Winston Not Necessarily Gone, Plus More Pre-Shootout Miscellanea
We enter 2003 and the nightmare has started with rumors that RJR will
withdraw its sponsorship of NASCAR’s top-drawer racing division after 2003. It
has long been a rumor since the government’s quasi-legal extortion of the
tobacco industry hit home in the late 1990s, but it never really seemed that
plausible.
Even now amid the mini-panic in the sport, there is reason to think RJR will
stay. For one, Winston recently signed to sponsor NASCAR through the 2006 season
at least. For another, the talks between NASCAR and RJR about sponsorship change
are conditional on finding a suitable replacement, with Coke, McDonald’s, and
Anheuser-Busch as the most likely candidates. But none of those companies is in
better shape than RJR, and to make the investment for the series sponsor would
be a new investment, larger than their previous involvement with the sport,
though Busch has the obvious upper hand with its sponsorship of NASCAR’s
Superspeedway Sportsman division. And one more item – all the negative talk
about the economy assumes it will not recover, which is nonsense; it will
recover, though it also shows the need to get serious about cutting costs.
The Winston story brings to mind the pending withdrawal of Union 76 as the
sport’s official fuel – already Exxon has been reported as lined up to take
over. RJR has shown greater resiliency than most companies, and its NASCAR
involvement has been its signature since it entered sponsorship of NASCAR’s
Grand National Series in 1971.
Just how legitimate are these Daytona Shootout and similar race lineup draws?
Geoff Bodine, no longer a favorite to win anything, gets the pole for the
Shootout, while race faves Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. start last,
double-defending race winner Tony Stewart starts 12th of 19 entrants, and not
one Dodge in the top nine, this after Dodge showed the most depth in Daytona
testing.
The obviousness is pretty blatant here. Do I smell "inverted
start?" Certainly it will make for a more interesting race – except how
many of these cars will charge hard before the mandatory stop in the second
segment?
Speaking of segments, just when you thought they couldn’t come up with a
dumber change to The Winston, along comes a new wrinkle in the 40-lap first
segment – a mandatory four-tire change stop under green. Why? Why do they need
green-flag stops? Green-flag stops add nothing to the competition.
The Winston’s format has never really been a good one, since for all the talk
about lack of points and how drivers can go all out, it does not reward leading
and going to the front. The only format change necessary is one that makes the
drivers fight all out for the lead – for instance, pay points for laps led and
make accumulated lap points a basis for where to start in the final shootout;
make them fight hard for the lead throughout the race.
And the stick-and-ball-ization of NASCAR continues – Diane Bodine is accused
of threats to a female employee of Hooter’s restaurants’ corporate offices, and
the Gordon divorce trial continues. Race drivers used to have the edge of not
being the boorish thugs common to other pro sports; no one can honestly say that
anymore.
It should serve as a warning to other sports who want to become big-league –
it isn’t really worth it. The greater charm of NOT being one of the big boys is
always better than the Hollywoodization that NASCAR has undergone. It was this
charm, of not being like the big league pro sports, that was one of NASCAR’s
major draws; now in its zeal for attention the sport continues to debase itself
with useless glitter (why should the sport care if Sheryl Crow – who ought to be
banished for that traitorous "War Is Not The Answer" shirt – is a big race fan?
That should be secondary to the competition) and promotional overkill.
Amid Daytona’s happenings, area short tracks also kick off the racing season,
with New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing ready to kick off.
NASCAR’s Mod Tour has several entries, including Mod Tour legend Ted
Christopher, not in his usual Mystique #13 but in a Brady Bunch #00. George
"The Duke Of" Kent, Eddie Flemke, J.R. Bertuccio, Rob Summers, and Dan
Meservey Jr. are among the Tour vets on hand for the series, kicking off
February 7th.
If you’re unable to attend the events at the Big D, New Smyrna, Volusia
County Speedway, Lakeland’s 3/4 miler, and other area short tracks are worth a
visit.