I hope that Humpy Wheeler’s months of endless advertising
somehow motivated enough interest to pay his million-dollar plus purse.
The All Star event was the usual boring follow the leader event
that is the norm, not the exception, at a one and a half mile venue.
It is the track configuration that ultimately is the problem
week in and week out and as of yet it has not been addressed, and as can be seen by the clearly dangerous racing at the plate
tracks, may never be.
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Saturday night’s All-Star race turned into the very usual, “(yawn)
wake me up if they have a caution, honey” event. Of course, “honey” changes the channel and watches the
all-sensitive channel and commercials for hygienic products—and Brian France wonders where the ratings went.
Here is the answer to the problem, and it is threefold—and free to
implement, for both the Sanctioning Body and the Teams.
First:
Let the field qualify without any safety net for the top 35 teams. Originally, this
was not a bad idea as major sponsors did not want to be on the trailer while a road course ace or a Busch team focused on
a single race and out qualified them. Understandable, but that is no longer the case. Somebody’s well funded team with
good drivers is going home every week. When those cars are qualifying 20th or better out of 43 and then still do
not make the field, it is neither “fair” nor are the fans watching the fastest cars that pulled into the track,
on the track. And NAPA is probably about ready to sponsor the National Chess Club League—for the increase in exposure.
Lose the guaranteed spots, starting in 2008, if not sooner.
Second:
Take a tip from the Orlando Speedway, long since defunct, that was paying
$125 to win a feature fifty years ago. They inverted the complete lineup at the
start of the feature every week according to the point standings. When you won
a championship, you earned it on that little bullring! Inverting the field at local tracks was the norm in those days…
But of course, we have grown far beyond that in the name of “professionalism”,
and “fairness”. What? There is really only one rule in the sport - and that is the ruling from the tower at any
given moment, and everyone in the garage knows it, everyone in the media knows it, and everyone that watches five or so races
knows it. And then there is that little matter of resetting the points after two thirds of the series and the “lucky
dog gets a free lap back” rule. Let’s be “fair” and honest, and point out that we are all in the entertainment
business, and what is interesting and raises the ratings… rules the sanctioning body that sets the rules.
Here is how to implement the deal: Qualify as usual and pay some number of “bonus”
points for the Top Two Qualifiers. Then have some lottery ball Las Vegas style
drawing and invert a portion of the top ten or fifteen qualifiers. This would be a new twist for the Teams, but like the Car
of 2008 (COT) it would be the same chance for everyone, and therefore, “fair”—and it would be its own media
event providing endless media “talking points”, and of course, raise fan interest.
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information.
Third:
Keep the “Lucky Dog” rule, in fact send two of them
around, and then start the field two abreast, just like the original start of the race, every time, with the lapped cars in
the back where they belong!
These three changes would create excitement repeatedly both
before and during a race, which would sort of be a series of All Star events each and every week—all at no extra charge
for anyone!
An interesting point is in the Psychology of why these things
would work, and it is based in one single admirable human trait—we like to pull
for the underdog. Why? Well, it was born into us as part of the knowledge of that “Good” and, well, “Not
so Good” thing.
And while the above changes may be simple and free, the chances
of them being implemented in Cup is very slim at best.
While that is sad but true, there is something that we can do on a daily basis. Just as Richard Childress will help out Kirk Schelmerdine from time-to-time,
just as Rick Hendrick let Jimmy Means drive his racecar, there is always someone along the way that we can reach out to and
help make the field of life.
As the countless class acts in the garage area routinely do, give
this a shot. You will undoubtedly find that, amazingly, with a simple act of kindness, life inside, deep down, where it counts,
becomes less like a boring ho-hum event on a slick mile and a half speedway, and more like the honest good old days on a bull
ring, with a true sense of accomplishment when the final flag falls.
2006 StockCar Review.
