line. They’re not worried about the integrity of the rules or racing. They’re worried about the long green which fills the Royal Bank Vault. The only DQ’s in the history of the Strictly Stock and Grand National Series were because Bill Sr. didn’t like a moonshine runner winning the first race and to keep a race team from pulling out. If they wanted to make cheating, playing in the grey area, or whatever you want to call it a DQ offense, they easily could. But with the big bucks involved, they won’t.
Dale Jarrett brings up a very good point. They need to have separate tires for the three series. You might be able to get away with using the same tire on the Busch Cars and Craftsman trucks, but because of the design of the Uni-Car, the loads on the right side of the car, and the down-force (or lack thereof) you need a different tire for it. It’s real simple and doesn’t require rocket science. Beef up the sidewall construction because of the increased loads, thicken the tread since the teams are going to adjust the heck out of the camber to get the box on wheels to turn, and make it a little softer so they can have some grip. But this makes sense and we can’t be having that when it comes to the tires or NA$CAR now can we?
Badyear says they’re not bringing the Atlanta tire to Texas since the tracks are very similar. Thank God for small favors. But now you have to wonder just what will they bring? Something like the tires on the Flintstone-mobile or something similar to Sponge Bob Square britches?
John, Don Hamm and I exchanged several e-mails discussing the tire problems, the Uni-Car, and the wing. It comes down to the fact the Badyear is going to have to develop a tire on their own for the Uni-Car. Have you noticed how few statements have been made by the Royal Henchmen in defense of Badyear? They’ve pretty much left them to dangle in the wind. So unless Badyear takes the initiative and develops a tire strictly for the Uni-Car, Cup racing will continue to suffer.
Don brought up the fact that they need to do something with the front suspension and get rid of the bump stops. I’m all for that. It makes sense. The cars wouldn’t be hitting on the splitter and lifting the front wheels off the ground increasing the potential for accidents. After all, you don’t need a wreck-fest to have a good race. And we do want the drivers to be as safe as is possible.
Something John brought up was that the A-Arms and other parts of the suspension and chassis need to be changed and moved in order to get the cars to turn. A very valid point. For those that missed what I wrote about the Uni-Car being a NA$CAR version of the Rolex GT cars, the Rolex GT cars went through an evolution. They had steering and handling problems and Jim France listened to the drivers and owners and changed the rules allowing the teams to move the steering and suspension points and parts to allow the cars to turn and it gave them better racing as a result of it. Jim France also worked with the tire manufacturers and didn’t leave them hanging out there by themselves. While it’s hard to tell one brand of Rolex GT from another, like with the Uni-Car, the Rolex GT Series improved because Jim France went the extra step to ensure he had a decent car for his series. Faux King Brian on the other hand hasn’t and probably won’t. God forbid he should admit he was wrong about something. So maybe it is time for his uncle to replace him as some stories and informed sources suggested last year in order for the teams to have a decent car that’s competitive and for us fans to enjoy seeing some real racing instead of drivers just trying to hang on for 500 miles.
While I have my qualms about the wing on the Uni-Car, John and I discussed the fact that two Cup teams have experience with wings in other series and haven’t managed to transfer the technology over. If they had, they’d be beating everyone else. So far, these teams have had mediocre performances. We came to the conclusion that the regular NA$CAR guys will probably hit on the right adjustments to the wing before the teams with wing experience in other series do because of the learning curve. The Indy guys had to hire the Wood Brothers to find out what pit stops were all about. The Wood Brothers set the standard when it came to pit stops and everyone else has followed their lead over the years. So it’ll probably be the NA$CAR regulars who get a handle on the wing long before the other two teams do.
I got an e-mail from Jane and she brings up a good point. The increase in the TV ratings may be because of the high cost of attending the races. Lord knows that’s true. Gas is well over $3 a gallon. One of my buddies who was brave enough to go to Daytona paid $60 a day to park his car and $400 a night for his room. Not to mention what he paid for his tickets. Ticket prices haven’t come down and neither have the prices at the souvenir haulers or the concession stands. So if Jane’s observations are right, and it looks like they are, we could very well be seeing more empty seats at tracks that don’t sell out and empty seats at tracks that do sell out.
For you folks who were sick of the cheerleading during the Kyle Busch 500 or the Kyle Busch 300 or the Kyle Busch 200 at Atlanta, it’s only going to get worse as DW and his fellow commode-ians have fallen in love with Kyle. It was a total love fest across the 3 networks. The kid can drive, I’ll give him that. But you get awfully sick awfully fast when all you hear is the sound of saccharine dripping out of your speakers from the Network Nitwits and their continuous cheerleading for him. There’s supposed to be 43 Cup drivers on the track, but when you only hear about 15 drivers and two of them get over 210 mentions and constantly drooled over, you have to really wonder when will all the dang cheerleading is going to end. The answer is when they can get Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker, and/or Eli Gold back in the booth to replace the cheerleading squad. Until then, we’ll need the patience of Job to get through a broadcast without getting sick from all the saccharine.
In watching “This Week in NA$CAR”, something definitely was missing. Steve Byrnes does a good job. But it’s the panel that leaves something to be desired. We need Schrader’s candidness and humor. Folks get tired of hearing the constant shilling and plugging for a particular product or show. Folks want to hear about the race with maybe some humor tossed in and maybe a story or two from the old days that applies to today. I’ve already gotten e-mails from folks who are voting with their remotes on the current show format. So a word to Speed, make some changes for the better before the ratings drop though the floor. And save next week’s race for the end of the show and not as a lead-in to this week’s race. It makes no sense and is a turn-off to a lot of folks.
Last year, the Truck Series was the only series in Brian’s Big Top that had an increase in ratings and attendance. This year, while the ratings are up so far for the Cup Series, the Truck Series was up 36% at Atlanta. It sounds like more folks are getting wise as to which series is more about racing action and less about marketing. Despite being hampered by a restrictor plate, the trucks are still putting on the best races of the three series.
Normally I like to close out with a little something
about the troops, but I got a call from my son this
evening (Thursday). A lot of guys don’t get along
with their in-laws and usually sever ties with them
after a divorce. I was lucky enough to have had
great in-laws during my first marriage and stayed
in touch with my former in-laws. My former
mother-in-law was more like my mom and treated
me like one of her own kids. We we’re always
looking for things about crossword puzzles. New
puzzles, dictionaries, and would call each other
when we got stuck on doing a crossword puzzle.
I’d get stuck on authors and she’d get stuck on
movies and old comedians. She had been
battling brain cancer the last couple of years and it had been in remission. She recently went to see her doctor and it had returned. Chemo wasn’t going to be effective as she was pretty weak physically from her previous chemo and radiation treatments and they were going to try a new procedure that showed some promise with other patients. She laid down this afternoon to take a nap and passed away in her sleep. No more pain, no more illness, no more suffering. You’re in Gods hands now.
Rest in peace Mom.
Mad Mikie
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