Posted on January 15, 2008

Let Us Work Together To Convince NASCAR To Make A Couple Of Changes

by Ron Thornton About The Author	Email   Print

Call it a quest.  There are a couple of things that bother the hell out of me regarding NASCAR, and with your help we just might be able to convince those folks to fix them. First, I'm tired of charity cases getting a free pass to races at the expense of developing teams. With five guaranteed races, some not so good teams get a huge advantage over some others that have to qualify for each and every one of those initial races, or see their seasons go down the tubes long before summer arrives.

Second, I think we have had enough of major league stars so desperate for a title, any title, that they are willing to run every race in a minor league division to do so.  That is not just unfair, it is pathetic.  In 2006, we saw Kevin Harvick and his Cup mates steal a title from Paul Menard, and last year it was Carl Edwards taking the Busch series prize away from Jason Leffler.  Enough is enough.

You probably have your own ideas on how to change things, some that might actually be better than what I offer here.  However, what I propose is something that only tweaks the current system, something NASCAR might actually consider, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. I touched on these propositions in a couple of columns late last season, but allow me refresh your memory as to what I propose.

The first change would be to give a free pass to the next Cup race, regardless as to owner's points, to those cars that finish a race in one of the Top Twenty positions.  It would give hope to any team that their season could be rejuvenated by a single good race, allowing them to build on that success with a guaranteed starting spot in the next event.  The next fifteen positions would be allotted based on owner's points, with the final eight winning a position through qualifying.  

Going to last season for an example, these are the cars that would have been given a free pass to California based on finishing in the Top Twenty in the Daytona 500...

Finish - Driver
1   - Kevin Harvick (#29)
2   - Mark Martin (#01)
3   - Jeff Burton (#31)
4   - Mike Wallace (#09)
5   - David Ragan (#6)
6   - Elliott Sadler (#19)
7   - Kasey Kahne (#9)
8   - David Gilliland (#38)
9   - Joe Nemechek (#13)
10 - Jeff Gordon (#24)
11 - David Stremme (#40)
12 - J.J. Yeley (#18)
13 - Reed Sorenson (#41)
14 - Boris Said (#60)
15 - Robby Gordon (#7)
16 - Johnny Sauter (#70)
17 - Sterling Marlin (#14)
18 - Clint Bowyer (#07)
19 - Juan Pablo Montoya (#42)
20 - Casey Mears (#25)

Among that number you find five teams that were not among the Top 35 in owner's points.  Mike Wallace and the #09 would have had the chance to move on to California, Joe Nemechek's #13 would not have had to qualify to run the  next week, while Boris Said's result in the #60 at Daytona would have given that team the option of taking the free pass out west.  Johnny Sauter's #70 would have got the pass, as would have Sterling Marlin in the #14, having earned their rewards on the track.

The next fifteen spots for California, based on their position in owner's points, would have been awarded to...

Pts - Driver
1   - Jimmie Johnson (#48)
2   - Matt Kenseth (#17)
3   - Denny Hamlin (#11)
5   - Dale Earnhardt, Jr (#8)
10 - Kyle Busch (#5)
11 - Tony Stewart (#20)
12 - Carl Edwards (#99)
13 - Greg Biffle (#16)
16 - Kurt Busch (#2)
18 - Ryan Newman (#12)
19 - Martin Truex, Jr (#1)
20 - Scott Riggs (#10)
21 - Bobby Labonte (#43)
22 - Ricky Rudd (#88)
24 - Jamie McMurray (#26)

That would have left the final eight positions based on qualifying, unless someone really believes the champion's provisional is needed in this day and age. While it does not exactly transfer perfectly, those who would have made California based on the actual qualifying efforts of last year would have been...

Dave Blaney (#22)
Brian Vickers (#83)
Jeff Green (#66)
Paul Menard (#15)
John Andretti (#37)
David Reutimann (#00)
Michael Waltrip (#55)
Jeremy Mayfield (#36)

Among the teams going home would have included Ken Schrader (#21), Dale Jarrett (#44), Kyle Petty (#45), and Tony Raines (#96).  Each of the Top 25 in owner's points would have made the race, with only Raines among those in the Top 32 missing the cut under this scenario.  With the possible exception of that one car, none of these teams really deserved to be there, other than through NASCAR's charity. Yet, under this proposed rule alteration, these and all teams could still have had an opportunity to salvage their season anytime during the year should they have been able to finally get things right. It is not a huge change I propose, but one that could have opened the door just enough to have made a world of difference by leveling the playing field somewhat. The added bonus for the fans would have been to provide another reason to keep on watching, to see who finishes in the Top Twenty on even those boring cookie cutter tracks, to see who would receive the free pass.  I mean, television ratings do matter, don't they?

The second rule change I propose covers the Busch, now Nationwide, series.  Cup drivers should simply not be allowed to run for what amounts to a minor league championship.  Rather than bring in rules to limit the races they run or make some predetermination as to who is a Cup driver and who is not, we leave it to their on-track season success to make that determination.  The goal is to reduce the incentive for Cup drivers taking in each and every Nationwide contest, so I propose that every driver gets the chance to acquire 1000 Cup points without penalty.  However,  every point above that number comes off their Nationwide total.  If that had been the case last season, the final standings in 2007 would have shown...

My Rank (Official 2007 Rank) - Points - Driver
1 (3) 3996 - Jason Leffler
2 (6) 3667 - Bobby Hamilton, Jr
3 (7) 3603 - Stephen Leicht
4 (8) 3477 - Marcos Ambrose
5 (11) 3396 - Mike Wallace (266 Cup Points)
6 (2) 3309 - David Reutimann (1878 Cup Points)
7 (14) 3072 - Scott Wimmer (70 Cup Points)
8 (18) 2798 - Kyle Krisiloff
9 (19) 2752 - Steve Wallace
10 (21) 2608 - Mike Bliss (325 Cup Points)

Mike Wallace, Scott Wimmer, and Mike Bliss had less than 1000 Cup Points to their credit in 2007, so they would not have lost any Nationwide points.  David Reutimann had 1878 Cup points, so would have lost 878 points from his junior loop totals, which would have dropped him from 2nd to 6th in the standings.  Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and a number of other Cup guys with significant Cup tallies would have lost all their Nationwide points, and would have eliminated themselves from championship contention in the Nationwide series.  Isn't that the way it should be?

So, to sum this up:

Cup Qualifying Proposal
In order to provide greater opportunity for developing teams to make races based on competitive performance, while reducing the opportunity for non-competitive teams to hold on to positions they do not deserve, we propose that Cup qualifying be determined by...
- Pre-qualifying 20 cars based on their finishing in the Top Twenty in the previous race.  
- Pre-qualifying 15 cars based on their position in owner's points.
- The final 8 positions determined, as they are now, through qualifying.

Nationwide Series Points Proposal
In order to lessen the incentive for Cup drivers to compete for Nationwide series championships:
- Subtract Cup points that are above 1000 from Nationwide totals.
 
Throughout the 2008 season we'll follow how things might have worked out if these two changes had been implemented.  In the meantime, if what I've written here makes sense to you, and if you think it provides a viable solution to something that bothers you, too, then tell somebody about it.  NASCAR might not listen to you, and they sure don't listen to me, but just maybe they might listen to us.  It can't hurt.

You can contact Ron at thornton@speedwaymedia.com

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