Feb. 29, 2008 - On Toyota, Robby And The Top 35

Toyota's leap into NASCAR is old news now. Still there are many people not pleased with it. They will have to get over it. Toyota is here to stay.

No company has spent more money on racing than Toyota. They sunk hundreds of millions into Formula One, which has so far failed miserably. The bottom line spent on NASCAR by Toyota is limitless. They even paid a fading past champion a cool 10 million bucks to race their nameplate.

My query is, what was the "finding fee" for Toyota to cross the line and be allowed to race in NASCAR? I mean, did the "suits" in NASCAR, sitting at the big corporate table over their bagels and Danish, just out of the goodness of their hearts give Toyota the green light? I'm only asking, not accusing. I'm just curious to what made NASCAR change a stand they had held since Bill France, Sr. started it all in 1947. Will Honda, Volkswagen r any other foreign make follow Toyota into NASCAR? I hope they can afford it.

Kudos to the thousands of fans who are standing behind Robby Gordon after he was penalized for an "improper part" caught during inspection Daytona. Robby claims the manufacturer had the wrong part number and you know what, I believe him. Robby is only one of two owner/drivers in NASCAR and the last single car team left. After a last-minute change to Dodge, he seems stronger than ever. NASCAR's high handiness serves no racing purpose. This picayune fines and suspensions are ridiculous. These are race cars, not manufacturers pieces any more. Let the guys be creative and leave them alone.

It looks like one of NASCAR's oldest teams, the Morgan/McClure #4 has shut down operations. This is a shame. NASCAR has become a "multi-millionaires" exclusive club. It's impossible to have a small or start-up team in NASCAR. Even if you are able to field a car, the "top 35" rules won't allow such teams to have a fair chance. Morgan/McClure won three Daytona 500's in the nineties.

Look at Boris Said. He set ninth-fastest time at Daytona. He wound up going home. Then Boris and others in his situation made the expensive 6,000-mile round trip to California but never got a chance due to rain. Whatever sponsorships these bottom-feeder teams gets soon goes away because of no TV time. NASCAR created the top 35 rules so their high profile teams are assured of making all the races. If Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Matt Kenseth don't qualify would the world end?

Why not make it fair for everybody? Put the fastest 35 in the race and have the other 8 spots filled by a short consolation race? This gives everybody two equal chances to make a race. It would give the fans something to watch on Saturday. It would allow all teams a chance to race and get some TV time. Should I apologize for making sense?

Did you notice that both the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch, whoops, Nationwide series had short fields at California? This might extend to the Cup series. NASCAR's TV deal calls for 43 cars. Instead of making things better for those outside the top 35, NASCAR will somehow find ways to fill fields. Fans deserve to see the best 43 take the green on Sunday. NASCAR would rather politicize the lineup for its wealthier owners.

Feb. 22, 2008 - Random Thoughts

Son of a gun, there's snow on the ground the day before Lincoln opens the 2008 outdoor season. Williams Grove is slated for Sunday. I guess this is where you find the truly hardy race fans.

I miss the old days when the season started. Reading and Nazareth used to open in March. It was fun because a lot of modified racers would tow from upstate N.Y, and New England to race.

You'd have 50 cars on hand for a regular show. It's another reason to miss the good old days.

Another Speedweeks is done. The TV coverage has hit an all time low. I was channel surfing one night and Speed had the time trials for the truck race at Daytona.

The announccers couldn't hype up the show enough. They made a big deal out of the "pressure" put on the drivers to make this important show.

Thirty-seven trucks were vying for the 36 starting positions. I guess they really think we are stupid.

Really awful was the second 150-mile qualifier for the 500. Michael Waltrip's three cars are were trying to qualify. As commentator, Darrell Waltrip only talked about his brother's team the whole race. Denny Hamlin's win was just a footnote. This nepotism is so annoying.

For years on Monday, Speed has the "Inside" NASCAR show. It got some credibility the last two years because on of the few journalists of integrity on TV, Dave Despain hosted the show. Despain has been replace by Steve Brynes, a real NASCAR "cheerleader." When I realized I'd have to listen to him and Mikey W's constant NASCAR kiss ups, I switched it off. It looks like a wasted hour to me.

Feb. 8, 2008 - A 'Q & A' With ... Me

Q: Where did you see your first race?  ME:  In 1952 at Freeport. I was seven. One of the cars that raced that night has been restored by Marty Himes.
       
Q: What's your favorite type of race?  ME: A regular distance feature lined up by handicapping. Probably a sprint car or modified race.
 
Q: Who's the best driver you ever saw race?  ME: On a national lever, I have to say Parnelli Jones. He could win in anything and was dominant. The best regional driver was Richie Evans.
 
Q: For all your criticisms, what is the biggest thing wrong with racing? ME: Technology. It took a lot away from the drivers and made the sport more expensive.
 
Q: What makes a good column? ME: As long as it is well written, a column is worth reading whether you agree with the topic or not.
 
Q: Which was the best race you ever saw? ME: The 1969 All-Star finale at Nazareth National, won by Buzzie Reutimann. A race that Frankie Schneider, Al Tasnady and Will Cagle all led.
 
Q: There are so many problems with IRL and NASCAR, who is at fault? ME: Stubbornness by leaders of both venues. They think they have all the answers, they don't.
 
Q: Racing seems to be in a tailspin. Can anything be done to change that?  ME: Yes, go back to basics. Make racing fun again. The drivers are the stars, not the Fortune 500 companies. They use racing as a big tax deduction.
 
Q: What was the scariest thing you ever experienced in racing? ME: Getting caught in a thunderstorm at Jennerstown, Pa. and using a steel grandstand as shelter. Despite the huge downpour, they ran they show.
 
