Happy Hour: Saturday vs. Sunday
By Jay Hart, Yahoo! Sports Oct 6, 3:50 am EDT
Ten solid races, no mulligans, that’s what it’s going to take to win the title. And yes, it can be done without a single trip to victory lane.
We’re loaded, so let’s get to the mailbag:
Jay, I agree with some of your suggestions in your Oct. 3 article, but do you really want to go from competing with the NFL to competing with college football? Seems like you’d be trading the fire for the frying pan in my mind.
Grant
Atlanta
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True, but I’d still rather fight the lighter of the two heavyweights. Plus, on Saturday night you’re only going up against one or two marquee college games and you’re not competing against fantasy football. Of course, the problem with this is convincing ABC to air NASCAR over college football on Saturday nights, and that’s probably not going to happen.
Why “the Chase” at all? Let-um run. You eliminate so many fans by taking their favorite out at the end. Jr. is a prime example. A huge part of the fans lose interest after he’s out.
Roger Schaeffer
Prophetstown, Ill.
Under the old points system, Junior would have been out of the championship hunt by the end of March. The lure of making the Chase kept him relevant for another two months. And had he turned things around, he could be a championship contender today. Back on March 29, Junior was 299 points out, while Juan Pablo Montoya was only 13 points better. Today, Montoya sits third in the standings, smack dab in the middle of the championship hunt.
Jay, Not an NFL fan at all, and at best a casual NASCAR fan. This year as normal, my interest peaks at the Daytona 500, then goes downhill as the races are far too long, both in distance and especially time. On a summer afternoon, I’m not spending 3-plus hours inside the house watching television. The “Chase” is meaningless to me. The races themselves, from my brief glimpses, seem to be “won” in the pits and not on the track. Almost like Formula 1 with little passing. So, it’s no surprise to me to see viewership down. I must also add, there has not been a compelling personality to love/hate since the late Dale Earnhardt.
Bill Armstrong
Listowel, Ontario, Canada
Keep this in mind, too – the NFL season lasts 23 weeks, while the NASCAR season covers 41 weeks. Asking fans to maintain a fever pitch from mid-February to late November is a fruitless endeavor, even if we were talking about the NFL. On top of this, NASCAR fans get a scant 11 weeks to recharge their batteries and get geared up for the next season. Bottom line, 36 races doesn’t leave many folks, if any, wanting for more.
Jay … I’m writing this on Saturday night, so I have no idea how the Kansas race will turn out, but just a few things …
In regards to your article about why people aren’t watching, I offer this. Yes, Mark Martin is a great story, and I do kind of hope he wins (though I am a Tony Stewart fan so my loyalty lies there first), but I think even his story is being “Hendrick-ized,” leading to nobody caring about watching.
Example: My wife and I went to Dover last weekend that we had planned even before the season started. We watched qualifying on Friday where Jimmy was about 3 full MPH faster than ANYONE else (but it’s OK he’s not cheating). Then we watched him smoke every practice (boring). Then obviously we had to watch the race where all we did all day was pray that something happened to his car or some mistake that someone else had a chance. Total waste of a trip and money. I could have stayed home, DVR’d the race and fast forwarded it to victory lane. Except being live to watch Logano’s rollovers, that was worth it.
But my point is that nobody is watching because whether its Jimmie Johnson (again) or Jeff Gordon (again) or now even Mark Martin is just falling into this Hendrick-ized NASCAR and if someone in that camp is going to dominate the Chase, then why even watch and who cares.
Evan L.
Erie, Pa.
A lot of you share Evan’s frustration, but I’m willing to bet that if the Hendrick driver threatening to run away with things was Junior, a good number of you would be singing a different tune.
I understand the ambivalence over yet another Hendrick parade. Still, isn’t it incumbent on other teams to beat them?
(And spare me the argument that NASCAR plays favorites. I’ve heard that one before. It comes from the same people who think NASCAR is all about the Benjamins, and those two arguments contradict one another, because if NASCAR was playing favorites in order to make more money, the 88 would be the Hendrick car leading the standings, not the 48.)
The biggest problem I see NASCAR facing in the next few years is the proliferation of satellite teams. It’s one thing for Hendrick cars to be beating the pants off the competition in the Chase; it’s another for Hendrick cars to be the only cars in the Chase.
You know, Jay, I was watching the postrace stuff here on Yahoo!, and I saw exactly what you were talking about back in July with the way Tony Stewart handles the media. When the reporter brought up the old points system, Stewart really let him have it. It was frustrating to watch and I felt really bad for the journalist. After belittling the guy and trying to embarrass him in front of his peers, the guy was allowed to sort of make his point, which ended up being a good one. Then we got to watch Stewart try to seriously back-pedal once he realized what a complete fool he’d made of himself.
I really had high hopes for him based on behavior earlier this year, but I guess you were right. After all, you folks spend a lot more time in the garage than the rest of us. It’s funny, he was being glib about Gordon sitting in the same chair earlier during post race. Apparently, Gordon took all of his “class” with him when he left that chair.
Michael Worley
Houston
Hey Jay, How come there are so many Jimmy haters out there? I understand not liking someone who kicks your guys butt every year, but the hate goes well beyond that.
This guy is a great role model, you don’t read about him doing stupid stuff in the news (golf rodeos may be the exception) and he is polite no matter what.
If my son wanted to grow up to be a racer, I’d use JJ’s work ethic as a prime example of how to do it the right way and get to the top. When Mark Martin says you are the hardest working driver, I’d take it to the bank.
The haters are the fans that give NASCAR the red-neck, beer slob reputation that it doesn’t deserve. None of the top 12 fit the old mold, not even the old man. I can just imagine what would happen if JPM wins the Chase one year. He’d have to hire body guards.
All you blog writers and radio call-in folks need to take a chill pill. You never know who is reading or listening to some of the moronic comments you make. Be an example that makes a positive difference.
Buzz Crowell
The Woodlands, Texas
A foreign-born champion? You can’t get more American than that! We are the country founded and built on immigrants coming to the land of opportunity to take chances on achieving excellence. (It improves the gene pool.) No guarantees. Just the right of PURSUIT.
It is great to see Montoya and Ambrose giving it their best shot. And it is flattering to see some internationals looking at NASCAR as THE world’s premier series. This shows just how far NASCAR has come.
I was never a NASCAR fan, but now I watch it more and more as the talent level is at an all-time high. Not that there weren’t good drivers in the past, but the overall skill level is getting higher. And now NASCAR is even drawing attention away from what used to be considered the world’s premier racing series: F1.
Now I’d just like to see more variety in the venues, like in the old CART or what is becoming IndyCar: Road courses, Street Courses, Short oval bull rings like Milwaukee and Martinsville, and a nice variety of the remaining ovals like Indy, Bristol, Phoenix, etc. Keep ‘em coming!
Dave
Lubbock, Texas
Being jingoistic has its place, like when lamenting the fact that Budweiser is no longer American owned. Blasphemy.
But Dave makes a great point that foreign drivers coming to NASCAR is not only a compliment to the sport, but it enhances the competition. Now, when Formula 1 crowns its series winner, maybe they should rethink calling him the “world champion.”
I don’t think Jr. could drive his butt out of an empty parking lot without screwing it up. Of course, it wouldn’t be his fault.
John Ewell
Easthampton, Mass.
