THAT'S IT?! Why NASCAR Dropped The Ball on The Schedule Changes

When Mr. France said that big changes were coming, I was expecting more than a trade of boring old Fontana for boring old Kansas... twice.

And how does NASCAR plan on following up what will be a rockin' and rollin' Richmond? Why with none other than "Kansas-lite": Chicagoland. And don't even get me started on the 1st chase race.

Needless to say, you --along with pretty much every NASCAR fan outside of the media-- certainly realize that Mr. France's failed attempt at shaking up the Chase has come off with a resounding thud. That other thud that you'll soon be hearing will be the ratings as they drop further in light of the "big changes" that have happened.

No, what NASCAR should have done was done something radical like, whodathunkit, drop a bevy of horribly boring races --Yes, I mean Pocono & Chicagoland-- from the schedule... or call on those boring tracks to do the right thing and repave and add more banking --Fontana, I am looking at you-- in order to create a more interesting product. Or how about --the shock!-- making the racing a tad more interesting by forcing drivers to actually race instead of logging laps and going "points racing".

But something tells me we won't be seeing any real radical changes from NASCAR until they're forced to make them. By then, though, it may be too late as it was for Indycar the 1st time around. No, they seem to be content treading water and shuffling the chairs on the 500hp Titanic. I Guess they feel that even with all the bleeding from loyal longtime fans, no one will really turn off NASCAR in large numbers.

That's where they may be wrong.

Unlike NASCAR, others are smelling blood and making their move: Word is that the IRL is hosting a double header at Texas, and that there may be more radical changes to draw fans back to the once mighty series. Why a double header? Well, they seem to have figured out that racing fans are tired of the follow the leader, and are halving a long race into a double show for half the points each. Long enough for good racing; short enough to not just log laps -- twice.

Now, the IRL couldn't market itself out of a paper bag and "Danica-mania" --i.e. Media overkill-- is beginning to reflect her average finish. That said, if a dead dog like the IRL can figure out what NASCAR can't and are actually giving the fans what they want -- Good racing-- then maybe NASCAR's reign as the #1 Motorsport in America is beginning to end. The evidence could be in the fact that instead of being proactive, like the IRL, they played it safe: But in racing, playing it safe has never won championships - Safe is death.

And who knows; maybe NASCAR fans will finally get what they want.

Somewhere else.