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A NASCAR BLOG BY Art Weinstein

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Some items to ponder heading into the Coca-Cola 600

May 25

Things I wonder as NASCAR begins its longest day of the year heading into the Coca-Cola 600:

       Is 600 miles too long for a NASCAR race? Many people think so, but I'm undecided. I understand the novel concept in starting such a marathon race back in 1960, making it a survival-of-the-fittest contest of man and machine. But the cars are built to go the distance these days, and the 600 miles doesn't seem to bother the drivers physically.

But if a 600-mile race is such a good idea, why doesn't another track add one? And if 600 miles is seen as a worthy endurance test, wouldn't 700 miles be even better? Wouldn't 1,000 miles be the ultimate test of man and machine? (Fox or ESPN/ABC might not want an 8-hour NASCAR race, but you know Speed TV would love such a marathon event).

       Best wishes to outgoing Lowe's Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc. President Humpy Wheeler, who has had an immense impact on the sport in his 33 years at the Charlotte track.

From a personal standpoint, in my encounters with Wheeler even as a clueless reporter working for my college newspaper, and later for a free weekly newspaper, Wheeler treated me like a reporter from the New York Times. Wheeler is a truly nice guy, who deserved a better send off to retirement.

       I am tired of hearing about open-wheel star Danica Patrick, and tired of hearing people who say NASCAR needs a female superstar. (That's how some people refer to Patrick, who has one career victory in Indy racing.)

Really, if having a female star is such a good idea, from a competitive, business and public relations standpoint, wouldn't NASCAR teams be rushing young female racers through their development systems?