COMMENTARY: For Daytona 500 Champion Busch, A Resurrection Complete

What a difference two years makes.

Just 24 months ago, Kurt Busch was an unwilling spectator at the 2015 Daytona 500, suspended by NASCAR for the first two races of the season while charges of domestic abuse leveled by former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll were investigated.

Yesterday, Busch stood in Victory Lane at the World Center of Racing, celebrating a win in stock car racing’s greatest event, along with a personal resurrection that seemed all-but-impossible not so long ago.

In 2015, Busch was NASCAR’s resident bad actor, a troubled soul whose repeated clashes with fans, media and even his own teammates often overshadowed his unquestionable talent behind the wheel. Today, the Las Vegas native bears little resemblance to his former self; newly married to a woman he calls “the love of my life” and seemingly content at last with both his job and his life off the race track.

Haas (L) and Gibson played major roles.

There are plenty of people to thank for that transformation.

Team owner Gene Haas scooped Busch off NASCAR’s scrap heap in 2014, after watching the former series champion lift Furniture Row Racing to the ranks of contenders the prior season. Haas hired Busch without consulting partner Tony Stewart, who was convalescing from a badly broken leg suffered in a Sprint Car crash.

“I wanted to go forward with (Busch),” said Haas at the time. “I did this on my own (and) probably overstepped my authority a tick. I realized that Tony might be a little bit upset about it, and he was.”

The move caused a rift within the organization that took some time to heal. But on the race track, it paid almost immediate dividends. After a middling 2014 campaign with first-year crew chief Daniel Knost – 11th in points with a win and six Top-10 finishes in 36 starts – Busch was paired with veteran Tony Gibson for the 2015 campaign.

Gibson’s ready smile and easygoing manner mask a no-nonsense attitude that is exactly what the mercurial Busch needed. “Old Man” laid down the law early in his tenure, putting a stop to the on-track tirades that had poisoned Busch’s previous teams so often in the past. With Gibson’s guidance, Busch turned his biggest liability into a strength, harnessing his competitive fire and focusing it on the race track, rather than his teammates.

"There's a bond we share with Kurt that a lot of drivers don't have with their teams," said Gibson recently. ”He is so involved in the changes that we do. He's in the loop 100%. We don't do anything unless we discuss it with him.

"I applaud him for his dedication. He is involved. He is engaged. And that is what got us where we're at today.”

Van Metre and Busch were married
earlier this year.

The final cog in Busch’s resurrection has been his wife, the former Ashley Van Metre. A professional polo player and model, Van Metre instantly understood and accepted Busch’s demanding lifestyle, providing a degree of grounding and acceptance that he lacked in the past.

“My mood is better when Ashley is at the track,” said Busch in a recent New York Times interview. “My antics over the years are well documented. My age has helped me change, (but) Ashley has committed so much time to me and to our relationship. Her dad has quizzed me on being mature and wise. Those talks have been so beneficial. They even brought me closer to my own father.”

Busch’s mother, Gaye, also gives Van Metre a full measure of credit for her son’s emotional turnaround.

“Kurt’s career is stressful and if he has a bad day, Ashley understands and makes him feel better,” she said. “When he sees her, he gets giddy. He lights up. It makes me so happy… that I cry.”

There were more than a few tears in yesterday’s jubilant Victory Lane. Tears for a man and a race team that have come of age together; finding solid ground, both on and off the race track.

TNS / Stephen M. Dowell

It took 16 years for Kurt Busch to earn the title of Daytona 500 champion. He finished second on three different occasions, chasing Michael Waltrip (2003), Jeff Gordon (2005) and then-Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman (2008) to the stripe in NASCAR’s most coveted event.

In marked contrast to prior seasons, when minor glitches often triggered volcanic outbursts of negative emotion, Busch remained calm Sunday, despite an early pit road speeding penalty that forced him to restart at the rear of the field, a crash that damaged the nose of his Ford Fusion and a faulty rear-view mirror that dislodged in the race’s final stage.

"My rearview mirror fell off with 30 to go,” said Busch in Victory Lane. ““I thought about how Ashley would have handled that… what she would do. The more I run this race, the more I've learned to throw caution to the wind and let it rip. I knew I had to drive defensively. I couldn't even see the cars behind me. I just heard my spotter in my ear.” 

