TV Times

TV Times (Extra): The Buzz From New Hampshire

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 204 reads
Lou Modestino

I heard some interesting buzz while at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the weekend.

Some things we can talk about, some we can’t.

And we have to be vague on who revealed them.

For instance, with regard to the the move of the Nationwide and Camping World Truck races from Indianapolis Raceway Park to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s going to be a good thing for IMS but bad for IRP which depended on those events for their revenue stream…

When Tony George was the boss at IMS, this item came up and he was reluctant to “step on the short track” on the other side of town…“NASCAR made a big mistake by going to a level playing field,” said our source. “They should have never gotten away from the cars that really resemble Fords, Chevys, Dodges and Toyotas. Whoever heard of a level playing field in sports? It doesn’t exist. That’s why NASCAR has problems drawing fans these days. They should go back to basics. Brian France held a tight rein on the business until the COT. That was a big mistake.” He also said, “You can quote me, I don’t care.”

But after having slept on it, we decided not to name the former NASCAR participant who revealed this and more. Depending on how you look at it all, NASCAR has made some mistakes. NASCAR designed the COT and gave permission to the manufacturers to put on all the logos and decals. When that happened, the “race them on Sunday and sell them on Monday” went by the wayside. But one thing that all of this did was to make the cars safer by adding more space inside the so called “greenhouse” driver compartment. When we thought this through and why the change was made, it was just more than leveling the playing field.

NASCAR had to make some changes because the Detroit-designed iron had some inherent problems with regard to its drivers safety. Our cars on highways shouldn’t be driven above the speed limits and are tightly monitored by the highway patrols. NASCAR race cars are driven at triple the speeds. One of the biggest pressing problem was the rash of NASCAR driver fatalities, including losing their biggest star, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. That forced the sanction to do something about it. Between the change to the COT and other safety devices, the change to the COT appears to have worked. But we wonder if NASCAR had taken the approach of using the original sheet metal of the four marques racing and modifying them to make the driver cabin safer? That could have been a better approach.

But there’s still the unintended consequences of taking away the individuality of the car makers. The jury is still out on the same look for the four companies involved in NASCAR. Someday soon or later will they walk away from NASCAR because it’s hard to compare the car on the NASCAR track to the ones in the showrooms? If you go back and look at NASCAR’s history, the factories have come, gone and comeback. They say that history repeats it self. It’s also said that the past is a barometer of the future. With that having been said, change is inevitable.

On Kyle Busch, “He’s a very talented driver. He just needs to to watch what he says and does. He really needs a mentor. Sure I roughed up a few guys on the track. But I really tried to race them clean, rather than ‘park them’. I always had a better feeling when I beat them fair.”

Our discussion continued on how the current crop of NASCAR drivers totally miss interfacing with fans. “Back when I was racing, I couldn’t give enough autographs. I had a guy come into my racing operation back when I was in a slump. He said to me, ‘Don’t you ever not give an autograph no matter how you feel. Take it as a compliment.’ But I can understand that when a driver has $25 million in the bank, they don’t ever think that they need a compliment. They all miss it, and that’s really too bad.” (END)