Proposing a few changes to the Sprint Cup schedule

NASCAR released the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule today, with minimal changes.  The biggest of which was Atlanta moving to Labor Day weekend and California to October.  Talladega's Chase race was also pushed back a few weeks.  If the series can't be in Darlington over Labor Day, Atlanta is a great second choice.  Certainly not California.  While I like seeing Atlanta finally having a warm weather event, it is still not enough.  Each year, NASCAR preaches schedule realignment, which has yet to amount to much of anything, besides robbing Rockingham of both its dates and one of Darlington's.  It's obvious that the schedule could use a lot of work, and not unexpectedly, the brass down in Florida twiddles their thumbs on the matter.  Ah, Brian France and Mike Helton.  What would we do without them?  That's where I come in.  Using 2008 dates, here is my proposed yearly schedule.  I would have used 2009 dates, but the calendar is strange in the fact that for Richmond not to end up on Labor Day weekend, a fourth off weekend was added at the end of August.  It's nice, albeit for one year, for the teams to have that extra off week down the stretch instead of going 17 straight weekends to close the year. 

2/17 Daytona 500

-I wouldn't propose any major changes to Speedweeks, although the fact that teams sit idle on Monday and Tuesday at the track is ridiculous.  Maybe move 500 practice to Sunday (from Saturday), and qualify for the pole on Monday/Tuesday.  It's not like anyone watches this drawn-out affair that determines a grand total of two spots in the field anyways.

2/24 Texas

-Traveling out to California a week after the biggest race of the season is quite a drag for everyone involved.  Texas is closer, and the late February weather is actually very similar. It might be a bit cool, but outside of Florida and southern California, there aren't many warm locales in late February.   

3/2 Las Vegas

-Keeps traditional date, and serves as the first west coast race of the season. 

3/8 Phoenix (Saturday night)

-Continuing with the west coast theme, this would be an early season (albeit chilly) night race in the Arizona desert.  Let's face it, Atlanta's weather is brutal in early March. 

3/16 California

-The early season west coast swing continues.  Teams will be worn out at the end of this stretch, but I am sure they would enjoy the travel rather than the cold weather in Atlanta, Bristol, or Martinsville.  Additionally, pushing the race at California back a month should increase the chances of avoiding southern California's wet season. 

3/23 Easter-off weekend

-In years where Easter falls later, the following races would simply be moved up one week.

3/30 Atlanta

-By the end of March, avoiding the brutal cold should be an easy task in Georgia.  The wet stuff may come into play, however.  I still contend the reason attendance isn't higher at AMS relates to the fact that both of its dates suffer from poor weather. 

4/6 Bristol

-Moves back a few weeks in order to hopefully avoid the snow/cold that has plagued the March race weekend in recent years. 

4/13 Martinsville

-See Bristol

4/20 Kansas

-ISC is interested in sending a second date to Kansas in the near future.  They usually get their way, for better or for worse.  I hope and pray that if they do give the track a second race, it will be at the expense of California, and not Darlington or Martinsville.  The trucks typically visit Kansas in late April, so this could be a great double or tripleheader weekend.

4/27 Talladega

-This general portion of the calendar has seen a visit to Talladega for most of the pastfour decades, so I see no reason to change the date. 

5/3 Richmond (Saturday night)

-Again, a very successful weekend, and serves as a wonderful prelude to the month's festivities at Charlotte. 

5/10 Southern 500 (Saturday night)

-I think we'd all like to see Darlington with two dates once again, including one on Labor Day weekend.  But knowing the blood-thirsty hounds down in Daytona Beach, it will never happen.  But I will say I have gained an even greater appreciation for this track now that the series races there at night.  A great event that should stay for years to come. 

5/18 off weekend

-Instead of wasting an entire week on the All-Star race, how about giving the teams a much needed extra week off at home in Charlotte?  The All-Star event can become a mid-week, Wednesday night affair (on 5/21).  And instead of the drawn out qualifying and preliminaries, start everyone like they do on short tracks around the country: points, with the driver lowest in the standings on the pole and points leader in the back. 

5/25 Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday night)

-If one date isn't changing on the schedule anytime soon, it's this one. 

6/1 Dover

-Aside from some lingering aspects of the wet spring weather here in Delaware, this is a great weekend to have a race in Dover.  It's usually not too hot, and coming off a short week, is not a terribly long trip from NASCARolina. 

6/8 Pocono

-I have no problem continuing to visit Pocono twice a season.  At least the track is not a cookie cutter.  But let's just cut the distance to 400 miles for sanity's sake. 

6/15 Michigan

-The first of two chances to impress the automakers continues to come on the third Sunday in June. 

6/22 Infineon/Portland/Laguna Seca

-If you read my blog entries prior to the ones showing here at the Bleacher Report, you'd see that I'd like a three-year rotation amongst the two road course events, just to give us a few more courses to challenge the drivers without sacrificing oval events.  It's wishful thinking, I know, but Portland would open up the Pacific Northwest to NASCAR, and Laguna Seca would keep NASCAR in northern California two out of every three years.  In the years where there are only four Sundays in June, this race would be after the Coke Zero 400 (kind of like New Hampshire currently). 

6/29 off weekend

-Whatever happened to that off weekend prior to the summer event down at the Beach? 

7/5 Coke Zero 400 (Saturday night)

-Celebrating America's birthday with some Saturday night restrictor plate racing as usual. 