"I told Kurt it was probably the most patient, best race he’s ever run,” said Stewart, a 17-time Daytona 500 competitor who never managed to hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy. “He’s very deserving of this win.”

For NASCAR’s former bad boy, now thoroughly soaked with champagne in a raucous Daytona Victory Lane, 2015 may as well have been a thousand years ago.

COMMENTARY: Stage-Based Format Not To Blame For Daytona Carnage

Sunday’s 59th running of the Daytona 500 was a wildly chaotic affair, with eight caution flags and numerous, multi-car pileups that left 35 of the 40 starters with at least some degree of damage at the finish.

In the aftermath of similar carnage in the previous days’ Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series events, many railbirds were tempted to point a premature finger of blame at NASCAR’s new, multi-stage format. A check of the facts, however, points to another culprit; the drivers themselves.

The race started well, with exciting, three-wide racing through the first 250 miles. As the halfway flags flew, however, the “Great American Race” turned into a county fair demolition derby, with five major crashes in a 45-lap span.

 AP/John Chilton

On Lap 105, Kyle Busch’s bid for Victory Lane ended when he blew a tire and slammed the wall in Turns 3-4, sweeping up perennial Daytona favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, rookies Erik Jones and Ty Dillon and Elliott Sadler. Busch, Earnhardt and Kenseth were eliminated from competition.

On Lap 128, Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson tangled, triggering a massive, 16-car mashup that eliminated Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick.

On Lap 137, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney, Sadler and Jeffrey Earnhardt drivers crashed on the backstretch, drawing yet another yellow flag and ending Stenhouse’s day.

AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack

On Lap 143, Brad Keselowski, Landon Cassill, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, DJ Kennington, Brendan Gaughan, Daniel Suarez, McMurray, Hamlin, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Ty Dillon were at it again on the backstretch, ending the afternoon for Earnhardt, Keselowski, McMurray, Suarez and Dillon.

And finally, on Lap 151, Gaughan and Joey Gase crashed on the backstretch, with Elliott once again getting a piece of the action.

That’s a whole lot of wrecking in a short period of time. None of it, however, can reasonably be blamed on NASCAR’s new, stage-oriented format.

Sunday’s First Stage ended on Lap 60, 28 laps after the race’s first yellow flag. Stage Two restarted without incident and ran caution-free for another 44 laps.

Stage Two concluded on Lap 120 -- again without incident – with Stage Three beginning cleanly and running seven laps – nearly 20 miles -- before the calamity began.

The final 49 circuits of the event also ran caution-free, despite some spirited, three-wide racing that produced a first-time winner in Kurt Busch, but only after youthful contenders Elliott and Kyle Larson fell out contention after sputtering out of fuel on the final lap.

Did too many cars get wrecked Sunday at Daytona? You bet.

Is NASCAR’s fledgling format to blame? Absolutely not.

“Stage racing hasn’t contributed to any crashes,” said Stenhouse, shortly after being eliminated in the Lap 137 backstretch twister. “We finished every stage under green with no issues, so I would say stage racing was not the issue.”

Harvick said the blame lies under the helmet, saying, “We got some (drivers) up there that didn’t need to be up there, and wound up doing more than their car could do.”

That often happens in restrictor plate racing, regardless of format.

The World Center of Racing has always been unpredictable, and Sunday’s race was hardly the first season opener to be afflicted by an outbreak of Yellow Fever. It has happened for decades, and it will happen again.

Bet on it.

There will be plenty of time in coming weeks to assess NASCAR’s new, stage-based format. The sport’s annual Western Swing – with events at Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Auto Club Speedways – should provide a calmer, less-volatile yardstick with which to measure.

COMMENTARY: Exploitation Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

The Monster Energy girls made their debut in NASCAR Victory Lane Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, and some folks aren’t exactly happy about it.

Winner Joey Logano had barely finished spraying his celebratory champagne after winning the season-opening Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona before the internet exploded with reviews – both positive and negative – of the Monster girls’ all-black, form-fitting attire.

“I can't believe the sanctioning body stooped that low,” said one indignant Facebook poster. “This is family friendly? Boobs and leather? I know a lot of people who would not take their families if sights like this become the norm.

