THE STRAIGHTAWAY
by Siddy Hall
TOO MANY TEAMS (50), TOO MANY RACES (36), A SHORTAGE OF TRACK DATES AND HOW TO FIX IT
Every week about 50 teams are trying to fill 43 slots. After spending millions of dollars these 15 non top-35 teams have their fortune decided by a two-lap solo dash in non-racing conditions. It’s like a golf tournament field being decided by a “Longest Drive” contest. Anybody considering an entry into the NASCAR game right now probably just slammed a fifth of whiskey. You’d have to be out of your mind. Just ask Bill Davis or Team Red Bull.
Meanwhile the Busch Series continues to flounder along in its mysterious ways. The races are shown on TV and only the teams and their nearest relatives seem to care.
There’s a way to solve this and a host of other problems in NASCAR. I’m about to propose a way to make the Chase more exciting, the races better, the teams happier, and the track owners happier. It’ll be a happy fest after the “Siddy Hall Fix NASCAR Game Plan” is initiated.
STEP 1: Franchise the teams. The days of a “Team Elliott” rising through the ranks from an outback, small-town garage to the pinnacle of NASCAR is long gone. As beautiful of a story that it is – a guy or a group of people building a car in their own garage and taking it to the top – this is folklore from the past that will not repeat itself.
Franchise the teams and let them plan on racing each week. Allow teams to develop a driver without fear of being outside the Top-35 in points. In total, franchise 72 teams. Yup, 72.
STEP 2: Split the 72 teams into two groups of 36. (For now, we’ll call these groups the Gordon group and the Earnhardt group.) Each group races on its own. So you would have two separate standings with 36 cars each.
STEP 3: Shorten the season to 30 races. After 20 races the top-20 from each group forms a new group of 40 cars and the Chase begins similar to the current rules. Voila !! You now have a Chase where every car on the track is competing for the championship. Who’s not happy?
Please notice that even while reducing the race schedule, we are also adding race dates. There are now 50 race dates. Races for everybody! Rockingham step right up, you get two. Kentucky, help yourself!! Iowa, you’re in luck! Ontario, yes Canada, you finally receive the race dates that you deserve. O. Bruton Smith, you get your second Texas race date! Everybody is happy!
See? Boss Hogg, er, O. Bruton is happy!!
Under Siddy's plan, more of THIS will be seen
STEP 4: Base the starting grid for each race on the inverse order of the point standings. The points leader starts in the back. Sure, you could argue that the points leader should start in front, but what’s the fun in that? It’s more interesting to watch these cars battle their way to the front. And the lesser teams get some airtime at the start of the race. Everybody is happy!
OTHER BENEFITS: By reducing the number of cars to 36 (or 40 for the Chase) the short track races will improve. Am I alone in believing that Bristol has suffered since allowing 43 cars in the race? The track is too congested. There’s a breakout of Yellow Fever at these races from all the cautions. Reducing the cars will increase the racing. Plus. NASCAR could actually hold three races at Bristol. One for the Gordon group, one for the Earnhardt group, and then one for the Chase.
OTHER BENEFITS: By reducing the number of cars to 36 (or 40 for the Chase) the short track races will improve. Am I alone in believing that Bristol has suffered since allowing 43 cars in the race? The track is too congested. There’s a breakout of Yellow Fever at these races from all the cautions. Reducing the cars will increase the racing. Plus. NASCAR could actually hold three races at Bristol. One for the Gordon group, one for the Earnhardt group, and then one for the Chase.
Gordon's wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, is on board with the Hall proposal (can't ya tell?)
Earnhardt, Jr.'s sister Kelley, spotted giving her OK of Hall's idea to brother Dale
Currently there are about 50 teams. Assuming that each team would be awarded a franchise, this allows room for 22 more teams. By setting a 2010 deadline, more teams could get organized and get on board. Certainly there would be some current and former drivers that would like a piece of this action.
Under this set-up, fans could enjoy two races each weekend that actually matter. One on Saturday night and one Sunday afternoon.
So long Busch Series!
(you can e-mail Siddy Hall: cityhall172000 at yahoo.com)
5 comments:
i think its a great idea,something needs to be done,too many teams with good sponsors going home every week and its only going to be worse next year!
Hey Siddy, when you get the next batch of whatever it is you are taking, let me know, I'd like to give it a try.
Not one team wants to increase the schedule beyond 36 races. As it is there aren't many off weeks. These guys have to have some kind of life.
The day they break it into two divisions is the day I give up watching. I can't devote another 4 hours a week to watching a second race. All you would be doing is watering down the talent level.
Franchising sounds like a good idea. 43 franchised teams, problem solved. How to accomplish that would keep lawyers busy for a decade by which time the economy would turn bad and we'd be back down to not having 43 fully funded teams at the track.
I've been saying this (most of it) for years...
I guess you got it said so more can see it...
Now you are talking, but this would involve more than the france family (monopoly) could keep the upper hand on.. And, that may be the best part of it... If this thing is going to fly, the stranglehold of the france family has to first be broken..
Go Kentucky Speedway lawsuit.
JS
My brother has been saying something similar for years.
First, in most other sports, you only rarely get to see stars in the other conference/league. I am an Eagles (NFC) fan and live near Nashville where the Titans (AFC) play. Under the current scheduling system, the Eagles will play in Nashville once every eight years. In this setup you'd still see all your favorite drivers, just in two races. Also, if I understand his post, the second division would replace the "Busch Series." In other words, you'd have the Gordon division, the Earnhardt Division and the Craftsman truck series at Nascar's top level.
You could also have pre-chase marquee events like the Daytona 500 and Coca Cola 600 open to everybody. There shouldn't be a problem with 72 cars on these tracks and, if so, make 12 go home and you'd still have 60!
Of course, we'll never see it because too many fans are used to seeing all their favorite drivers when they go to a race. Also, the sponsors of the 32 teams that don't make "the chase" will be disappointed and as last Saturday in Milwaukee showed with Amirola and Hamlin, the sponsor is top dog.
But, it's still a nice idea.
Siddy Hall sez:
Andrew you raised some important issues. I imagine a track like the Brickyard would have a two race weekend. The Gordon group and the Earnhardt group would each race on separate days on the same weekend.
Daytona is a little more tricky. You can't mess with it's tradition. But I'm sure there is a way to deal with it. The "Twins" could be used where each group races and sends 20 to the show. The Top 10 from the previous year could get a free pass. Something like that.
The ramaining 36 cars will have their own race, serving as a preliminary race for the 500 and of course earning points. As usual, with Daytona everything is complicated.
The bigger question is will fans pay to see a race without their favorite driver, because it's in the "other group." At first, I'm not sure. But over time I think fans will develop a favorite in each of the two groups and be interested in both.
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