Hard Turn
A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Owens
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NASCAR, be careful what you wish for
Jun
17
NASCAR officials have got to be kicking themselves these days, wishing they had kept their mouths shut and kept that muzzle on their drivers.
NASCAR’s message throughout the offseason was all about recapturing the core fan. How was it going to do that?
One, by loosening the reins and not only allowing, but encouraging, drivers to be more outspoken. Let them speak their mind, stepping out on critical issues and perhaps even lashing out at other drivers occasionally.
Now, NASCAR officials have to be singing an old, familiar tune: Be careful what you wish for.
The drivers are speaking out all right. At every opportunity.
And almost every time, they are letting NASCAR have it.
The new car sucks.
It is undriveable.
It is unadjustable.
We can’t pass.
The races are boring.
The races are too long.
It’s too hot.
NASCAR won’t listen.
NASCAR officials are being bombarded by complaints, most of them focused on the new car, which was developed, in part, in hopes of putting some spark back into the sport.
It has lit a spark all right. Right under the drivers.
And now it is NASCAR that is feeling the heat.
It’s gotten so hot, in fact, that NASCAR allegedly called a meeting at Michigan just to calm its drivers down.
NASCAR got what it wanted – a group of outspoken drivers willing to speak up and lay it on the line.
Now NASCAR officials are probably telling themselves: Be careful what you wish for.
NASCAR’s message throughout the offseason was all about recapturing the core fan. How was it going to do that?
One, by loosening the reins and not only allowing, but encouraging, drivers to be more outspoken. Let them speak their mind, stepping out on critical issues and perhaps even lashing out at other drivers occasionally.
Now, NASCAR officials have to be singing an old, familiar tune: Be careful what you wish for.
The drivers are speaking out all right. At every opportunity.
And almost every time, they are letting NASCAR have it.
The new car sucks.
It is undriveable.
It is unadjustable.
We can’t pass.
The races are boring.
The races are too long.
It’s too hot.
NASCAR won’t listen.
NASCAR officials are being bombarded by complaints, most of them focused on the new car, which was developed, in part, in hopes of putting some spark back into the sport.
It has lit a spark all right. Right under the drivers.
And now it is NASCAR that is feeling the heat.
It’s gotten so hot, in fact, that NASCAR allegedly called a meeting at Michigan just to calm its drivers down.
NASCAR got what it wanted – a group of outspoken drivers willing to speak up and lay it on the line.
Now NASCAR officials are probably telling themselves: Be careful what you wish for.
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Comments
2 responses to "NASCAR, be careful what you wish for"
Gregory Pope said:
Jun 20, 2008 at 4:26 PMWith the exception of the cry baby (Kyle B.) who knows better than the drivers.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportKris Leonia said:
Jun 23, 2008 at 7:31 AMWell they did want the drivers to be open about it and they got what they asked for. This car has performed well below sub-par on almost all the tracks so far. The 1.5-2 milers have been lead car runaways. One guy gets clean air... he's gone. 4-5-6 second leads that before were unheard of unless you had a perfect setup. Now all you need is a decent car and clean air and you just torch the field. I hope they can get this car right to put that "spark" back into racing because right now... its fading and fading fast. I don't think many people want to hang on and watch a race where the lead car opens a 5+ second lead and KEEPS GAINING. They need more testing with this car. Maybe open up the tracks to as much testing as they want during the offseason to get more data.
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This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report