“NASCAR has (always) had beautiful women,” she continued. “But this is just downright SLUTTY!!!! As slutty as it gets.”

“Are we going for (the) porn star look?” asked another fan. “Leather bustier, Really?”

Daytona's Monster Energy girls

Yesterday’s Monster Energy girl outfits were admittedly more revealing than those of their “Miss Sprint Cup” predecessors, who wore stylized fire suits during Nextel/Sprint’s decade-plus run as NASCAR’s top entitlement sponsor. Monster Energy is a hipper, edgier brand, tailored to appeal to a younger audience. As such, it was expected that their Victory Lane representation might be a bit more… provocative.

The Monster Energy girls wore full-length black leggings Sunday at Daytona, with high-top boots and open-shoulder leather tops. No bare midriffs, no short-shorts, no thong bikinis.

As one Tweeter remarked, “I’ve seen more cleavage at Wal-Mart.”

Sunday’s Victory Lane attire was – in this writer’s personal opinion -- far from “slutty.” In fact, it was less provocative than many of the outfits parading outside my hotel balcony today on The World’s Most Famous Beach. But my opinion doesn’t matter all that much, since what is acceptable to one observer is “slutty” to another.

“The problem is that the ladies worked so hard to be reps for NASCAR and are being relegated to eye candy again,” said one fan via Twitter.

Linda Vaughn set a high bar.

That point of view is valid, but it is also somewhat lacking in historical perspective.

Since the earliest days of the sport, trophy queens have been part of the NASCAR experience. Since being named "Miss Queen of Speed” at Atlanta International Raceway" in 1961, Linda Vaughn has graced Victory Lanes at motorsports events around the globe. Now a youthful 73 years of age, the universally acknowledged “Queen of the Trophy Queens” remains a familiar sight in the NASCAR garage. From the outset, Vaughn was more than just a pretty face. She was (and still is) an intelligent, knowledgeable authority on motorsports who knows more about the machinery being raced than many of the men racing them.

Today’s Monster Energy Girls – like Linda Vaughn before them – are more than just pretty faces. And they do not deserve the “slutty” tag so flippantly bestowed upon them by some observers.

Lady Gaga: demeaning?

I recall no outrage two weeks ago when Lady Gaga showed up for work at halftime of the Super Bowl in an outfit far skimpier than those worn by the Minster Energy girls at Daytona Sunday. No one seemed offended by her choice of apparel, and many jumped to her defense (rightfully) when a small band of internet trolls criticized her for sporting six-pack abs that were not well enough defined for their taste.

Virtually every professional sport has cheerleaders on the sideline, complete with outfits skimpy enough to make the Monster Energy girls look downright overdressed.

Was Lady Gaga being “exploited” at Super Bowl L1? Was the presence of scantily clad cheerleaders demeaning to women and young girls? And if not, how can that possibly be the case for the Monster Energy girls?

There are a million different opinions on this topic; none of them any more (or less) valid than the others.

And that, my friends, is the problem.

From bikini to burka, there are lots of options out there. And with such a wide variance of opinion in terms of what people find acceptable, who gets to decide what is “too much” when it comes to Victory Lane attire?

In the end, Monster Energy does, along with the young ladies who don their chosen attire on Sunday afternoons. And that, unfortunately, leads to a certain degree of indignance among the fan base.

I am the proud father of two adult daughters. And as such, I have always encouraged them to be whatever they wanted to be in life. Doctor, lawyer, teacher, firefighter… or Monster Energy girl. The choice should be theirs, and theirs alone.

If we truly believe in the empowerment of women, we cannot have it any other way.

Make your own decisions, live and let live. It’s what we do in 2017.

Good News And Bad News For Hendrick Motorsports

Elliott (R) and Earnhardt swept the front row

Speedweeks 2017 is off to a flying start for Hendrick Motorsports.

Sophomore sensation Chase Elliott won the pole for Sunday’s Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year Sunday, turning a fast lap of 192.308 mph. HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will start second.

"Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has done a lot of work this off-season," said Elliott, the first driver to claim back-to-back Daytona 500 poles since Kenny Schrader turned the trick in three straight years; 1988-1990. "This team definitely has a knack for these plate tracks… but that stuff doesn't just happen by staying the same. Everyone is always trying to get better and make their cars better and faster; and the engine shop is always finding new things. I'm happy to be a part of it, and hopefully we can run good next Sunday."

Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne time-trailed eighth, with Jimmie Johnson 13^th. Those single-car time trial results would seem to bode well for Hendrick’s chances in Sunday’s Great American Race. But for the second time in as many seasons, HMS cars have struggled when drafting

Twelve months after Earnhardt suffered multiple solo spins in Turn Four of the 2.5-mile tri-oval, Johnson lost control twice in Sunday’s 75-lap, non-point Advance Auto Parts Clash. The defending series champion survived the first incident, bouncing off the Ford of Kurt Busch and sending Busch into a spin that ended his day. Johnson’s second crash was more costly to the Lowe’s Chevrolet team, inflicting damage that ended their day with a 16^th-place finish in the 17-car field.

But Johnson struggled in traffic. (USA Today photo)

“It’s bizarre, because it drove really good everywhere else,” said Johnson after his second solo crash. “The first time, I had a handling problem when it broke free and I got into the No. 41. Then after that, it was really loose (during) the last long stretch, before I crashed again. 

“I would have to assume that it’s relative to the height of the rear spoiler,” said Johnson, a seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion who has uncharacteristically crashed out of six consecutive Clashes in the last six years. “When there is less air and the air is so turbulent back there, the spoiler is so small it’s real easy to get the pressure off of it.

“Then the back just rotates around.”

Johnson’s struggles were not lost on Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who viewed the procedings from the FS1 television booth while Alex Bowman drove his No. 88 Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the Clash. After spinning three times in virtually the identical spot during Speedweeks 2016, Earnhardt expressed concern with the Hendrick organization’s big-track handling package.

Within minutes after exiting his damaged racer, Johnson was already speculating that Sunday’s bright sunshine may have impacted the performance of his car.

“The sun certainly sits on that (Turn Four) edge of the track a little bit harder than anywhere else,” he said. “We will take some notes and learn from those mistakes and apply that to the 500 car.

“We can adjust rear shocks, rear ride height and try to get more pitch in the car in a sense to keep the spoiler up in the air longer.”

Hendrick’s on-track struggles may force the organization to abandon its recent policy of practicing minimally at Daytona, and drafting virtually not at all. Sources close to the team say both Johnson and Earnhardt will do a good deal of pack racing in this week’s practice sessions, in an attempt to diagnose and cure their continuing issues in the draft. 

Petty Unhappy With Earnhardt's Return

"I was a little disappointed..."

NASCAR fans are anxiously awaiting the return of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., to on-track competition this week at Daytona International Speedway.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, however, is not one of them.

Petty told FS1’s NASCAR Race Hub last week that he was “a little disappointed” in Earnhardt’s decision to return from a concussion suffered last season; an injury that sidelined him from the second half of the 2016 campaign.

“I was a little disappointed that he did,” said Petty, adding that Earnhardt has “lived half his life, and he don’t need to be messed up going to the next (half).

“I feel like he got through with it two or three times, and he had some pretty big knocks in the head,” said Petty. “I’ve had them, too. I think I still live in one of them, but hitting (my head) was never that bad. He’s got a lot of career, opportunities in front of him. He could make another career, and racing would be a minor thing for him.”

Petty compared Earnhardt -- who was medically cleared to return to competition this season after an exhaustive regimen of rehabilitation and therapy -- to Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards, who cited a desire to maintain good health in his decision to retire earlier this year.

Junior returns at Daytona 

"Look, man, you are still a young man,” said Petty. “You still have your career in front of you. I don’t know if Carl had thought about that same of that kind of stuff.”

To some, Petty’s remarks smacked of “do as I say, not as I do.” After all, the avowed “King of NASCAR” raced with a laundry list of injuries during his Hall Of Fame career, even competing with a broken neck at Talladega Superspeedway in 1980 after a savage crash at Pocono Raceway a week earlier.

“When I broke my neck at Pocono, they took me to the hospital there in Pennsylvania and took x-rays,” recalled Petty in a 2016 interview. “The doctor came in and looked at the x-rays and said, `When did you break your neck before?’

