just ridiculous. I don’t care who you think is right and wrong. Brad and Carl need to be doing this on Sunday afternoon’s while racing for the win. Having said that, lets move on.
We need to give Trevor Bayne a thumbs up for his third place run Saturday night. After winning the pole earlier in the day, Bayne led a total of 19 laps at Gateway – his first laps led of the year. Even after losing the lead, he managed to stay in the top 10 for the majority of the race. His third place finish also was a career best for the 19 year old Tennessean. A few weeks removed from recording his first career top 5 at New Hampshire, Trevor appears to have turned the corner and more finishes like this past weekend seem forthcoming.
We need to give Trevor Bayne a thumbs up for his third place run Saturday night. After winning the pole earlier in the day, Bayne led a total of 19 laps at Gateway – his first laps led of the year. Even after losing the lead, he managed to stay in the top 10 for the majority of the race. His third place finish also was a career best for the 19 year old Tennessean. A few weeks removed from recording his first career top 5 at New Hampshire, Trevor appears to have turned the corner and more finishes like this past weekend seem forthcoming.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Forget fixing the Chase, lets focus on the actual racing
With rumors swirling that there will be changes made to the Chase in 2011, I realized how apathetic I am towards the situation. While it would be an exciting concept to have elimination races, (the rumors that I have been hearing) I feel it would sizzle out after a year or two, just like the Chase. Any which way NASCAR determines the champion, it is now permanently damaged. We aren’t going back to the old system, and even if we did, it wouldn’t bring back the loyal fans we have lost. From now on, more and more changes to the points will just flush out more fans.
I give NASCAR credit for trying to right their wrongs. They got rid of the spoiler and have now realized the Chase isn’t working. But they need to go after the biggest issue – the racing itself. Personally, I have no problems with how the races are now. I enjoy every single race and nothing irritates me more than hearing a fellow NASCAR "fan" say a race is boring (it is cars going around in circles, after all). However, I believe if NASCAR made two changes to the way races are run, fans would stop complaining about the racing.
I’ll get the minor and simple change out of the way first. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. Get rid of the wave-around rule. Seriously, nothing good comes from this. It only makes the drivers run at their own rate the first 80 percent of the race. Go a lap down? No problem, take the wave around after a competition caution. The leader loses motivation to lap, and the 25th place guy doesn’t care if he gets lapped. But the other problem with the wave around that bothers me the most is going from 10 cars on the lead lap to 30 in the blink of an eye. This destroys any late race pit strategy the leaders may have due to the importance of track position. NASCAR, you need to admit this rule was a mistake (on that note, I think we are stuck with this rule for a while. NASCAR seems to like it, and so do the announcers).
My next proposal for more drama filled racing will probably get some of you wound up. NASCAR needs to eliminate qualifying and determine the starting order by inverting the finishing order of the previous race. Just think about that for a second. Obviously, we don’t want start and parks taking the green up front every week, so the rule would only apply to the top 35 in points. Which means Kevin Conway would likely be on the pole for most races. And look at this past weekend’s race. You would have guys like Gordon, Stewart, and Hamlin starting in the back. Even Jimmie Johnson, who had a mediocre finish, would still be starting mid pack. My biggest concern with this idea is whether the first few laps would be a crash fest or not. These are supposed to be the 43 best drivers in the world, so they should be able to handle it. If not, we need some new drivers.
All you need to do is look at is this past weekend’s race when Jimmie Johnson led almost the first hundred laps after starting on the front row. Had it not been for a rare (yet more common this year it seems) driver error from the 48 who knows how much of the race he would have led. By inverting the field, you are going to see many different drivers lead instead of the same 7 or 8 each week. Some may call it a gimmick, but I like to think of it as giving more guys a chance.
I give NASCAR credit for trying to right their wrongs. They got rid of the spoiler and have now realized the Chase isn’t working. But they need to go after the biggest issue – the racing itself. Personally, I have no problems with how the races are now. I enjoy every single race and nothing irritates me more than hearing a fellow NASCAR "fan" say a race is boring (it is cars going around in circles, after all). However, I believe if NASCAR made two changes to the way races are run, fans would stop complaining about the racing.
I’ll get the minor and simple change out of the way first. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. Get rid of the wave-around rule. Seriously, nothing good comes from this. It only makes the drivers run at their own rate the first 80 percent of the race. Go a lap down? No problem, take the wave around after a competition caution. The leader loses motivation to lap, and the 25th place guy doesn’t care if he gets lapped. But the other problem with the wave around that bothers me the most is going from 10 cars on the lead lap to 30 in the blink of an eye. This destroys any late race pit strategy the leaders may have due to the importance of track position. NASCAR, you need to admit this rule was a mistake (on that note, I think we are stuck with this rule for a while. NASCAR seems to like it, and so do the announcers).
My next proposal for more drama filled racing will probably get some of you wound up. NASCAR needs to eliminate qualifying and determine the starting order by inverting the finishing order of the previous race. Just think about that for a second. Obviously, we don’t want start and parks taking the green up front every week, so the rule would only apply to the top 35 in points. Which means Kevin Conway would likely be on the pole for most races. And look at this past weekend’s race. You would have guys like Gordon, Stewart, and Hamlin starting in the back. Even Jimmie Johnson, who had a mediocre finish, would still be starting mid pack. My biggest concern with this idea is whether the first few laps would be a crash fest or not. These are supposed to be the 43 best drivers in the world, so they should be able to handle it. If not, we need some new drivers.
All you need to do is look at is this past weekend’s race when Jimmie Johnson led almost the first hundred laps after starting on the front row. Had it not been for a rare (yet more common this year it seems) driver error from the 48 who knows how much of the race he would have led. By inverting the field, you are going to see many different drivers lead instead of the same 7 or 8 each week. Some may call it a gimmick, but I like to think of it as giving more guys a chance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
