LEARNING CURVE

When we pay a visit to NOL following the Pontiac Excitement
400, we see a curious little electronic poll asking us how we thought the final
laps should have been handled- you know…finish under yellow, throw the red, or
just extend the race until it can have a green-white-checker finish. Here we
have further proof that Mike Helton and Gary Nelson are absolutely clueless
about this issue as well as others. Deeper yet, it shows us that these two aren’t
really paying attention to what happens in NASCAR beyond the Winston Cup Series.

It’s a no brainer boys!!! GREEN- WHITE- CHECKERS! Any
track, any time, any conditions. A no brainer.

You see gentlemen, there is this others series that races
under the banner of NASCAR called the Craftsman Truck Series. If you ever have
watched a truck race, then you would know two very critical things about this
series. A) They always finish GWC no matter who is leading at what track under
what conditions, and B) The NCTS fans LOVE it!

Never did NCTS fans have to wonder if Hornaday had something
left for Sprague because it finished under caution. Never has a truck won a race
under caution that it would have lost during hot laps because it would have run
out of gas running at full throttle. You see, gentlemen, (and apparently you don’t
see this because you don’t watch the trucks run), NCTS races are still a test
of driver skill head to head rather than a test of the power of the NASCAR
hierarchy. Hmmm. Maybe it IS a good thing you ignore this series after all…

Could Helton and Nelson, at the very least, LEARN from the
fender banging finishes in the NCTS? Race fans like racing. GWC finishes promote
some rather hard-nosed racing as evidenced by the finish of the Pontiac
Excitement 400. Much as everyone anticipated another Stewart/Gordon Bristol
thing, we were just as entertained with the Wallace/Gordon thing. NASCAR needs
to understand that we, the fans, really don’t care that much WHO is racing so
much as we care THAT they are actually racing.

I guess it needs to be said. From qualifying, (Why not heat
races?) to the closing laps, the NASCAR rulebook needs to be revised to promote
racing. Enough of templates, rule changes and restrictor plates. Much as I am
saddened by the loss of Da Man in Black, Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty Tony Roper, and
John Nemechek, the current set of rules just isn’t working for anybody. The
owners don’t like it, the drivers don’t like, the Series sponsors don’t
like it, and the fans don’t like it.

So what if, Mr. Helton. What if we gave each team one car
every weekend and they smashed that one in a qualifying heat and had to go home.
We can’t have that because that means a Dale Jarrett might have to go home
while a Dave Marcis races.

What if we gave each team a 358 cubic inch V-8 motor, an
actual stock body template from the manufacturer of choice at the season’s
start, and let them race with that all year regardless of who is winning and who
is whining.

What if we just did away with restrictor plates. Do you
really think that Bill Elliot would qualify, (in a heat race), at 230MPH and
race at 210? You sell the drivers short by continuing the fallacy of restrictor
plate “racing.” These guys are professionals who will not push the limits of
the human restrictions when the capabilities of their machines exceed their
human limitations. Just ask them.

And what about tires Mr. Helton? Remember when Geoff Bodine
and Rick Mast scared the bejesus out of Goodyear with Hoosier tires? Hoosier
brought a product to market that made the sport more competitive and was
penalized for it by being forced to supply tires for every team, including the
ones that weren’t using them. One would think that NASCAR, in the interest of
safety, could mandate a minimum tire template, and if ANY tire manufacturer
could meet or exceed that standard, then their tires could be sold to any team
wanting them. It didn’t work that way with Hoosier, and one could make some
very nefarious speculations as to why. We won’t even raise the Firestone/Goodrich
issue here other than to say that Goodyear isn’t the only racing tire maker in
the world.

Finally, a word about Jeff Burton. I like Jeff, but it has to
bother him to carry around the moniker of the Rain Man. Actually, he stole a
couple of races due not to Mother Nature, but due to NASCAR policy. Let’s make
sure we understand THIS policy, shall we? If a race has a scheduled distance of
400 laps and it goes 199 until it rains, we pick it up where we left off the
next day. If that same race makes it to lap 201, we call it a race should the
rains come. Hmmm. That’s a difference of two laps. Two laps are the difference
between racing for a win or having it handed to you. Two laps. Makes perfect
sense. Who wins on that deal? Jeff Burton times two. Who loses? The fans and the
other competitors, times two. Makes perfect sense.

Which brings us right back to the Craftsman Truck Series, the
best brand of NASCAR racing NASCAR’s elite isn’t fooling with-yet. Maybe
NASCAR’s crazy uncle in the closet attitude towards the competitors and the
fans of this series is a true blessing after all. At least NCTS’s series
sponsors aren’t rattling their sabers about pulling their sponsorships from
the tour.

Think about this Mr. Helton-Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon
dueling for the title, Tony in a Joe Gibbs machine, and Jeff in a Hendrick
machine…skinned as trucks. Keep up your “racing be damned, I gotta cover my
own rear spoiler” attitude, and the NCTS is the only place where stock car
guys can truly race.

You have issues Mr. Helton, and it’s high time you faced
them, y’know? Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy, and you are no Vince McMahon.
Stop trying to script Winston Cup to your personal vision. This isn’t the WWF.
It’s time to let the race car drivers of NASCAR get back to racing.