“I didn’t even know I had broken my neck before. I probably broke it some time that I broke something else that hurt worse. They made me a special brace for my neck, and I qualified the car and started the race. I did get out of the car after a while and turned it over to another boy.”

Petty insisted that in his era, drivers were financially incapable of sitting out, unlike today’s stars with their seven-figure incomes.

Petty knows what it's like to race hurt

“No matter how bad you were hurt, your job was to get in that race car and do the best you could,” he said. “You had obligations to yourself, your family and the people that you worked with. You just went and done it.

“If you had a broken leg, you got in the car. If you had broken ribs, you got in the car. If you had a broken neck, you got in the car. If you had a broken shoulder, they taped the dang thing up, put you in the car and you went.”

The 42-year old Earnhardt said he believes he was initially injured in a crash at Michigan International Speedway in June of last season, though no symptoms presented themselves at the time. A second crash in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July prompted him to seek medical attention, and he stepped out of the cockpit under doctors’ orders four weeks later. 

The marked the second time NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver has been forced to the sidelines by a concussion, after missing two Chase races in October of 2012 with similar symptoms.

He told reporters late last month that he is not putting pressure on himself to return quickly to Victory Lane, saying, “I don’t know if I feel like I have something to prove. My fans want me to win… have a great year and win the championship. There is that expectation to compete and do well, but I’ve said 100 times (that) I’ve done more than what I set out to do.

“I’ve accomplished more than what I thought I would accomplish. I look at my trophies and I can’t believe they’re mine. I’m pretty happy with what I did. I’m blown away with how fortunate I’ve been.”

The third-generation driver will sit out next week’s non-point, Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona in favor of youngster Alex Bowman, before returning to competition in the season-opening Daytona 500; a race he won in 2004 and 2014.owman, before returning to competition in the season-opening Daytona 500; a race he won in 2004 and 2014.

Truex Set For Full Truck Season With Hattori Racing

Ryan Truex, the 2009 and 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion, will run a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule for Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2017, driving the No. 16 Toyota Tundra. Truex competed in 15 events with HRE in 2016, bringing home a career-best finish of second at Daytona International Speedway in February.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to race my first full National Series season with HRE and Toyota Racing in 2017,” Truex said. "We started 2016 on a strong note and were able to contend for the playoffs, prior to stepping out of the truck after Charlotte. I know we can have similar -- if not better -- results in 2017 and I’m looking forward to contending for race wins and hopefully making the playoffs this season.”

Scott Zipadelli will take over the crew chief duties for Truex in 2017, his first season with HRE. In 2016, Zipadelli picked up his first-career NCWTS victory in August at Michigan International Speedway. The veteran crew chief also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series victories on his resume.

Truex made his HRE debut at Daytona last year and competed in select events throughout the 2016 season. In 15 starts the 24-year-old compiled one Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes. Truex has three career NCWTS starts at Daytona, with two Top-5 results.

“Ryan has the pedigree of a great driver and is even a better person,” said team owner Shige Hattori. “It was an honor to have him drive our trucks last season and I’m looking forward to competing for the championship with him and the team this season.  We recently moved into a new state-of-the-art shop facility and have recruited fantastic team personnel for this season. We feel like we’ve done everything to improve our organization which should result in competitive results.  I know the No. 16 Toyota Tundra will compete for race wins this season.”

There will be several sponsor announcements coming at a later date.

The Lights Are On At Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway powered-up four of the track’s new LED light towers Wednesday night, for the first time. The lights, located along the backstretch of the half-mile track, gave engineers and track staff the first glimpse of what the “Light Up Martinsville” project will look like when complete.

“This is really exciting and such a historic day for Martinsville Speedway,” Track President Clay Campbell said. “I think we all had an idea of what it would look like, but know you can really visualize it. I can’t wait to see the whole track lit up. I think the fans are really in for a treat.”

Campbell said there is no more fitting way to celebrate the track’s 70^th anniversary than by looking to the future.

“Last week, I was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as my grandfather (track founder H. Clay Earles) was honored, which celebrated our rich history and now we’re looking at what is part of, literally, a bright future,” Campbell said. “This shows Martinsville Speedway and our parent company International Speedway Corporation are committed to both our fans and our community not just now, but for long haul.”

