Why NASCAR "Start-and-Park" Teams Should Just Be Parked

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

With the bad economy taking its toll on NASCAR in a variety of ways (truck series struggling to reach 36 entries each week, Cup teams folding like an origami sensei, just to name a few), a nasty phenomenon has popped up in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series—the start-and-park team.

Start-and-park teams used to be oddities at worst, minor hindrances at the back of the field that nobody noticed when they dropped out a few dozen laps into the race.  They were lovable losers like Morgan Shepherd of Victory in Jesus Racing and Faith Motorsports. 

They were feel-good stories, like Kirk Shelmerdine shocking everyone at the 2006 Daytona 500, racing to a 20th place finish with last year's car, a borrowed engine and pit crew, and tires donated by die-hard Earnhardt Sr. fans.

But in this weekend's Food City 500 at the World's Fastest Half-Mile, Bristol Motor Speedway, Dave Blaney brought start-and-park teams to everyone's attention—sideways in front of the field in Turn Four.

The accident wasn't Blaney's fault. Lapped driver John Andretti, whose better days are most certainly behind him and in a different type of car, spun Blaney, who was running second at the time behind defending series champion Jimmie Johnson after forgoing an early pit stop to gain track position. Blaney was holding his own until Andretti spun him.

Blaney's spin seemed pretty benign, and he did everything they tell you to do when you're spinning: Crank the wheel to the left and stand on the brake. Blaney did and managed to keep the car off the wall, and, miraculously, the 40 cars behind him. 

Things went south from there. Blaney brought the car down pit road, then made the hard left turn into the infield area. The move was puzzling, because usually after a spin like that, the driver brings the car into the pits for four fresh Goodyear Eagles and two cans of Sunoco 98 octane race fuel and keeps going. 

Later in the broadcast, commentators noted that Blaney's number 66 Camry was in the garage area undergoing repairs. Repairs for what? He didn't hit anything! Did the engine spin backwards and blow up? Didn't seem like it when he drove the car off turn four and down the pit lane. Did he lose a gear?  At Bristol, you only need one, except on restarts.

Soon afterward, Blaney was listed as "Out," and the official reason given to NASCAR was a steering failure. A steering failure? The car seemed to steer fine into the pits and the garage. To me, it seems like the problem with the car is that Blaney flat-spotted the only set of tires the team had. I guess the poor handling on a flat-spotted set of tires could be considered a steering failure, but I would prefer a more honest approach.

Now, there's no telling if one of the two teams that didn't qualify this weekend (Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs) might have done the same thing in this situation. I also can't be sure that Blaney's car wasn't actually experiencing a steering malfunction as a result of sliding sideways across 36 degrees of banking. 

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