Q: What do you miss the most in racing? ME: The many race tracks that have closed. They are never replaced. I've lost a lot of friends too but it's hard to get by with so many tracks closing.
 
Q: What was your biggest racing thrill?..ME: My car winning a heat race at Weissglass. They ganged up on us and wiped us out in the feature.
 
Q: What is Chris Economaki really like? ME: He's pretty much the guy you used to see on TV. No one knows more about racing than him. Sitting down with him and hearing his many stories is a total kick.
 
Q: What are some things about you most in racing don't know? ME: I love music almost as much as racing. I have over 3,500 CD's. And yes, my grandmother used to be Superman's housekeeper. Someday I'll explain that.
 
Q: How long does it take you to write a column? ME: Not very long. Sometimes I sit at the keyboard without a preemptive thought, and I'll start typing and in 30 minutes I'll have a column.
 
Q: What was the most difficult piece you ever wrote? ME: My eulogy to Richie Evans. That was really painful. We were pretty good friends.
 
Q: Do you have any goals? ME: Yes, this year will mark 45 years here at NSSN. I hope I can write a 50th anniversary column in five years.
 
Q: What is your oddest accomplishment in racing? ME: In 1969, I saw races at three different tracks (Riverhead, Islip and Freeport) on one Saturday night.

Feb. 1, 2008 - London's Way

For years people ask me about my writing and why I seem to "tell it like it is." Do I like being controversial? Hell, no. It just kinda happened.

In 1962, I was just getting my feet wet as a writer. I was just seventeen years old. Mostly my interest  came from writing about the pile of statistics I had compiled as unofficial record keeper at Freeport.

Also in 1962 came the birth of the New York Mets. New York was starving for a National League baseball team after the NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers carpetbagged to California. My favorite radio station at the time was WABC in New York where as all teenagers listened to
deejays spin rock and roll. In the afternoon, there was a five minutes sports show run by a nasal-voiced guy named Howard Cosell. He gave scores and added a little commentary to the show.

WABC then contracted to broadcast the Mets baseball games. Cosell did a post-game show. The fledgling baseball team made up of washed up ex-stars and prospects nobody wanted, won merely 40 games and lost 120, still the worst record in the long history of baseball.

Most New York sportswriters embraced the new team. Cosell after his year long stint, said on his show after the last game of the season that it was "total futility." He called the Mets "awful," which they certainly were. He got fired for that.

Somehow that got to me. I admired the guy for speaking out. Cosell was almost unknown at the time, not the buffoon he later became on TV.

Soon I was writing my first column for Illustrated Speedway News. Without giving it a preemptive thought, I starting reporting things exactly as they happened. Maybe some guys running the TQ's that winter at Island Garden were riding kinda rough or officials made bad decisions. I just wrote about them.

Walter (Fulla) Bull was the publisher/editor and did not take kindly to complaints about one of his columnists. One of the guys from the TQ club said he didn't disagree entirely with what I was writing but "no seventeen year old has the right to be critical." Bull was concerned he may lose a subscriber or two.    

That summer, I owned some stock cars. I decided to let someone else write it until the winter season came because of the conflict, plus I wouldn't be able to make it to Islip Speedway since my cars would be racing in Staten Island on Saturdays. Islip and Freeport were in a sizzling feud and neutrality was needed.

When it came time to get my column back, Bull wanted no part of me, I had stepped on too many toes. Unhappy with nothing to do and a new indoor season approaching, I wrote to Chris Economaki and offered to cover the TQ's at Island Garden. I joined NSSN and have been here ever since. That was 44 years ago.

At the time. Most racing coverage was rather vanilla flavored. I continued to write in a most forthright manner. Not everyone appreciated it. I still remember a guy sticking his finger in my face at Trenton Speedway saying there is no room in racing for telling the truth!

Over the years I've had my share of run-ins. Set to cover Syracuse in 1977, DIRT's Glenn Donnelley refused my credentials for the "trouble" I had caused. I once got a call from a concerned Chris Economaki. telling my my life had been threatened over a column I wrote. I soon in this blog will end my 30-year silence about that.

Chris and all the folks at NSSN have always backed me to the hilt. Chris has told me more than once that he didn't agree with what I wrote but it was my right to do so. I have hardly ever been censored. It's been a very positive relationship.

Because of this, I feel my No. 1 accomplishment in racing has been to change the way it is reported and written about. Now, most of my fellow writers have gone in that direction. All of us have helped make changes for the better for this sport, which we love.

Racing has always been my hobby. I have devoted a lot of time to it and it has cost me jobs and money doing so, but I wouldn't change a thing. I like what I do. Some people have told me they don't. It's simple, read something else. I subscribe to many periodicals and there are some things I don't read. It boggles my mind that some people, who don't like what I write, say I shouldn't be allowed to. We do have a free country here.

Funny thing is that over the years I have met many people in person and online who are readers. Virtually all of them say the same thing, "I don't agree with everything you write..." It's humorous because nobody agrees with everything anybody writes. Apparently agreeing with me is some kind of criminal offense!

Actually, most of the feedback I get is pretty good and I do appreciate it. I don't think trying to please everybody should be the function of any newspaper person. Mike Kerchner, who days a great job molding this paper together, once told me someone complained that a newspaper has no business making opinions! I'm sure John Peter Zenger and Horace Greeley are pinwheeling in their graves over that one.

It isn't an exact science but those of us who do it love it. The only thing I enjoy more than writing is reading a nice piece someone has composed.

Howard Cosell may not have directly influenced me but I think I picked up something from him. Thanks, Howard!