The $5 million project will make the track the first major motorsports facility in the country with LED lights.

The ValleyStar Credit Union 300, NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious Late Model Stock Car race is the first race scheduled to be held under the lights, on September 23.

Racing returns to Martinsville Speedway March 31-April 2. The weekend starts on Friday with Virginia Lottery Pole Day and continues Saturday with the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be in action on Sunday with the running of the STP 500.

Motor Racing Network Honored By NMPA

Motor Racing Network -- “The Voice of NASCAR” – has been honored by the National Motorsports Press Association with 26 awards in 13 categories for broadcast excellence during the 2016 season, including first place in the Live Event Broadcast category for the fourth year in a row.

Motor Racing Network won that historic award for the Daytona 500 and followed that with a third place in the Live Event Broadcast category for the November race from Phoenix.  Mike Bagley, turn announcer on MRN’s race broadcasts and host of MRN’s Tuesday night “NASCAR Live,” as well as “The Morning Drive” on Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio, was named Broadcaster of the Year. Rich Culbreth, producer of “NASCAR Live,” was named Radio Producer of the Year.

MRN was recognized as the NMPA’s annual convention wrapped up in Concord, N.C. The network swept the top three spots in Topic Oriented Feature Radio and Event Oriented Feature Radio.  They also grabbed first and third place awards in Spot News. Winners included MRN’s Tyler Burnett, Ryan Horn, David Hyatt, Winston Kelley, Dave Moody, Brian Nelson and Darrell Smith.

“We’re humbly grateful for this recognition,” said MRN President and Executive Producer David Hyatt. “These awards reflect the hard work and dedication of our broadcast team, as they continue to support our mission of providing the Most Trusted and Authentic Motorsports Coverage.”

In addition to being named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, Bagley won first place in the Spot News category for his work on “NASCAR Live.” In Event-oriented Feature Radio, he and Culbreth teamed up again for top honors.

“I’m totally speechless, said Bagley.  “Receiving this award is quite overwhelming. From the day I started in this business, I have always tried to do my best at broadcasting a sport I grew up loving.  To be recognized by my peers is quite an honor.”

This year, MRN’s Digital content also took home NMPA glass. Three of the company’s digital video programs on MRN.com won awards including first place to Producers Robbie Mays and Tyler Burnett (Wood Brothers Museum), second-place awards for both Steve Post/Craig Moore (Winged Nation) and Woody Cain (Motorsports Monday).  The daily website and mobile app also scored a victory for webmaster Jeff Wackerlin in the Portrait/Personality Photography category.

“I often tell people that if you are in the media business, you have to be in the multimedia business,” said Hyatt.  “We have embraced the role that Digital Content plays in our sport and these awards validate our commitment to the ever-changing new media marketplace.” 

Motor Racing Network will launch its 48^th season of NASCAR coverage from Daytona Beach, Fla., with live flag to flag broadcast of the season-opening Advance Auto Parts Clash special event on Feb. 18.  MRN will be the home to all of DAYTONA Speedweeks, culminating with the 59^th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.

COMMENTARY: Time To Add Some Spice To The Soup

NASCAR is set to shuffle its competitive cards in a big way later today, announcing a series of sweeping format changes for all three of its national series.

Beginning next month at Daytona International Speedway, Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Monster Energy Cup Series races are expected to be divided into three distinct segments, with planned stoppages in between. The opening two stages of each event will comprise 25-30% of the race total, with the final stage accounting for 40-50%. Each stage will pay championship points to the Top-10 finishers in descending order (10, 9, 8, etc.) with stage winners receiving a single bonus point for seeding at the start of the post-season playoffs.

Monday’s announcement will be controversial in some corners, with fans bemoaning the latest in a series of changes made to the sport in recent seasons. Ironically, the sanctioning says the changes were spurred by suggestions from that very fan base; an ever-changing group that seems to want more action, fewer lulls and a more compact product.

Today’s announcement will be a clear attempt by NASCAR to inject some excitement back into the first half of its events. For far too long, the sanctioning body has been dogged by complaints of “boring” races, with fans tuning in for the green flag, then wandering away – often for hours at a time -- to cut the grass, shop for groceries or tend the barbeque; confident that they won’t miss much.

