The Diverging Path of NASCAR

Once upon a time, in a land christened the Deep South, a sport was born out of grit and sheer lunacy by some of the more colorful characters the sporting world has ever seen. It was a sport very much unlike the popular stick and ball sports of the day. It was a sport in which men showed they were men wielding powerful beasts around a dusty bullring.

And the people who graced these events... no these demonstrations of human fortitude, came in waves, cheering for their favorite gladiator lap after lap.

The sport born that day was given the name the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or as it's more commonly known today, NASCAR.

It was as unique as it came in terms of a sport. Much has been made about Kurt Warner stocking shelves only a few short years before becoming Super Bowl MVP. What is not often discussed is that Warner's 'unique' story is a not so unique in terms of drivers making their way through the NASCAR ranks.

NASCAR was devoid of any semblance of the national sports of the time.  Indeed, that was part of the appeal of the sport for so many, the fact that it existed in its own tight-knit world, free from outside interference.

As the sport grew, change came naturally. First it was the addition of major sponsors making an already colorful field even more eye-catching. Then came TV contracts, small ones at first but spiraling into the billion dollar contracts we see today.

The sport hit its fifty year mark in full stride, and it was at this time that it finally began to legitimately grow outside of its regional home.

Sadly, it is here where the sport began to wander from its initial path. First it was the removal of what could best be called NASCAR's classical tracks in favor of larger tracks with abundant suites and amenities in more geographically favorable areas. Everyone conceded that while this was a sad period in the history of the sport, it was merely a sacrifice that had to be made to ensure long term growth.

Then came common templates, something that was vehemently denied as a possibility just five short years earlier. While the cars were nowhere near stock, nor had they been for quite some time, they still retained a visual identity that the fan could relate to. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo you buy at your local dealership would, on aesthetic basis, look just like the one Dale Earnhardt manhandles around Bristol's high banks.

What came next shocked not only the sport and the fans, but the motorsports world... the addition of a Chase for the Championship. An idea contrived, admittedly, by Brian France to emulate the other national sports in this country, it was something that had never been seen in motorsports.

The focus had always been on teamwork and endurance throughout a full season, but occasionally a team would hit a remarkable stride and runaway with the championship. Deeming this as poor for television and fans, an assumption that may in fact be unfounded, it was decided that more excitement was necessary for the end of season.


Now, NASCAR has not simply wandered off the path first laid down in Daytona Beach over sixty years ago, it has quite simply obliterated it. What seems to be forgotten is that what made NASCAR such a draw was its differences from the rest of the major sporting world. It is something a little unique, adding a little spice to an already crowded sports landscape.

Yet, the tinkering has not ended. Fans left, both at the track and on television, but we were told these changes were actually "helping" the sport. Recently, NASCAR has pushed a back to basics campaign which has sought to bring back some of the fans lost during NASCAR's attempt to reinvent itself. To a certain degree, it has worked, although not as well as they probably would have hoped.

Part of the reason this has ceased to work is because nothing has truly changed. It is a guise designed to lure fans back and salvage sinking ratings while still maintaining the new entertainment aspect that has been carefully crafted in the past several years. Most evident is the use of "debris cautions," which are commonly found at the end of races now.

Perhaps it is time for NASCAR to call them what they are, competition cautions intended for a highlight worthy finish.

As fans, we are not obtuse to these facts; it's almost insulting to insinuate otherwise. Remember, it is us fans who have built this sport. We were the ones ridiculed by others for watching a race on Sunday instead of a football game. We were the ones who stood by the sport through difficult times and celebrated during good ones.

To paraphrase the late Rodney Dangerfield, "We don't get no respect."

Now comes the latest news that the Chase will apparently be tinkered with again. It is already a system which contrives a true championship battle, the equivalent of resetting the standings in baseball in August so there can be a battle for a division championship.

One of the ideas, or so rumors state, is to increase the number of participants in the Chase. The logic behind this is that the other major sports have a much higher percentage of playoff teams compared to non-playoff teams.

Again, I am forced to ask, who cares what the other sports do? Do I think half of the drivers in the field should have a shot at a championship just because that's what the NBA does? David Ragan, who sits 25th in points, has only sniffed the Top 15 twice this year. Should he be allowed to battle for a championship?

If you're listening NASCAR, stop paying attention to what everyone else is doing and focus on what you could be doing differently. What makes a product successful is unique attributes, something which NASCAR brass has been, intentionally or not, scrubbing from the sport these past several years.

Once upon a time, in a land christened the Deep South, a sport was born out of grit and sheer lunacy by some of the more colorful characters the sporting world has ever seen. While the sport rose to unimagined heights, it now sits teetering on the remnants of what built it. One can only hope somewhere, some day this will be recognized.

Because in the end, we are all hoping for a happy ending.