It seems this season that no matter what NASCAR does in terms of competition, they get it wrong. Today’s race at Talladega was yet another example.
During the pre-race drivers meeting, NASCAR informed the drivers that they would not tolerate overly aggressive driving and bump drafting in the corners. Violators would be penalized.
The drivers took them seriously, and what proceeded was a 500 mile, 36 car parade with a little three wide racing mixed in. Jamie McMurray triumphed in the end after all hell broke loose with two late race crashes, one in which Ryan Newman ended up on his lid down the backstretch.
The frustration following the race was evident from both the drivers and the fans.
I think we can all agree that telling the drivers they couldn’t be aggressive during the race was the wrong thing to do. They couldn’t afford to push the envelope and risk a penalty, so they avoided contact all together, and the racing suffered. After the decision was made following the first Talladega race this year, in which Carl Edwards ended up in the fence at the finish, to make the openings in the restrictor plates smaller, everyone involved knew the fields were going to end up being even tighter. In order to counter a rise in the chance for the “big one” NASCAR warned the drivers. And we all witnessed the result.
The problem with this situation, is that NASCAR is really damned no matter what they do. They can’t have cars flying into the catchfence but they must strike a balance and still maintain a good show for the fans. And therein lies the million dollar question. How does the sport make the superspeedway races entertaining, yet still safe for the fans and drivers?
We heard this week that changes are coming to the COT for the 2011 season, and that NASCAR is seeking input from some of the teams and drivers. Hopefully, some improvements to the current car will allow the racing to be better at all tracks, including Daytona and Talladega.
You do have to hand it to NASCAR though, at least they are trying to be proactive.
