NASCAR’s Street Race: What Went Right and What Went Wrong

THE GOOD

Even in the rain, the turnout was good.

It is true with most NASCAR races that you see maybe a quarter of the action on the track, and you watch the rest of it on the big screen or on your phone. A crash could happen on the backstretch and you wouldn’t know it for a hot minute. Road courses? Even worse. So then, why did so many people show up, in the rain, for this event?

Novelty, for one. It was something new and different and NASCAR had done a good job of promoting the race and the uniqueness that it held.

NASCAR had run races in Joliet (an hour south of the city) and called it ‘Chicagoland Speedway’, so NASCAR was already playing around in the Windy City’s backyard. Why not try and come inside the house? Imagine if it hadn’t rained; the crowds may have been the story of the weekend, then.

It was a gamble for NASCAR to shut down the streets of Chi-town to lets some cars drive around for a few hours on a Saturday and Sunday, but it appears that NASCAR won that hand.

For once, the willingness to try something new worked.

It would be interesting to know how many other cities NASCAR queried about running a road race within their confines. Was Chicago the first choice? It seems unlikely. I, for one, certainly don’t want NASCAR to emulate Indy Car or Formula One beyond what they did this weekend, but their willingness to branch out some has at least been interesting to watch and has caused many a conversation (or article) amongst fans and critics.

Time will tell if this venture ends up more positive than the dirt track foray they tried in 2022 at Bristol, but the rain doesn’t seem to have thrown a wet blanket on NASCAR this time, from the standpoint of buzz and a ‘new and shiny thing’. It wasn’t a swing and a miss, but it wasn’t a home run either.

With all of this in mind, I don’t believe that they should try it again, or make it a permanent staple of the schedule. The uniqueness of the event would go away quickly if they kept trying to do it, and it would become a one-ring circus instead. I’d personally do away with road courses completely; it just doesn’t give a true representation of the sport or the drivers who spend hours every Sunday turning left 800 times.

THE BAD

No one knows who just won.

Seriously, who is in charge of the stipulations for who can enter a race? Maybe I can get in next weekend! The worst, yes, the very worst thing that could have happened as far as the outcome of the race, happened. Some part-time ‘road specialist’ snuck into the field, got lucky, and won the whole thing, partially due to the shortened lap count and high body count of cars wrecking. NASCAR will take the egg on their face on this result, hard-boiled please, and leave a saltshaker on the table before you go. Yikes.

“First-time winners are exciting, right!” “It elevates the sport when a driver wins their first race!” I agree! When the driver is a full-time driver who has worked hard and gone through the lower series and earned their spot in the field. It drives me nuts when teams bring in a ‘road course specialist’ and I think the majority of NASCAR fans agree. Pay your dues and do the time and work your way up and show that you deserve your shot. If that is closed minded then so be it.

The full-time guys put in the hours of sweat and skin and heart to race in this series, only to have their work scoffed at and marginalized this weekend. The outcome of the race was an insult to the full-time teams and drivers. Forget the egg; NASCAR just cooked an omelet of embarrassment.

Was it a road course or a slip-and-slide?

How many crashes were in Sunday’s race? In just 75 laps? On a 2.2 mile track where the cars inevitably get spread out and far from each other? Oh yeah, until they stop the race and force the cars all back together in the name of competition. Most wrecks were cringe-worthy and added zero excitement or confidence in the conditions of the track. It was a weird, shuffly jagged dance around the twists and turns of the racecourse, looking both awkward and unsafe.

When describing the weather in Chicago, the forecasters used the words ‘heavy rain’, deluge, and soaking. It certainly weighed down the actual racing and ability to adjust the cars and create a competitive atmosphere. As Denny Hamlin said, “We can’t control the rain”. They also had a little trouble controlling the cars due to the very wet, very slick roads. Not the best look for a sport trying to regain fans and reinvigorate the appeal of the brand.

The oddity that made the weekend a sort of success also made it a strange kerfuffle of confusing sights and dangerous conditions. In the end, it was a circus tent that NASCAR shouldn’t venture into again.

