[tkj24]

Analysis: Good racin' gone bad?

By Dustin Long
Staff Writer

Monday, Aug. 27, 2007 3:00 am
DUSTIN LONG'S ANALYSIS

Bristol's new two-lane speedway rewarded the best cars. Instead of being stuck behind cars in the one-groove track of the past, the best cars could move through the field. This time, the best cars finished at the front with Carl Edwards winning and Kasey Kahne placing second.

What makes a good race? Was Saturday night's Bristol race a good one?

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Is this NASCAR's future?

Should you be scared?

Drivers praised Bristol's new dual-lane speedway, but not all fans were thrilled with one of the sport's crown jewels losing its luster.

Tony Stewart, who finished fourth, called Saturday night's race "the most fun I have had at Bristol in my career."

Hmmm. How often is Stewart happy after a race he doesn't win?

"I don't believe him," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "When's he ever said anything like that?"

Racers were as thrilled as commuters after a new lane opens.

Stuck in traffic? No problem. Drivers went high or low.

No longer were they stuck in a one-groove alley where they had to knock a rival out of the way to pass.

This sport, though, needs more than its competitors to be happy.

Internet message boards criticized the race. Many called it boring. Some wondered if the Bristol night race is dull, what hope is there for the sport?

There are five races that stand above most to many fans: the Daytona 500, The Coca-Cola 600, both Talladega races and the Bristol night race.

Make any of those events bad and fan backlash can be severe. They'll complain, or worse, they'll stop watching.

Bristol's new concrete surface changed Saturday night's race, which was won by Carl Edwards.

Fans saw two- and three-wide racing -- scenes as rare as empty seats at this coliseum that lures 160,000 fans.

There was more passing, but fans saw less beating and banging. The trade-off was unacceptable for some.

"Wow, this is easily the most boring Bristol night race ever," wrote one person on a NASCAR.com message board. "This may be the end of NASCAR for me. *yawn*."

Bristol represents the sport's raw edge. Nearly 100,000 seats have been added to this bowl-shaped track in the last decade -- and not because fans want to visit the Tri-Cities.

Conflict built those seats.

This track is about Dale Earnhardt Sr. punting Terry Labonte out of the lead on the final lap.

It's Jeff Gordon shoving Matt Kenseth on pit road.

It's Dale Jarrett wrecking Ryan Newman in retaliation.

Saturday night's biggest firestorm? Robby Gordon said he wasn't happy because Kevin Harvick "wrecked me."

Actions mean much more than words at this venue.

People want to see Jimmie Johnson give Robby Gordon a one-finger salute after a wreck as he once did. They want to see Ward Burton throwing his heel guards at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car.

These are scenes rarely seen at many other tracks. These are scenes that give Bristol its brutish feel.

Yes, this is the track that makes NASCAR resemble pro wrestling. Is that so wrong? One of the NASCAR's most storied moments was a fight.

Some will say that such fans are not the sport's true fans. Wrecking is not racing, they'll say.

"I like the 'new' Bristol," one person wrote at NASCAR.com. "More than one racing lane, some passing, etc. Not the old Bristol: circle around, crash, re-start, circle around, crash, re-start, etc. ..."

This new track also did something not always seen -- it rewarded the best cars.

Edwards and runner-up Kasey Kahne combined to lead all but 13 of the 500 laps.

It's not often that the two best cars finish 1-2. But isn't that what racing should be?

Then again, any other race where two drivers led almost the whole way would generate complaints about the quality of the racing.

What Saturday night represented is change. Drivers blamed Goodyear's tires and offered hope the racing would be better with different tires.

But the reality is, this could be a sign of the past fading away.

The Southern 500 is gone.

The Car of Tomorrow is here.

Maybe Bristol's image is in the midst of a makeover.

Bristol bills itself as "racin' the way it ought'a be!"

Now the question is: Was Saturday night racing the way it should be?

[beth]

Why does anyone think knocking someone out of the way is racing? Passing is racing and passing with a little side rubbing is even better racing.

