On crashing at the banquet

Just a quick thought about something I read on SceneDaily.com by my friend Bob Pockrass...

Now, I didn't watch the banquet from Las Vegas but apparently during the NASCAR Images video highlight package they included footage of on-track crashes for the first time in nine years.

Here is what NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston had to say about it:

“We want to tell the story of bumping and banging,” Poston said. “There are moments in races throughout the season where crashes and wrecks are a key part of the story line. … There’s a balance you’ve got to take to make sure you’re not glorifying dangerous situations.”

Here is my take: the reason why NASCAR has fallen off the radar with most people is because it doesn't glorify the danger. All we hear about is the safety features of the new car, the new SAFER barriers, the new and improved safer catch fencing, and on and on. All of those things are all very good and the sport is better for having them. But for the general public, they want to see racecar drivers defying logic, sanity, and yes even death by driving on the absolute outer edge of control at breakneck speeds through dangerous situations to win races.

NASCAR needs to let the world know that in the X-Games world, its drivers are the most extreme athletes out there. Yes, danger is around every corner but it doesn't matter to men like Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon.

Crashing is a part of the game. Some of them are accidents. Some are on purpose. All serve a purpose. Do real race fans watch *just* for the crashes? We all know the answer is no. But there is no need to disguise the fact that they happen and they add excitement to the sport.

On Rick Ren's KHI departure, getting drivers back in touch with the public, and good equipment

A few things I wonder as the off-season starts to settle in...

-Does the departure of Rick Ren from Kevin Harvick, Inc. have anything to do with the team owner's conversation with the crew chief and driver Ron Hornaday following the race at New Hampshire? Remember, Harvick was incensed that his employee raced him hard for position at the end of that race, believing that he could have challenged Kyle Busch for the win if he could have gotten past Hornaday. I can't help but think that Ren realized that mindset wouldn't change ; afterall it's the same circumstance that prevented Hornaday from being a three-time consecutive champion when KHI's Ryan Newman passed Hornaday on the final lap at Atlanta taking 10 valuable points away and giving the championship to Johnny Benson by just eight points.

-I've listened to Sirius NASCAR Radio a lot throughout the year and one of the most popular topics among members of the media that are guests on the various shows is what needs to be done to show the drivers' personalities to the fans. The theory is that NASCAR got popular back in the 1970s and 1980s on the backs of drivers that exhibited their personality week-in and week-out, so the same thing could happen today. While I have no doubt that the drivers would benefit from showing their true selves more often, it's not a true apples-to-apples comparison. It's nice to know that Jimmie Johnson grew up in a trailer park in El Cajon, but at this point, what does he have in common with Joe Sixpack who saves all year to buy tickets to the closest NASCAR race? Thats' what made the sport what it is: drivers who were very much like the people who sat in the grandstands. You could sit there and think of Bobby Allison as your nextdoor neighbor. Even Dale Earnhardt was seen as an everyman. I am sure motorcoaches have made the lives of NASCAR drivers much easier, but the motorcoach lot is the worst thing to happen to the sport. It insulates the drivers from the general public and keeps them away from the people paying the freight. If the drivers aren't on the track or debriefing with the team in the transporter, they are in their bus. In reality, they should be out signing autographs or mingling with the people who make that motorcoach possible.

-Speaking of Sirius, I heard Chocolate Myers say RCR's new ARCA driver Tim George would finally get a chance to prove himself as he will have his first opportunity to drive good equipment in 2010. No doubt RCR will field great racecars, but George had access to good cars in 2009 too. He drove for Eddie Sharp in '09, the same team that fielded cars for series champion Justin Lofton. The cars George drove for much of the season were previously driven by Michael McDowell and Scott Speed, both multiple winners in their brief ARCA careers. I'd say George had pretty good stuff in 2009 too.