I give NASCAR a solid B for trying a new thing and sticking with it. I give them a C- for the way things went down, from the downpours to the trimmed-down Sunday race length to the downright ridiculous winner.

Main Image:Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

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I am a proud member of ‘The Old Guard’ of NASCAR fans — those who have watched since the late ’80s. We are a proud bunch, fiercely loyal, and fast being left behind in the wake of the ‘new’ NASCAR. Many of ‘The Old Guard’ have simply stopped watching and stopped passing along their love of the sport to the next generation. Here are a few reasons why we’ve quit tuning in.

Older Fans Are Leaving NASCAR. Why?

1 – Change is Good, Unless it’s Not

The Chase, in its initial concept and execution, was pretty good. It created excitement and freshness in the sport just when it needed it. And then they tweaked it. And did a little more tweaking. And more. Pretty soon it was a contest between Miley Cyrus and NASCAR (Oh that’s twerking. Sorry).

Now it’s a shell of what it should have been, and it doesn’t work. Let’s say your driver is eliminated the first weekend, then wins three races and earns more points than everyone else in the rest of the playoffs. It’s tough luck. Usually, the one with the most points wins. In a sport where you can be having a great day and then someone wrecks and you are collected when it’s out of your control and you’re suddenly done for the day, punishing the driver excessively for one bad race is ridiculous.

2 – Stages? What is this, the Tour De France?

Seriously, this is a head-scratcher. I get why they started doing this — it brings the field back together and creates more action (and more wrecks where a scrub takes out a star). The teams can work on making the car handle better.

That said, it’s just unnecessary; a gimmick to artificially create ‘competition’ and closer races. All it really does is widen the gap between the teams that have money and can cheat without getting caught from the ones who are trying to scratch their way into the sport honestly, with only talent and hard work, and a budget. Imagine selling a NASCAR race to a prospective fan who wants to know more about the sport:

‘So they race for so many laps and then stop and play with the car for a few minutes’. 

‘Oh, they stop? Why do they do that?’ 

‘Because…. They can?’ 

‘but then they go again?’

‘yea, and then… stop again’. 

You just lost them. If the product is good, it will perform for itself — you won’t need to sell it and keep changing things. NASCAR has new stuff, but it isn’t improved stuff.

3 – A Sport Full of Forgettable Faces Gets Forgotten

Back in NASCAR’s heyday, there were not just stars, but superstars.

Earnhardt. Petty. Gordon. Johnson. Wallace. Elliott. Jarrett.

They were giants. You loved them or hated them. There was passion in the fandom. That has disappeared. The older drivers in today’s NASCAR don’t hold the same power or polarization.

Harvick. Hamlin. Busch.

Great drivers to a man, but not giants to the sport. There are some drivers who are likable and some who are vilifiable, but the deep level of commitment to your guy and to despising the other guy is just not there. We care, but we don’t CARE. That’s a problem.

The drivers today all sound the same, look the same, and disappear in a crowded room. No one stands out. There are no great nicknames like ‘The Intimidator’ or ‘The Mayor’ or ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’.

4 – Today’s Drivers are Just Not Watchable

NASCAR used to be full of doggedly determined competitors: scrappy, unapologetic, in your face, and desperate to win. Today’s driver seems to be a copy of a copy — they all spout the same rhetoric and whine the same.

When the drivers of old would fight, it was sheer emotion and competition; today a fight is like a middle school hallway: awkward and embarrassing. It’s a couple of juvenile punks who can’t control themselves and get all bent out of shape when their cars get bent out of shape.

It is not endearing to the sport at all. They don’t respect each other or the sport that is allowing them to do what they like. I say like because I’m not sure they love it. Rivalries in the old days were about competition and champions. Today, it’s about entitlement and ‘he can’t do that’ tantrums. NASCAR has gotten immature and gimmicky, and neither is something that will advance the sport above lawn mowing.