I don't quite get all the complaining I hear. Bring back the good old days they say. In the good old days the fastest cars won, often by laps not seconds. Sure there were great helmet throwing face punching spinning across the line moments but they were spread over many years. Now one night without a fight is boring and a threat to the sports health. One car model winning by a lap or two every week is boring. The highlights look great but get a whole seasons races from back then and sit and watch them all, every lap. Racing is great right now and the participants even make money and security for their families instead of burning the families security at the track every week.

Think hard about the good old days if you were there and if you wern't there do a little research before you ask to bring them back.

Just my opinion

[oncea3fan]

ow can anyone make an asumption on a single race, especially when you have and new surface,new car,new tire, no tire test.
almost track take a few races before they get "racey", if thats the case with the new bristol we are in for treat!

IMHO, I believe that bristol will become a tight 2 groove track, where they will rub door just to make a clean pass it'll be awsome!!!!!!!!

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by beth

Why does anyone think knocking someone out of the way is racing? Passing is racing and passing with a little side rubbing is even better racing.

I don't quite get all the complaining I hear. Bring back the good old days they say. In the good old days the fastest cars won, often by laps not seconds. Sure there were great helmet throwing face punching spinning across the line moments but they were spread over many years. Now one night without a fight is boring and a threat to the sports health. One car model winning by a lap or two every week is boring. The highlights look great but get a whole seasons races from back then and sit and watch them all, every lap. Racing is great right now and the participants even make money and security for their families instead of burning the families security at the track every week.

Think hard about the good old days if you were there and if you wern't there do a little research before you ask to bring them back.

Just my opinion

Not everyone does. I don't. And I grew up in the era when winning by several laps was the norm.

But, back then there was also something else that played into the races outcomes: reliability. It wasn't uncommon to see 1/4 to 1/2 of the field out because of mechanical failures. Even Richard Petty, David Pearson and all the other great drivers had their share of mechanical woes.

Today there's very few mechanical failures, one or two a race .. that's not many. As a result there's more cars on the track and that makes it crowded and when racers get in a crowd they get anxious, and when they get anxious someone will make a mistake and there won't be a crowd anymore .. for a few more laps...

Though I understand the dynamics that cause wrecks and the psychological forces at play and I don't like the results, I can accept them as part of racing.

What I cannot accept it the arrogance of a driver deciding another driver doesn't deserve to be on the track "blocking" his way and so spins him. I also don't accept the arrogance of a driver who's a lap down (or more) or who's about to go a lap down "racing" the leaders because his psyche can't handle the thought of loosing a lap.

In the old days these guys usually found out what the fence felt like 'cause drivers mostly policed themselves. Yeah, there were some exceptions, but ask the Richards, the Davids, the Bobby's, the Cales, and the Juniors. They'll tell you that even though they fought each other tooth and nail on the track, there was still a "code of honor" and "respect given" and any driver who didn't honor the code nor give respect suffered the consequences, painful and expensive consequences. And NASCAR had nothing to do with either the "policing" nor the "consequences".

Today the racing is more even because of technology and reliability. Today the drivers in the top series are trained to drive by their experience in the lesser series. Some say the racing is better because it's faster, because the technology makes them equal, because the $$$ brings glitter and recognition, because... But the top drivers aren't any better (or worse) than the heroes of old, they're just driving different equipment.

Unfortunately, today everybody wants a "super referee" who slaps hands (sometimes) and levies (inconsequential) fines for "actions detrimental to racing". And they holler and scream when some of the old "policing" takes place on the track.

The racing is better when the drivers police themselves.

It's time for racing to be about the drivers, not their equipment, nor their crew, nor their owner, nor their sponsor, nor the sanctioning body.

[LSC9901]

Comparing todays racing to the racing from 25 plus years ago is difficult at best. If nothing else there is such a dramatic change in the equipment from then to today that the comparison is almost impossible. How can you compare David Pearson to Carl Edwards. Tow totally different eras and ideas as to what a race car driver should be.

Todays racing hasn't gone bad but for those of us who grew up in the early years of NASCAR, it just isn't what we remember with fondness. It's never going to return to it so if you are in fact a race fan then you should look for the good in todays racing. I still look very forward every week to watching the races. There is much about them that I don't like but I'm a race fan and that's what I get every week, good or bad.