More and more these days, they’re right.

In modern-day NASCAR, engine failures have become virtually non-existent. Cars don’t erupt in plumes of white smoke anymore, spilling fluid on the track while being chased down the backstretch by their own connecting rods. Mechanical failures of all kinds are down dramatically, with a vast majority of the 40-car starting field still on-track at the drop of the checkered flag. Tire technology has improved, leading to fewer blow-out related crashes. An increased dependence on aerodynamic downforce keeps cars glued to the race track like never before, resulting in fewer spins and crashes. Fewer caution flags means fewer pit stops, fewer restarts and less excitement; a trend that NASCAR cannot afford to ignore any longer.

Awarding 10 points to segment winners will incentivize drivers to go the front immediately and stay there, all day long. No more “riding in the pack,” no more “saving your car” for a points-paying finish that is still hours away. Modern-day NASCAR fans want action now instead of excitement deferred, and Monday’s announcement should deliver that, in spades.

Today’s announcement will be a difficult pill to swallow for many NASCAR fans. Personally, I am uneasy about a system that could – at least in theory – award the 2017 championship based on a driver’s ability to win the Daytona 200, 300 or 400. I’m a traditionalist, and appreciate the endurance aspect of our sport. I’m willing to sit through the occasional mid-race competitive lull, knowing that business usually picks up at closing time. But I’m in the minority, and I know it.

For every fan like me, there are a dozen who say they doze off during those mid-race lapses, lulled into a competitive coma by a sport that has contented itself for far too long with the idea of a dominant leader, cruising along with an eight-second lead, lap after lap after lap.

Is NASCAR’s new format manipulative? Perhaps. But there are worse things to be called than "manipulative."

Boring, for instance.

NASCAR cannot continue to be the sport you sleep through. With races routinely requiring more than three hours to complete, NASCAR has become a marathon event in a microwave society. That trend cannot be allowed to continue any longer.

There is too much on the line. 

We cannot expect a fan base increasingly raised on thrill-a-minute video games to sit and wait – often for hours at a time – for their final-lap payoff. It was time to add some spice to the soup, before we lose another generation of fans.

Adapt, or die.

Liberty University To Back Byron At JRM

JR Motorsports announced today that Liberty University will sponsor William Byron in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017. Byron, who unveiled the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro during a Facebook Live stream, will drive the car in 17 of 33 events this season, beginning with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Byron, a native of Charlotte, N.C., is coming off a rookie season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he posted a rookie-record seven wins, 11 Top-5 and 16 Top-10 finishes.  The 19-year-old also claimed Rookie of the Year honors and qualified for the inaugural NCWTS Chase.

“Welcoming back William and reuniting with Liberty University, it feels like a homecoming for us,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports.  “It’s remarkable to see how quickly William has advanced his talent since he drove for our Late Model team.  With the support from Liberty, we have a strong platform for him to have success at the Xfinity level.”

Founded in 1971, Liberty University is distinguished as the largest university in Virginia, and the largest Christian university in the world.  Liberty University was a previous partner with JRM during Byron’s Late Model career with the team in 2014 and 2015. 

“We here at Liberty have watched William grow, as a racer, as a student, and as a young champion for Christ,” said Jerry Falwell, Liberty University chancellor.  “We are proud of his achievements and are eager to see him continue to reach new heights.”

Along with the sponsorship news, it was also announced Dave Elenz will serve as crew chief for Byron and the No. 9 Liberty University team in 2017. Elenz, a 35-year-old native of Gaylord, Mich., transitions from a two-year stint as crew chief of JRM’s No. 88 entry.  He guided the team to four victories with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick.

“It’s a privilege to have Liberty University on board with us in 2017,” said Byron, a Liberty University freshman taking online classes. “I’ve been honored to have had them as a partner the last few years, and I’m excited to take them into the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. 

“I’m also looking forward to working with Dave [Elenz, crew chief].  He brings a lot to the table in terms of experience and leadership in this series.  That will go a long way in helping our No. 9 team on the track this year.”

A schedule of the 2017 races with Liberty University as primary sponsor will be announced at a later date, as will additional partners for Byron and the No. 9 team. Apart from its primary races, Liberty University will receive associate placement in the remaining 16 events.