Thoughts on Chase Changes for 2014

I thought I'd share a story of my afternoon this past Thursday, the day the new rules format for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase were released.

I'd been at work all day, where, due to being very busy & hampered by a persnickety firewall, I'd only sparingly followed the breaking news about the new Chase format. I was aware of a 16-driver field, the eliminations of contenders after every 3 races, and the reality that it would now be possible to win 35 previous races yet lose the Championship in a best-finisher-take-all finale at Homestead. I was ready to discuss!

Little did I expect to find that opportunity for discussion in the checkout lane of my local grocery store. Yet, there I was, punching in my frequent shopper code, when the checker looked up at me and remarked, "Oh, I see you're a #18 fan." Glancing down I realized that my Kyle Busch key lanyard really stood out against my bright red sweatshirt and proudly proclaimed me to be a NASCAR fan.

"Why, yes I AM!" I exclaimed. "Are you?"

"Oh yes," she gushed. "Just today I booked our hotel rooms for Vegas! Our regular place was already sold out."

"Have you heard about the new Chase format they revealed today?" I asked.

When she responded in the negative, I gave her a quick, condensed rundown of the changes, ending with the comment, "Can you believe you could win all previous 35 races but lose the Championship at Homestead?!!"

Her reply was a simple two word response... Jimmie Johnson! (She actually seemed to like the idea of a jackpot race for the title.)

Aghast, I had to trot out the one statistic I'd dredged up while at work... "Actually, Jimmie hasn't won at Homestead. If you look at the past 15 races there, Roush-Fenway has by far the best record with 7 wins, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with 4." (Race Results from Homestead 1999-2013)

I realized I was geeking out on her as her countenance began to droop so I switched to the age-old NASCAR greeting, "So, who's your driver?"

"Well, before I changed, it used to be your guy, but I'm from Wisconsin so now I'm a fan of ... (quizzical look on her face as she struggled to recall his name) ... Keith! Keith Kenseth!"

(I promise I neither groaned nor rolled my eyes as I corrected her.) "Oh, you mean Matt. MATT Kenseth. Well, he & Kyle are both on the same team so we're good."

I wished Karen (her name was on the printout of my grocery receipt) a great time at the race in Vegas and promised that if I ever had the chance I'd try my best to get her an autograph from her driver, "Keith".

So there you have a completely unbiased response from a NASCAR fan of the non-obsessive type.  She actually liked the concept.  Me? I'm fine with everything, especially the "Win & You're In" idea I've been espousing for years, EXCEPT the Game 7 emphasis on the final race.  I positively HATE that! (My ideas for Chase changes were detailed in my blog post from July 2010 ... (Chase Change Suggestions, July 2010)  As I said, consistency should still count. While this new format is a move toward what we fans have asked for, this Super Bowl finale offers too much of a chance for a fluke to negate a year's worth of effort.  That's not my NASCAR.

Thoughts on today's fine imposed on @dennyhamlin

I've never before written directly to NASCAR but today's action by NASCAR in fining Denny Hamlin for a few remarks he made at Phoenix finally has prompted me to do so.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!!!!!  (Yes, go ahead and use the same tone & inflection that Trevor Bayne did.)

Denny's comments (and I listened to them live on the PressPass coverage at nascar.com) were totally innocuous. They were absolutely harmless. What did I glean from them? I understood him to say that as they are currently configured, the Gen-6 cars make passing difficult. Denny did NOT say he didn't like the car. Denny did NOT say he didn't support NASCAR's attempt to create a more fan-friendly race car. Denny did NOT say this about the new Gen-6 cars, “I said that I wanted to go out and win this race so I could tell everybody how terrible this thing is to drive. I can’t stand to drive them. They suck.” To the contrary his comments were to support the efforts put forth by his crew chief and pit crew in creating track position gains during pit stops by good calls and excellent execution. If anything, Denny's comments merely whetted my appetite to watch the evolution of the new car as teams tweak it to gain aero possibilities and opportunities for passing.

Denny's comments were almost 'throw away'. Comments merely made in passing. Were they creating a furor amongst journalists anxious to call NASCAR to task for yet another cookie-cutter car? No way! Would almost anyone have even recalled them this week but for this imposed fine on 'Denny Downer'? Nope!

Well, you've made your call NASCAR. You can't fine me. I'll call it what it was - a really misguided MISTAKE!! Congratulations, you've created a mountain from a barely discernible molehill.

I hope Denny does decide not to pay the fine because then this behind-the-scenes, 'We pretend to be a real sport, but in reality we can do whatever the heck we feel like doing and we're no better than professional wrestling!' charade that it seems NASCAR is becoming will be revealed for all to see.

