Jeff Gluck: A great rivalry would be a quick fix for NASCAR
Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart (14) and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya (42) tangle at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the final race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. // Jim Fluharty, NASCAR Scene
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COMMENTARY
There seems little chance that the Tony Stewart/Juan Pablo Montoya incident will carry over to next season or get anywhere close to being termed a “rivalry,” which is somewhat of a shame.
Stewart and Montoya, two of the fieriest competitors in the sport, would be massively entertaining to watch as foes. But Montoya indicated on Twitter last week he was “over it” and that he suspected Stewart was as well.
We’ll find out for sure on Thursday in Las Vegas, when both drivers will have media availabilities. Montoya will likely shrug and say something along the lines of how he got his payback at Homestead and that it’s over. Stewart may refuse to address it altogether and blame the media for bringing up a story he claims to be done with.
That’s too bad, because despite what some people inside the sport believe, rivalries like the one blossoming between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski are exactly the spice NASCAR needs injected into the Sprint Cup Series right now.
Television ratings were down by double-digits for many races this year and are off 30-40 percent from the same events just a few years ago in some cases. That’s not just a one- or two-year fluke – that’s a trend.
The new model Sprint Cup car has attracted much of the blame, but it’s an overstatement to say that’s the reason the people are tuning out. Thinking back, the racing overall was more competitive and entertaining this year than last thanks to double-file restarts – save the long, green-flag runs of single-file racing that are a permanent fixture of the sport.
So what’s the biggest culprit in some of the shine coming off NASCAR’s star? It’s the story lines – or lack thereof.
A few years ago, I’d bump into a writer friend every month or so. Something interesting always seemed to happen at the track, and he’d shake his head, laugh and say, “This sport just keeps on giving.”
But lately, this sport has been downright miserly in terms of story lines. Perhaps it’s because the economy has killed silly season, depriving fans and media of the “who-goes-where” speculation. Perhaps it’s because Jimmie Johnson’s dominance has made the Chase For The Sprint Cup predictable. Perhaps it’s because of the lack of conflict between the drivers.
Likely, it’s a combination of those three. And NASCAR has also made some mistakes along the way that only exacerbated the problem.
For example, officials decided there was too much of a soap opera in the 2007 season – the year Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch found new teams – and made a concerted effort to return the focus to the on-track product. But then, in the first full year of the new car, there wasn’t all that much to watch.
And in the few years before that, officials had clamped down on confrontations and personalities, dishing out penalties like Halloween candy. NASCAR President Mike Helton acknowledged to reporters last week that the sanctioning body may have gone too far.
“We felt like and we believe we were doing the right thing at the moment to correct a direction, and obviously, it was to protect the character of NASCAR,” Helton said. “We didn’t certainly intend to make it too sterile, but if the drivers were afraid to be themselves, that’s not good.”
Helton said NASCAR looks at such matters “differently today than three or four years ago,” which is good news for fans.
The economy isn’t going to turn around anytime soon, and officials have indicated the new car won’t be undergoing any drastic changes.
So the quickest fix for NASCAR would be a feud between two star drivers. This has been the case for several years now, but drivers seem to shy away from such confrontations. Whether it’s the media spotlight that makes even the smallest confrontations into major events or image-conscious sponsors who don’t want their brand to be soiled, drivers seem hesitant to express negative emotions.
Perhaps the Hamlin/Keselowski dust-up shows drivers understand NASCAR is giving them more leeway than before in such situations.
For example, Hamlin posted a Twitter message to Montoya that said, “Gee I think I may have inspired u!”
Montoya replied, “You did!!!! right after i was laughing about it!!!”
Earlier, Montoya had tweeted, “I always said payback it’s a bitch.”
NASCAR needs to embrace these rivalries and not do anything to extinguish the flames. But the question remains as to whether it will.
“[Rivalries are] just a natural part of sports,” Helton said. “I wouldn’t label it as either good or bad but as a natural part of sports.”
That’s where we disagree. Rivalries are not neutral but are a very, very good part of sports. After all, sports exist for our entertainment – and conflict makes for entertaining viewing.
The lost viewers need a reason to get excited about NASCAR again. A great rivalry would be a fantastic first step.