7/12 Chicago (Saturday night)

-Say what you want to about cookie cutter tracks, but the night race at Chicago last month was pretty exciting. 

7/19 Pocono

-Pocono's second date moves back to mid-July as a tune-up for the Brickyard.  This event would be cut to 400 miles. 

7/27 off weekend

-Time to make last minute preparations for one of the season's crown jewel events. 

8/3 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

-For some reason, it doesn't feel right having Indy as the last weekend of July.  Let's move it back to the first weekend in August, and maybe considering making it a Saturday afternoon event again (that was always fun). 

8/10 Kansas

-Now I know what everyone is saying.  Kansas is hot as hell in the middle of August.  Butthese are big boys, and they can handle it.  I do think Kansas may have lights in the near future for a Saturday night event, however. 

8/17 Michigan

-As long as we can avoid the weather fiasco of 2007, holding an event in mid-August at Michigan is ideal.  It serves as another chance to impress the big wigs before the Chase rolls around. 

8/24 New Hampshire

-NHMS loses a date and their spot in the Chase, but as a consolation prize, is one of the final events leading up to the Top 12 cutoff.  You may be saying, "Where's Bristol?!"  Hold your horses. 

8/31 Atlanta (Sunday night)

-Hopefully this will become a Labor Day weekend tradition. 

9/6 Richmond (Saturday night)

-Ah, Richmond.  A great short track + several desperate drivers = a recipe for an exciting night. 

9/14 off weekend

-12 drivers and teams dream of a championship run, while the others sit and think about what they can do to finish the year strong and be in a Chase position one year down the line. 

9/21 Watkins Glen/Mosport/Montreal

-It's time to get a road course event in the Chase.  And I looked, the average temperature in late September is still in the upper 60s for all three locales.  Rain could be a concern, but we have the tires for that.  Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario (~50 miles east of Toronto) give Sprint Cup an international flavor without having to travel a great distance or through hostile territories in two out of every three years. 

9/27 Bristol (Saturday night)

-All of the excitement of the Bristol night race, during the Chase!

10/5 Dover

-Moves back a couple weeks, but from my experience, it is usually still warm and relatively dry in Dover the first week of October. 

10/12 Martinsville 

-Actually moves up in the Chase as part of a short oval run of three races between Bristol, Dover, and here. 

10/18 Charlotte (Saturday night)

 -Continues to be one of the main attractions of the Chase. 

10/25 Las Vegas (Saturday night)

-Bruton gets his wanted second Vegas date, in the Chase, and on a Saturday night to boot. 

11/2 Talladega

-Moves back a full month, and with just three races remaining after Talladega, the threat of the Big One looms even larger for the championship contenders.  No points lead can be considered safe until this one is in the books.   

11/9 Texas

-No changes, although I'd consider moving it to Saturday night to avoid going head-to-head with NFL Sunday afternoon action. 

11/16 Phoenix

-See Texas

11/22 Homestead (Saturday night)

-Continues to close out the season, although to add to the drama, maybe NASCAR should consider moving it to Saturday night.  I'd rather compete with college football than the NFL.  And us dual NFL/NASCAR fans hate having to flip channels continuously during the Chase and early portion of the football season to fulfill our appetite for competition.  Maybe I should quit being a tightwad and buy TiVo hahaha. 

In summary, the biggest changes I propose include rearranging the entire first quarter of the schedule in order to produce races with more favorable weather and adding two additional off weekends.  Sure, it will make the season a week longer, but this is a year round business anyways.  Additionally, I have one of California's dates going to Kansas, and one of New Hampshire's dates heading to Las Vegas.  Bruton Smith says he wants to keep both NHMS events, but we all know what a shrewd businessman he is.  As soon as he sees NASCAR is not going to give him a second date to Las Vegas or a race at Kentucky (let's face it, 36 races is enough), he will put all of his efforts into moving NASCAR out of New England.  The sanctioning body will probably step in to keep the top series from leaving an important market, but not before he can make off with one of the two yearly races.  Smith will at that point simply have to settle for a second event at Vegas, and look elsewhere for that Kentucky date.  And that is when the bidding wars for Dover and Pocono likely begin between ISC and SMI.  Recent news has Kansas saying they want a second date (who wouldn't?), and if California continues to tank even with the new October Chase date, look for ISC to move one of their events to either Kansas or Chicago in the next couple years.  Outside of events moving to Kentucky, Vegas, and Kansas, I don't see much changing in terms of which tracks the series visits and how many times in the near future.  Martinsville, Atlanta, and Pocono could see races in jeopardy within five years as even more tracks look to host a Sprint Cup event (Iowa comes to mind), but that is way too far in the future for the sake of my schedule.  And before anyone asks, YES I would have loved to put two races at North Wilkesboro and Rockingham, and returned Darlington their second date.  But folks, let's be realistic.  It isn't going to happen with the current state of NASCAR.  It's all about the God almighty dollar, and not the racing, which is a shame (let's rename the sport NASCAE, National Association for Stock Car Auto Entertainment, because what I see each Sunday is not exactly stock car racing).  Maybe if the sanctioning body continues to make horrid decisions and drives away a large portion of the fan base (see: American open wheel racing in the 80s and 90s), we can see these historic venues reclaim their rightful spot on the Sprint Cup tour someday.  Hopefully sooner rather than later, because the cookie cutter tracks have run their course if you ask me.  Is it that hard to build a Bristol-Richmond hybrid instead of another Charlotte?