If a race is on and other options are not, I will tune in still, albeit most of the time it is for the benefit of my eight-year-old son who loves Chase Elliott. However, if Elliot is not having a good day, my son goes off to play basketball or watch YouTube videos, and I search the channels again for something more interesting, like Ultimate Frisbee.

That’s the NASCAR fan of today. With the current format and participants, you can’t expect more out of a fan than that. At least our lawns look nice.

Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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2020 Major Sporting Events

2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Open-wheel cars are super-fast which is why they get lots of attention. You also have to be a brave individual to get into such a car. At high speeds, accidents can happen but if you do everything right then you’re all set. This year’s Grand Prix is held in Abu Dhabi on the Yas Marina Circuit which is 5,554 km long. Races are always exciting and fans will be on the edge of their seats when their favorite drives zoom on the road.

Naturally, betting is an additional part of pretty much every sport. There are lots of online bookies that provided all kinds of odds. However, you’re probably looking for the best sports bonus out there. These sites will offer you the top odds and some interesting bonuses. Make sure to check them out.

2020 Masters Golf Tournament

Unlike the sleek drivers in Grand Prix, golfers are people of patience. In addition to that, you do need a certain skill to play golf. You have to hit the ball the right way so it can go in the hole. And you have to do that a total of 18 times. That’s why this year the golfing professionals will test their skills again.

Some of the past champions include the likes of Tiger Woods, Zach Jonson, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Adam Scott, and more. The tournament will be held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

2021 PDC World Darts Championship

This event will take place in the Alexandria Palace in London and will last from December 18th to January 4th, 2021. The World Championship will feature Peter Wright as the defending champion. As for the previous year, the award will be £2,500,000 of which the winner will get an amazing £500,000. But darts fans will have to wait until December for the championship. In the meantime, they can enjoy the Order of Merit and the Pro Tour Order of Merit.

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Here are the 10 best NASCAR races to watch on TV. Note: Exhibition races like the Daytona Clash and All-Star Race are not included.

10 Best NASCAR Races to Watch on TV

10. Homestead

The season finale is the championship race for the season. Four drivers are eligible to take the title in this race. The track isn’t anything to really write home about. But “The Chase” has added intrigue in recent years and created great battles to the finish.

9. Sonoma

It used to be that the road-course races were single-file snoozefests. Not any longer. Because of changes to the car, these drivers beat and bang their cars around the twists and turns of Sonoma. The scenic views of the area definitely also help the viewing experience.

8. Pocono

The “Tricky Triangle”, like Sonoma, also used to be a snooze fest. But the racing has picked up in recent years. The track is definitely unique, which puts it above the numerous cookie-cutter ovals in the NASCAR season.

7. Charlotte (May)

The Coca Cola 600 is the longest race of the year. It’s an endurance test for the drivers, so if you can stand to sit for four-plus hours to watch a race, this is the one to watch.

6. Daytona (July)

The 400-mile Daytona race might be at the same track as the Daytona 500, but the shorter race and the higher temperatures make for some really fun racing. That the race is held mostly at night always makes it fun to watch.

5. Bristol

This short track is probably more fun to watch a race in person than on TV, but the side-by-side racing definitely doesn’t hurt the broadcast at all.

4. Martinsville

The paperclip-shaped track is always fun to watch. From the beatings the cars take in the corner to drivers getting pushed out of line and watch as the field drives past, this race is always a must-see.

3. Talladega (October)

The fall Talladega race is always around Halloween so it’s nicknamed “Hallodega”. The race is in the 10-race chase for the championship so title implications are high, and so are the tempers in the restrictor-plate race.

2. Richmond (September)

Combine a short track with the final “regular season” race before the chase, and there are a bunch of drivers jockeying their way to get into the sports playoff. That makes for some extremely competitive and watchable racing.

1. Daytona 500

There is a reason this race is considered the sport’s Super Bowl. Despite being the first race of the year, this is the one to watch above all others. The title every driver wants leads to some of the most dramatic and fantastic racing of the season.

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