{"id":484,"date":"2002-09-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2002-09-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/archive-477-pointless-on-points-and-wrong-on-garage-access\/"},"modified":"2002-09-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2002-09-20T00:00:00","slug":"archive-477-pointless-on-points-and-wrong-on-garage-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/archive-477-pointless-on-points-and-wrong-on-garage-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Pointless On Points, And Wrong On Garage Access"},"content":{"rendered":"

The winner of the most races this year is ninth in points. The point leader
\nhas just one win. For the last eighteen seasons the winner of the most races won
\nthe championship only eight times. The title was clinched before the last race
\nthe last four seasons, and not since 1992 has there been a point race where the
\noutcome had any chance of changing in the last race.<\/p>\n

Thus is the indictment against the Latford Point System, a system briefly
\nexamined by Jim Pedley to insufficient depth1<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 1984 Terry Labonte won just two races and won the championship, then did
\nit again in 1996. Darrell Waltrip won a paltry three races and the championship.
\nDale Earnhardt won a combined 14 races in his final three titles – less than the
\n18 wins Rusty Wallace got in 1993-4. Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte each won
\nfour times en route to the title, less than Jeff Gordon’s 1999 tally of seven
\nwins and Tony Stewart’s 2000 tally of six.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the Latford system always cite "consistency," never
\nmind that point systems are supposed to reward PERFORMANCE. Wins, laps led, top
\nfives, and top tens are supposed to mean a lot more than just the best average
\nfinish.<\/p>\n

And given this emphasis on consistency instead of performance, it does
\ncontribute to boring racing, as teams worry more about points and the paycheck
\ninstead of the win.<\/p>\n

The excuse sometimes cited cuts to The Big Lie of modern racing – "Tony
\nStewart said that a system that would make rewards for winning larger would
\nproduce more dangerous racing. ‘I think you’d see a lot more crashing.’"2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

No you wouldn’t, Tony. The dichotomy between ferocity of racing and crashes
\nis a bogus one. If anything, it is the OPPOSITE of this dichotomy that is true –
\nthe more ferocious the racing the LESS likely there will be serious injury or a
\ncrash. Certainly crashes do occur in such circumstances, but the implication
\nthat the rules are to blame is wrong – if there were more crashes due to a point
\nsystem that made winning races vital to the championship, then that is the fault
\nof the drivers.<\/p>\n

The IRL thriller at Texas is proof positive of why there is a need for a
\ncomplete overhaul in the point system. With a strong draft, excellent down force,
\nand excellent tires, the IRL’s Lonestar 300 also had an ultimate championship
\nscenario – the top two in points had to win the race to win the title – making
\nfor a great race. Sam Hornish and Helio Castroneves raced for the win, because
\nthey had no choice – win and you’re in. And they took chances even the Winston
\nCup drivers shy away from – there is no slingshot passing in IRL; a car has to
\nsuck up to and alongside another car and then crowd him off to clear into the
\nlead; it is why such IRL races are usually compared to NASCAR restrictor plate
\nracing. As great as slingshot racing is – the NASCAR Modifieds raced like that
\nat New Hampshire the day before – it is actually more exciting and requires more
\nskill to race like this than with slingshot passing.<\/p>\n

Such is how Hornish and Castroneves (and everyone else) raced at Texas, and
\nthe two used bravery alien to modern Winston Cup racing to try and win.
\nHornish’s title hopes seemed to disappear with a green flag stop and an
\nill-timed yellow, but he was still on the lead lap and fought through the field
\ninto victory contention. The two crowded each other so closely they actually
\ntouched wheels to side pods, and stayed that way to yet another IRL photo
\nfinish.<\/p>\n

The title was on the line, and they raced like it. This is the kind of
\nscenario needed for point battles anywhere. Even NASCAR’s famous 1992 Dixie 500
\nchampionship race wasn’t as close as the IRL’s championship race in 2002 – Alan
\nKulwicki didn’t have to win the race to win the title; Bill Elliott had to win
\nthe race but that didn’t win him the title.<\/p>\n

The point system needs to entice the drivers to race for the win, because
\nperformance is what counts – wins, top fives, top tens, laps led. All field
\npositions should pay points, but the above-listed performance ends of racing are
\nwhat need to pay more. That would help make the racing in NASCAR’s circles more
\ncompetitive.<\/p>\n

—————————————————————–<\/p>\n

Then there is the self-inflicted wound NASCAR is pondering – restricting fan
\naccess3<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n

"The drivers have had enough and now it’s up to NASCAR to break from the
\npast and limit the number of people who get to rub elbows with their stars
\nbackstage in the garage area."<\/p>\n

So says Wally Dallenbach, and the wrongness displayed helps explain why he
\ndoesn’t have a competitive race driving job. So what if 1% of the fans in the
\ngarage get under drivers’ skin? That some fans are pushy is not cause to
\nrestrict garage access, because all that does is alienate ALL fans. Dallenbach
\ncomplains about fans who don’t understand the protocol – but that is just
\nself-deceiving nonsense. Drivers ALSO don’t understand the protocol, and if THEY
\ncan’t understand it, then these drivers don’t belong in Winston Cup.<\/p>\n

There is no solution to this problem because, ultimately, there is no
\nproblem. Fan access to the garage, contrary to the whines, does not impede team
\npreparation, nor does it impede drivers’ ability to work. Far more serious to
\ndrivers and teams in the garage are the inspection hassles that are everyday occurrences
\nand also the occasional garage squabble – Larry Lackey’s knockout of Ricky Rudd
\nwasn’t even the worst seen; I still remember the mini-brawl between two SK Mod
\nteams at Thompson in 2000 that nearly got me, an innocent passerby, trampled.<\/p>\n

Limiting fan access is not a necessary evil. It is an evil, period. Fans make
\nthe sport, and limiting their access is wrong, period. If drivers can’t handle
\nfan interaction – and the increasingly spoiled Winston Cup class is showing it
\ncan’t – then those drivers need to either change their approach and make
\nthemselves able to handle it, or get out.<\/p>\n

\n

The big story entering Dover is the use of softer tires. While not as soft as
\ntires run in the late 1990s, they are nonetheless softer, and it has Rusty
\nWallace happy as heck. But as usual he is wrong. The lack of wear in the tires
\nis not the reason for lack of passing – it is the lack of a draft, the
\naero-push, too much horsepower, and a general lack of grip. The bottom line is
\nthat the tires should not be wearing at all. Drivers should not have to conserve
\nanything – they should be open throttle going for the lead at all times. Tire
\nmanagement is cowardly. Slow down to go faster is the wrong way to race – speed
\nup to go faster is the right way.<\/p>\n

If Goodyear’s softer tires make for better grip, fine. But better grip ought
\nto be achieved without making tires that require more stops and this higher tire
\nbills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The winner of the most races this year is ninth in points. The point leader has just one win. For the last eighteen seasons the winner of the most races won the championship only eight times. The title was clinched before the last race the last four seasons, and not since 1992 has there been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racindeals.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}