I’ve awoken from my long winter’s nap to the news that NASCAR has seen the light and will be making changes to make the racing better in 2010.

Since Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died on the track, NASCAR has made safety their number one priority… to the detriment of the sport. They’ve forced drivers to wear devices attached to their helmets, they’ve put roof-flaps on the cars, they’ve even completely redesigned the car. While it’s great to try to make the sport as safe as possible, in the end, it’s still a dangerous sport.

NASCAR mistook the jump in popularity after Earnhardt’s death as people being actually interested in the sport and becoming fans. What I think really happened is that people tuned in to see who would get killed next.

Before I go too much further, I can see where some might think I’m advocating making the sport more dangerous to the extent that it kills someone so that the popularity goes back up. I’m just stating what I think has happened, not what should happen.

Anyway, here are a few of the changes in the Cup Series and what I think about them:

• Bump-drafting will be allowed again. This was one of those safety over reactions that resulted in one of the most boring races I’ve ever seen. Should make the restrictor plate races more interesting.
• Larger restrictor plates at Daytona. My prediction is that they’ll be smaller before the actual race. NASCAR will lose its nerve and change them after the qualifying races.
• Replacing the wing with a spoiler. I’m not so sure about this one. The reasoning is apparently to make the cars easier to drive. Uh, excuse me, but isn’t the ability to drive an ill-handling car part of the sport? How many times did Earnhardt, Sr. take an ill-handling car to victory lane? And it seems to me that they’re missing out on a legitimate safety improvement: they put a hinge on the front-facing side of the wing, and when the car goes backwards, the wing pops up (like the roof flap) and helps keep the car on the ground.
• The “promotion” of John Darby. Yeah, that was a promotion all right. I think he was made the scapegoat for the lousy competition last year.

NASCAR also announced some changes in the Nationwide and Truck Series.

• Nationwide teams will be limited to 15 crew members. NASCAR is making a lame attempt at helping teams curtail the costs of running in the series. That just gives the rich teams more money to spend back at the shop. They didn’t really address the real problem with the Nationwide Series, and that’s the 10 or 15 Cup drivers who seem to be in each Nationwide race. In the past, I’ve not really advocated limiting the number of Cup drivers who can run in a Nationwide race, but I’m beginning to change my thinking on that. I do have a couple of ideas that might help though:
  • Make drivers in each series declare what championship they’re going to run for. You want to run all races in the Cup and Nationwide series? Fine, but you can only run for the championship in one of them.
  • Only allow the top three fastest Cup drivers to run in a Nationwide or Truck race. This would apply to Cup drivers in the top 15 in Cup points. That would still allow teams with inexperienced drivers to get the track time in the lower series, while leaving spots open for full-time Nationwide teams.
• The Truck Series will use double-file restarts. Eh. I don’t think that whole double-file restart thing was as exciting as everyone hoped it would be. I remember when drivers were able to earn their laps back by actually racing for them. That’s no longer the case. Ah well.
• The Truck Series will go back to traditional pit stops. This was one of the most stupid rules I’ve ever seen, where they couldn’t fuel and change tires on the same stop. Frankly, I wish the Truck Series would go back to its roots: have a 10 minute time out in the middle of the race. That would do more to reduce costs than anything. I remember Bobby Hamilton racing in one of the first Truck races at the Fairgrounds here in Nashville. He had a couple of guys and a small toolbox. That was his pit crew.

I’ll give NASCAR credit, they may have finally realized that people actually want to be entertained while watching a race. I hope the changes make the races more exciting. I guess we’ll see.

Well, when I resurrected RacinDeals.com, I’d planned on writing at least weekly about the previous week’s races. But to be honest, there hasn’t been much to write about. NASCAR seems to be in this mode of “we say it’s exciting racing, so there’s nothing to talk about”.

NASCAR must be watching different races. I’ve never seen a more boring race than the Talladega one. Talladega! They’re so afraid that a car is going to get airborne that they basically tell the drivers to stop racing. So, the drivers stop racing and just line up in a long line…. and two cars get airborne anyway.

Ah well. There are just a couple of races left until Jimmie Johnson wins his fourth title. That’s pretty incredible. It’s also dull.

NASCAR has sanitized the sport and taken the life right out of it, and TV ratings and empty seats are showing it.

• If Ask.com hadn't paid NASCAR those big bucks, they could probably have sponsored the 96 all year. #

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• Joey Logano: When I'm old enough to shave, I'll use a Gillette razor! #nascar #

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Wow. A judge has suspended Jeremy Mayfield’s NASCAR suspension. In other words, Mayfield is free to race this weekend, if he can come up with a car.

I’m somewhat surprised, especially with the judge saying that the “harm to Mr. Mayfield significantly outweighs the harm to NASCAR.” Does this judge not realize that an impaired driver going 200 miles per hour is “harmful” to the other drivers?

I mean, shouldn’t the error be on the side of safety?

I honestly hope that Mayfield’s test was a “false positive”.  But if he goes to Daytona and tests positive again, then he might as well hang up his helmet.

BLIND PIG RACING: There’s an old country adage that says “Even a blind pig gets an acorn every now and then.” This year, we’ve seen two blind pigs get a win, by playing the rain “strategy”. David Reutimann and now, Joey Logano both have won rain shortened races. Races that, had they gone the distance, these drivers would not likely have won. It seemed to me that NASCAR was a little quick to call the New Hampshire race. I guess it was getting dark or something. But if they started these races at noon, this wouldn’t be an issue.

