NASCAR Fans Tired Of Freight Train Style Racing

Leaving Indianapolis Jimmie Johnson of course was happy and all the drivers that came home with solid finishes.They were happy with the outcome and the tires were a non-issue.

Not everyone went home happy after the 16th running of the Allstate 400. While the drivers and crews traveled home on Sunday, the fans aren’t happy and rightfully so.

This year it wasn’t the tires that made one of my favorite races of the year a major disappointment, it was freight train style racing at what NASCAR touts as one of its biggest events.

At one of NASCAR marquis events, what we saw on Sunday was unacceptable.

What made this race such a disappointment not the speeding penalty late by Juan Pablo Montoya it was the fact that Juan Pablo Montoya was the only leader under green for over 83 percent of the race.

Montoya dominated. He had a great car, that I have no doubt but as we have seen all year long with the Car of Tomorrow or the current car, the leader is able to pull away from the pack.

On a mile and a half tracks the leader pulls away and usually can sustain a second to two second lead but Sunday Montoya at one point had over a five second lead on second place.

It wasn’t only the leaders that we didn’t see much passing, it was throughout the field. Those much talked about double file restarts at Indy were actually tame and drivers were courteous even late in the race.

 On restarts after teams got fresh tires, that was when we saw actual racing, drivers trying to gain as many positions as possible before the tires wore off and they were all strung out.

See that’s not racing. Last year at Indianapolis we suffered through every 12 laps, having mandatory cautions. This year we had about 10 laps where you could pass and then cars were strung out around the track.

This year was not Goodyear’s fault, they brought a great tire, this year NASCAR has themselves to blame for the poor display of racing on Sunday.

This boxier style car punches such a big hole in the air, but what we saw on Sunday was drivers were unable to get the front of their car underneath the car in front of them.

Basically make the car in front of them just loose enough to make the pass.

When drivers were stuck back in traffic they were just way too tight or way to lose when the tires began to wear off.

This is not the first time we have seen strung out race cars since the introduction of COT intermediate tracks have all seen the similar results with this car.

Yet, NASCAR has only made one major change for the cars.

In June they implemented double file restarts to not only satisfy the fans but also the competitors who with this current car and the old restart policy the leader would pull away while the rest of the lead lap cars had to battle lap down cars.

The rule instantly made the racing better but still the leader pulls away.

Throughout the race if you listen to scanners you hear drivers complaining of how much traffic impacts the cars handling, making it difficult to pass.

With the COT NASCAR has strict rules that gives the teams significantly less gray areas to work with on these cars.

NASCAR goal was to make competition cheaper for the smaller organizations and bring the competition closer with making this new car, a template that every team must follow.

In doing this the competition is so close nobody can gain a true advantage. We have seen that each week with the speeds in qualifying and on the track on Sunday.

Why couldn’t NASCAR have representatives from each manufacturer and a NASCAR official set up a date at a track where crew chiefs and an engineer come out and have the opportunity to truly adjust the car?

Let them push the gray area and see if they can find something that maybe with all the rules has not been found that can improve the racing. If they find something, allow them to take it to NASCAR and let NASCAR make a decision.

At least give these teams the chance to work on the car without being afraid of penalty.

If finding something that would help aerodynamically but that would not impact the safety of the drivers improves the quality of product being put on the track, then NASCAR needs to be willing to work with the drivers.

If NASCAR is so concerned about the fans then just changing the restarts will not make them happy. In tough economic times fans are not paying to watch cars ride single file for 400 or 500 miles.

NASCAR is wondering why all the fans have stopped watching at home, all they need to do is watch a replay of the Sunday’s race at the Brickyard.

As a fan it’s frustrating to read that NASCAR doesn’t understand why fans are turning away from a sport that only a few years ago was biggest growing sport in the country.

Fans miss the side by side racing for positions. They like seeing guys battle it out lap after lap, not what we are seeing now.

If you saw the Camping World Truck Series race on Friday or the nationwide race on Saturday you saw some of the best races we have seen all year in any of the touring series. Drivers were beating and banging, on the track, fighting for positions lap after lap.

In both those races in the final 10 laps there were five cars battling for the lead late.

On Sunday we saw none of that.

NASCAR is talking with owners this week about implementing the COT style car for the nationwide series in 2010.

Fans and drivers of the series need to be worried because if they are anything like the Sprint Cup cars the quality of the races will certainly decrease and for a series struggling to find its identity right now, that’s the last thing they need.

NASCAR needs to something or soon it won’t be just the economy keeping fans away from the track.