In a word, no, but nevertheless
the current rules come very close to “fixing” races.
Before we jump into that
(and we will!), it should be noted that the 50th annual Daytona 500 was a good race. Perhaps not quite as good as the pre-plate
races, but very close to the racing we saw back in the eighties, with Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Geoff Bodine,
etc. duking it out.
It was not 43 cars in
a pack waiting for a big crash (which inevitably happens) but there was good racing in packs most of the time, and plenty
of excitement for the fans.
However, to a much larger
degree than in the past, “Team Driving” played a part in the outcome of the event. Most assuredly Flyin’
Ryan Newman (a very deserving winner, by the way) would not have overcome Tony Stewart had it not been for Kurt Busch’s
help. Recall also that although they did not have a run, Stewart was also followed by his teammate, Kyle Busch.
Further, although it
was denied, Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann’s drafting/blocking help in the qualifying race certainly did not hurt
Dale Jarrett’s chances of making the field. And again, do not misunderstand, I was glad that Jarrett made the field,
but there were cars that went home with broken budgets and broken hearts that were freight trained by Team Waltrip.
Is this the fault of
the racers or teams? Negative. Both the teams and the drivers can, will, and should look for every advantage they can get
within the nebulous guidelines that NASCAR provides.
And that is the crux
of the problem. NASCAR can close loopholes if they want. Back in the day, Ford, Chevy, and Pontiac teams constantly lobbied
that the other had an aero advantage. That was somewhat alleviated with template cars, until the teams worked between the
templates until Smokey Yunick would be proud. Finally, with the 2008 Car of Today (COT) the bodywork is now set by one large
template--period, and wind tunnel dollars are no longer a factor in the outcome of a race.
But big teams are, and
will continue to become a larger factor in the outcome of a race, and moving forward, perhaps in the outcome of ALL races.
In this year of NASCAR returning to their roots (read: “what do we have to do to get the revenue back up?”), it
is very possible that weekly racing could become motorized roller derby. And race fans, that is the biggest single thread
to most complaints: NASCAR is not unlike “professional” wrestling—fixed.
So, you may be asking,
if the teams and drivers are playing within the rules, how would NASCAR limit the “team” problem?
Limiting the number of
cars on a team would help, but at this point how many cars have Hendrick, Roush/Yates, or Evernham engines? How many more
have technical help? How many will remember those relationships in a drafting or blocking situation? Essentially the “team”
problem has advanced to the point of negating the formal number of teams.
But there is a way to
help the long shot teams, the start up teams, the Boris Said’s of the world, and it is simple. Eliminate the “Top
35” rule. There would be no points swapping, no “helping” a teammate into the 500, and the fans would get
to see the fastest cars that pulled into the speedway.
And the fans—all
fans—like to pull for the underdog. Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans and Jeff Gordon fans alike are thrilled when a John Andretti
or Kirk Shelmerdine makes the race in an under funded car.
Do not misunderstand,
it is still an almost insurmountable mountain to climb, but once a team is outside the top 35, qualifying 10th quickest is
not a guarantee that a team is in the race—and it should be.
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Interestingly, what fans
want most of all is a sense of fairness, and a level playing field.
And that, race fans,
is a quality born into us all, a belief in being objectively judged. And the reason that we intuitively know that is because
it IS the Objective Truth.
Car owners and drivers
will use the rules to their advantage, but they are racing to win on the NASCAR circuit.
Whenever life seems unfair,
like the deck is stacked, at work or in a social situation, remember that Rick Hendrick, Michael Waltrip, the Petty’s
and others-- while racing to win on the track, realize that there are a larger set of rules to follow, and they are winners
in life also. Remember too the Boris Said’s of the world, people that continue year after year in the face of adversity.
And that is the real
race that we run. At the end of the day, it will not be a team that earns our win, but rather our own choices—as an
“independent” if you will, that will get us into the final, and most important, victory lane.
2006 StockCar Review.