WHO’S IN THE BOOTH?: There’s a lot of talk about why Bill Weber wasn’t in the both. Supposedly there was some kind of incident with him. So they put Ralph Sheheen in his place. Ralph’s been in the booth before in the old TNN days, but TNT’s overall announce crew is just not cutting it. They just have two races to go, so that’s a small blessing.

LAP COUNTS: What’s with the extra lap in the New Hampshire race? I assume it has some significance for the sponsor, but if the broadcasters don’t tell you what that significance is, then what good is the gimmick?

TRUCK SERIES FUTURE: NASCAR is reportedly trying to figure out what to do with the Truck Series. When NASCAR started the series, it was to be a low cost entry level series. They raced on short tracks and tracks that the Cup Series didn’t visit. It was different, it was refreshing, and it was some of the best racing you would ever hope to see. Then they ruined it. They got rid of the halftime break, so then teams had to have pit crew members to go over the wall. That automatically increased the cost. Then they started dropping the smaller tracks in favor of the larger ones (like Daytona). I don’t know how long Camping World’s contract runs as title sponsor, but I suspect that if they don’t renew, the truck series will be no more.

DOUBLE FILE RESTARTS: What does it say about a racing series when the sanctioning body has to put all the leaders in a double file restart just to bring some excitement to a race?

MAYFIELD’S SUIT: Jeremy Mayfield will be in court this week, seeking to get his NASCAR suspension overturned. I started out on Mayfield’s side in this mess. After all, why go through all this trouble if you’re guilty? I was critical of NASCAR’s drug policy, but I stupidly based my criticism on what I read in the media. When I actually read the policy, I didn’t see anything that I could disagree with. What sealed it for me was talking to the doctor at work who administers my company’s drug tests. She said that the only way to test for methamphetamine is to actually take it; there’s no way methamphetamine can be synthesized in the body from a mixture of two other drugs. The amphetamine that is synthesized shows up differently on a drug test, and doctors know to look for it. Of course, all of this assumes that the drug he tested positive for was methamphetamine; I assume that information will come out in court. If Mayfield wins this first court battle and gets reinstated, he plans on going to Daytona to race. You have to know that NASCAR is going to test him again before allowing him on the track, and if he fails that test, he’s toast.

I hated to see Larry Woody retire from the Tennessean a few years ago; he pretty much singlehandedly was responsible for the local racing coverage here in Nashville. Plus he covered Talladega, Bristol and a few other NASCAR races around the southeast. He didn’t stop writing after leaving the Tennessean; he writes for the Nashville City Paper and a web site here and there.

So it was good to see him back at the Fairgrounds Saturday night and catch up with him. He’s still writing for the City Paper, and he’s also writing for a web site called Racin’ Today.

I checked out their site, and it’s well worth a look. On their About page, they say the site is a “response to the decision of major newspapers to exit motorsports coverage.” They’ve got coverage of all forms of racing, so no matter what you follow, you can find coverage of it there.

And take a look at Woody’s columns too while you’re there.

ROAD RAGE: I’m sitting here doing my best to watch this road race that NASCAR insists on having, and I”m just bored out of my head. The new double-file restart is about the only exiting thing in the race. This is what DVR’s were made for.

NOTE TO TNT: Buddy Baker and Eli Gold are available. Just saying.

WE’RE IN THE US, AREN’T WE?:Last time I checked, the measurement standard here in the US wasn’t the metric system; we use miles for length. So why are we running races of 350 kilometers? Back in the 70’s NASCAR mandated that all Cup races be at least 250 miles. As a result of that, the race at the Fairgrounds in Nashville had to be lengthened to 420 laps. Why isn’t the race at Sears Point the minimum 250 miles? (That’s a rhetorical question by the way; I don’t think race fans could stand another hour of racing to make the additional 32 miles.)

ROAD WARRIORS:How many road races have been won by road racing specialists that replace the regular driver on road courses? I don’t think that many have. I think Said won one once a few years ago (that might have been in the B series), but is it really worth it?

CAR-TOONS: I’ve always said that there are just not enough cartoons on racing broadcasts.

DANICA!: It strikes me that NASCAR teams don’t really want Danica Patrick for her ability to drive a car, but more for her looks. Every story you see about her refers to her as “sexy” or whatever. The new rumor is that she’ll be in Roush car next year. I think that would be a big mistake, both to move to NASCAR and especially to move to a Roush car.

• Going to the Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville tonight for some great local racing. #

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RACE, WHAT RACE?: I completely missed the Michigan race the other day. From what I hear it was another one of those that was won by the engine builder, not by the driver. NASCAR doesn’t have a problem throwing out “competition” cautions, unless it’s to actually increase competition.

KENTUCKY CURIOSITY: Didn’t really see much of the Kentucky race either. They had it on in the suite at the Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville, and every now and then I’d take a look. I was kind of hoping that Busch would win, just to see if he smashed the Kentucky trophy.

BRICKYARD TIRES: We’re promised, promised, I tell you, that this year’s Brickyard 400 race will be better. Heck, all Goodyear has to do is make the tires go 12 laps instead of 10, and it’ll be a better race by default. Last year’s Brickyard race was a perfect example of why the Cup series needs more than one tire manufacturer.

NISSAN/HONDA: NASCAR is apparently talking to other foreign car manufacturers, or at least ones who manufacture cars in the US. I’ve never understood why they limited eligible cars to US-owned manufacturers before, and I don’t think I understand why they’re now limiting it to US-made cars. But NASCAR does a lot of stuff I don’t understand.