Prove yourselves more than a gaggle of puffed up sycophants and admit the error of this sanction. Or, if you feel you must save face, at least grant whatever appeal Denny makes and turn this into a no-call.

Failing that perhaps you should sue that fence that gave way, or the tire that sailed over it at Daytona for behavior detrimental to NASCAR's image. Makes as much sense.

Sheesh guys! Get your act together. Go litigate something that needs it. A driver's genuine, non-derogatory comments do NOT!!!!!

Banned Substances

I'm still undecided about the whole Allmendinger fiasco. Above all else (and I'm writing this on Monday morning following the Saturday night revelation, so things will certainly change) any NASCAR member with a positive initial test result is entitled to due process following all NASCAR rules currently in place.  Confidentiality is part of that process. That being said, at some point in this whole mess I feel the identity of the banned substance should be revealed. 

While a rehabilitation program is the called for remediation for NASCAR members testing positive I strongly feel that part of the rehabilitation includes the entire NASCAR community which encompasses the fans as well.  If Allmendinger is positive (B sample not yet tested as I write this) then his reputation with the NASCAR fandom must be addressed as well.  As a member of that fan base I will find it extremely difficult to accept him 'back into the fold' without concrete facts.  In this instance I can't, in my heart of hearts, just shrug and say, "Ok, NASCAR says he's done his 'time'. Welcome back, AJ."

As an example, Allmendinger was arrested for DUI in 2009. His BAC was 0.08. While it is unacceptable that any professional driver drives under the influence of alcohol I am old enough to remember the day when that BAC was not high enough to qualify as DUI. I could forgive that.  On the other hand, Michael Annett had a BAC of 0.32 when he rear-ended a car in February of 2011.  That was NOT an instance of having one beer too many. ( AwareAwakeAlive ) I have not yet accepted his return to NASCAR as valid. These are personal judgments of course, but nonetheless the type of judgment every NASCAR fan will be making. Without facts any 'positive' NASCAR member will forever function under a cloud of suspicion.  Were I a driver I think I might even feel I have a mandated right to know.

I'm all for redemption but not if it comes at too frivolous a cost. Following Allmendinger's 2009 DUI his team released the following statement, "A.J. has told us that he has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will do what is right." Um, so how did that work out for ya?  NOT THIS TIME. NOT THIS TIME.

 
Update: As Bob Pockrass says in his article,  NASCAR drug policy: Get inside tests, methods, punishment, "Although NASCAR typically does not announce the drug in a driver's positive test, its policy allows for that disclosure.
“By seeking to participate in any NASCAR Event, all NASCAR Members agree that NASCAR may publish the results of any test or tests conducted pursuant to this Policy and the circumstances giving rise to such test or tests to such third parties as NASCAR, in its sole discretion, deems reasonable under the circumstances,” NASCAR’s rulebook states."

A Primer for Tracey (aka @ttiana)

Many of you know that at the end of the 2011 NASCAR season Tracey Johnson aka @ttiana was released from her job with ESPN. It saddened so many of us who found not only a fellow tweeter but also a fan and an advocate in Tracey.

Today we were thrilled to hear that she's rebounded and has her first new job starting tomorrow working a Lightning v Hurricanes NHL game.

Now as you may or may not know Tracey came to NASCAR by way of golf so she'll no doubt transition into hockey with only minor obstacles to overcome. But just in case she could use a little bit of help I figured a hockey primer for the NASCAR fan might be useful. So Tracey ... here's thinking of you, kiddo! Best of luck with the new endeavor.





This is a hockey rink.






Hockey purists can go a little overboard in describing it.






Thank God, sometimes there's at least something familiar about a hockey rink. Orange Cones! Do NOT go over the orange cones please, ever, anywhere, anytime.




This is a hockey rink in NASCAR terms. The blue line is the yellow line at Talladega & Daytona. You can only cross the yellow/blue line under certain circumstances and even then all such crossings are subject to overruling by an official.
Your ultimate goal is to end up where the checkers are, no matter who or what you have to run over to get there.




This is a Zamboni. Many would think that aside from the fact that this machine has 4 tires and drives in circles there is nothing to compare between NASCAR & hockey. They would be wrong.







THIS is the native habitat of the Zamboni. Please note the surface.






This is ICE. It is not asphalt. A hockey rink gets resurfaced a minimum of three times a game. No participants complain about how the new ice just doesn't feel the same as the old surface.






Notice please that that is NOT a jack positioning spot on the Zamboni. Pit stops for the Zamboni Ice Resurfacer are measured in minutes, not seconds.






Why, oh why do NASCAR fans get so much grief and jokes about only turning left? Please check out this diagram for Zamboni drivers. Right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Puhlease! How many NASCAR drivers actually need a map to find their way around a track? (Road courses excepted, of course.)






