Daytona 500
Posted: February 17th, 2015, 2:42 pm
I know there isn't a lot of NASCAR fans on the board but for the few there are and the "drive-by" fans I thought I would start a thread for the biggest racing week of the year.
A lot of transition in the sport right now here are some of the changes that are new or are coming soon:
-Drivers: the sport is sort of turning a page. Gordon is in his final year, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Harvick, Stewart, Newman, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Biffle, McMurray, and many more are right around the 40 yrs old mark or older. But the future looks very bright for the sport. Logano is already a contender at 24, Ty and Austin Dillion (grandsons of Richard Childress, Earnhardts longtime car owner), Chase Elliott (son of Bill), Ryan Blaney (son of Dave), Jeb Burton (son of Ward, nephew of Jeff), John Hunter Nemechek (son of Joe), Kyle Larson, Jason Allgier, and Trevor Bayne (prior Daytona 500 champion) are some of the names you will hear about over the next 20 years.
-TV Presentation: NASCAR is entering a new TV contract that has a lot of promises for shorter time slots within it. We already seen the effect of this contract in the new Daytona 500 qualifing format. They now send cars out in groups rather than the previous single car 3 lap runs. Makes it a better product to watch on tv. It has cost 4 race teams already. A pile up in qualifing Sunday will send at least 4 teams to back-up cars for the season's biggest race. I expect to see a lot less 500 mile/lap races in the future and many more 300-400 lap/miles events. It makes one of the biggest funders of the sport (TV) much more happy.
-Affordability for Teams: This has me excited. 50 cars entered for the 500 for 43 spots. It appears Joe Nemechek has pulled his entry but still 44 of these teams have indicated they have the funding to run all 37 remaining sanctioned events. That means qualifying will actually matter again. NASCAR has done a great job of limiting unnecessary expenses for these teams. Several years ago the big teams could travel to test at 7 tracks a year, bought specialty products (like oils) just for qualifying, and had track specific cars. By eliminating these things more small teams are being competitive. In the last few years Front Row Motorsports, Petty Enterprises, Furniture Row Racing, JT Daughtry Racing, and The Wood Brothers have all entered winning cars. 10 years ago, I thought small teams like this were a thing of the past.
Championship: Last year was the first year of a tournament style, knockout championship format. Though the old folks of the sport bucked it, it was a huge success. In the end, the fastest car all year won the Cup but it does allow for a Cinderella story, as well. This format makes the final race the most important of the year. I think this is a change for the better.
Some of these changes are good, some may not work out. I will give NASCAR credit, they realized several years ago that their product was broken and they have made many changes to try to evolve the sport. If you haven't watched in a while, now may be the best time to give NASCAR another shot.
A lot of transition in the sport right now here are some of the changes that are new or are coming soon:
-Drivers: the sport is sort of turning a page. Gordon is in his final year, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Harvick, Stewart, Newman, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Biffle, McMurray, and many more are right around the 40 yrs old mark or older. But the future looks very bright for the sport. Logano is already a contender at 24, Ty and Austin Dillion (grandsons of Richard Childress, Earnhardts longtime car owner), Chase Elliott (son of Bill), Ryan Blaney (son of Dave), Jeb Burton (son of Ward, nephew of Jeff), John Hunter Nemechek (son of Joe), Kyle Larson, Jason Allgier, and Trevor Bayne (prior Daytona 500 champion) are some of the names you will hear about over the next 20 years.
-TV Presentation: NASCAR is entering a new TV contract that has a lot of promises for shorter time slots within it. We already seen the effect of this contract in the new Daytona 500 qualifing format. They now send cars out in groups rather than the previous single car 3 lap runs. Makes it a better product to watch on tv. It has cost 4 race teams already. A pile up in qualifing Sunday will send at least 4 teams to back-up cars for the season's biggest race. I expect to see a lot less 500 mile/lap races in the future and many more 300-400 lap/miles events. It makes one of the biggest funders of the sport (TV) much more happy.
-Affordability for Teams: This has me excited. 50 cars entered for the 500 for 43 spots. It appears Joe Nemechek has pulled his entry but still 44 of these teams have indicated they have the funding to run all 37 remaining sanctioned events. That means qualifying will actually matter again. NASCAR has done a great job of limiting unnecessary expenses for these teams. Several years ago the big teams could travel to test at 7 tracks a year, bought specialty products (like oils) just for qualifying, and had track specific cars. By eliminating these things more small teams are being competitive. In the last few years Front Row Motorsports, Petty Enterprises, Furniture Row Racing, JT Daughtry Racing, and The Wood Brothers have all entered winning cars. 10 years ago, I thought small teams like this were a thing of the past.
Championship: Last year was the first year of a tournament style, knockout championship format. Though the old folks of the sport bucked it, it was a huge success. In the end, the fastest car all year won the Cup but it does allow for a Cinderella story, as well. This format makes the final race the most important of the year. I think this is a change for the better.
Some of these changes are good, some may not work out. I will give NASCAR credit, they realized several years ago that their product was broken and they have made many changes to try to evolve the sport. If you haven't watched in a while, now may be the best time to give NASCAR another shot.