Unlike NASCAR's jet dryers, the Zamboni actually applies water to the racing surface to improve it. Actual jet dryers are strongly frowned upon in the NHL.






Whoever heard of plastering a sponsor's logo all over a service vehicle?






At least marketing ideas are always unique in hockey/NASCAR. Target basket? What Target basket?






Surely sponsors are more subtle in hockey.






Surely they are.






Surely.






Maybe Matt Kenseth could get the Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. to sign on as a sponsor.
Hey, Mr. Zamboni Man!!






You know you're a NASCAR fan when you see this as an homage to Dale Earnhardt Sr's famed #3 car instead of the Hartford Whalers logo.






Kids/fans nationwide can establish a limited edition Diecast collection of Home Depot Zipadelli Zambonis. (Oops, nevermind.)






Zambonis are NOT golf carts. Never attempt to navigate traffic in one no matter how alluring a fast escape using one may seem.






Here we have Rusty Wallace directing his son Steven in the proper technique for handling a Zamboni. "No, no, ouch!"






Tim Brewer could spend hours explaining the complexities of the inner workings of the Zamboni. (Perfected & patented by Frank Zamboni in 1949.)






Usually only one Zamboni at a time is utilized at a hockey game. Now we understand why. The hockey equivalent of the Big One leaves something to be desired in terms of fan excitement.






Hockey is not curling. No NASCAR WAG's unofficial endorsement of the In-Styler required. Brooms do make an appearance. Sweeps very much IN.






Hockey players subscribe to the 'Boys Have at It' credo. They do NOT wear watches on the ice.






Hockey even has its own version of rusty former participants serving as commentators. Not sure about this guy's command of basic English or grammar though.






Hockey fans love promotions just as much as NASCAR fans do. Regrettably this fan whiffs on her attempt to 'Smack the Orange Cone, Win a Prize'.






Orange cones are ubiquitous in hockey. Look that up in your Funk & Wagnall's Nate Ryan!






Sometimes there are cautions in hockey. There is hardly ever any question about why a debris caution is thrown.






Sadly there is no Miss Sprint Cup in hockey. Nope, no way, no how would hockey stoop to the exploitation of women's bodies to get men even more interested in their sport.






The facility workers do not wear yellow ServiceMaster suits as they clear debris from the sporting surface.






Carl Edwards does not chuck his water bottle onto the ice at hockey games. Avian creatures have been known to make appearances at center ice. Carl has yet to preface any hockey comments with, "Yes, that Aflac Anaheim Ducks game was pretty exciting thanks to sponsor plug, sponsor plug, sponsor plug."






Even I wouldn't blame ol' Cousin Carl for flinging this sucker out of his car. You just never know what's gonna go zinging through the air & onto the ice at a hockey game. Just be extra diligent at Red Wings games, 'k?






Your goal, if you're the goalie, is to get the puck outta there! If that Phoenix Racing thing doesn't work out perhaps Kurt Busch might find a new outlet for his displeasures.






Finally, at the end of it all, when you Google for hockey pictures; when you least expect it; when you've all but written him out of it... Who should pop up? Who?






Go get 'em Tracey!!

In Pursuit of Risk

Life is dangerous. Fragile organs encased by an even more vulnerable cocoon of gossamer skin supported by a friable scaffolding of bone.

We persevere against all odds. Given the innumerable dangers human beings face every single day it is amazing that we are not curled into corners, cowering in fear at all the obstacles with which we are challenged.

Columbus sailed off with no assurances he was not voyaging off the edge of the known world. Men rocketed into space in acceptance that upon their return, if indeed they did manage to return, they would be quarantined for an indeterminate time to protect the rest of the world from whatever they might have encountered in the great unknown.

Human beings seem hard-wired to set aside known fears in a quest to explore the precipices of danger. This ability to compartmentalize the obvious obstacles moves humankind forward.

Does this innate search for boundaries create heroes? Sometimes probably, but more often the pursuit itself is a universal trait shared by all of us. We must strive. It is simply a part of us. It is how our species survives. We acknowledge inherent risks, ameliorate them and move forward. There is no alternative. Risk is in us.

When Risk demands payment, the cost can be severe.

In today's society, risk seeking behavior is sometimes quelled by organized sport. Payment still is exacted. Participants are fully cognizant of the perils. They face the dangers with ever evolving safety precautions. When fragility trumps prevention, Fate levies consequences.

We know the possibilities. We persist. We cherish those most dear all the more. Realities reset what we previously thought were priorities.

It's human nature. Despite horrific penalties we return to the pursuit of Risk. We are forever changed in some subtle way though. We draw together. We treasure each other.

Championships are ephemeral. Cherish those who quest. Prize those you love.