American Drivers Are There

In Chris (Economaki’s) plaint bemoaning the lack of American drivers’ expertise at posterior osculation and the subsequent absence of same in supposedly high-value open-wheel racing, he failed to note the begged question: Who cares?
Ironically, the answer appeared two paragraphs down. Jerry Coons, Jr. and dozens like him provide a quality of racing which is usually equal and often superior to the highly cash-driven corporate entities Chris deems so prestigious. The American short-track drivers (open wheel and fendered) provide plenty of gratification for those who watch and those who race, and, I might add, at a far lower price.

Kudos To Broadcast

Saturday night, Jan. 12, saw the best auto racing ever shown on TV. I have attended the Chili Bowl a few times, but the race I saw live on pay-per-view TV was without a doubt the best racing coverage of any race — and I mean any.
My son was here with me. We have been to NASCAR races and spent tons of money for transportation in this motor home, but this was not only affordable but entirely in comfort.
The commentators were all knowledgeable, the camera work was excellent and what a surprise to watch the banner positions of the field across the top of the screen with not only car numbers but names as well.
Had I been at the Chili Bowl, I would not have been able to tell who was in what position, but the TV production provided it all.
The time in between the alphabet races to the 50-lap feature was filled with interesting interviews or replays.
The times I have been to the Chili Bowl cost me nearly $1,000 each time. That included motels, tickets, and pit passes, food and transportation, to and from. This time, my cost was $24.95 and worth every penny of it.
We will be trackside next year for the Chili Bowl — here at my Peoria, Ill., home.

Chili Bowl Staff Lauded

The Chili Bowl was a tremendous event this year — as always, but I feel the need to thank the unsung heroes of the week.
The staff at the Tulsa Expo Center worked long hours to make sure the fans had everything they needed. Whether it was the amazingly clean, well-stocked restrooms (at a dirt track, mind you), the jovial individuals at the concession stands who bent over backwards to take care of you, the security that made sure everyone was safe in their wide-open fun or the nice ladies in the ticket booth, everyone was taken care of.
However, most impressive was the fact that you walked out each night looking at an unfathomable mess left by the fans, only to walk in the next morning to a relatively sparkling venue. I had a great time all week, and the only cockroach I found was in my hotel room. Thank you for all your hard work.

NASCAR’s Three Dilemmas

1. Empty seats.
2. Declining TV Ratings.
3. The Chase does in 10 weeks what it used to take a whole season to do —  eliminate everyone from competition.
Let’s look at these three things for starters.
Empty seats: The cost of tickets, and the lack of on-track activity. On-track activity has been greatly reduced over the years, less practice, shortening of the race weekend by one day. NASCAR has forgotten the fans that show up at the speedway. I don’t blame people for staying away. They spend hundreds of dollars for a lot less activity, not to mention the ridiculous traffic conditions at most tracks.
Declining TV ratings were bound to happen. The racing is horrible, and NASCAR is trying to capture an audience (20-somethings) that have the attention span and loyalty that last as long as the next commercial. Good luck trying to keep those loyal fans. Try cultivating fans the old-fashioned way — through good racing, and do away with all your gimmicks.
The Chase: It’s here, and I guess we are stuck with it. With a slap in the face to past champions to have their championships diminished by this ridiculous way to crown a champion. If you are going to have it, then do it right. Since the chosen 12 are treated differently already, why not go all the way? Give them their own point system for those 10 races so the worst they could finish is 12th. That way, everyone could still race hard and not have to tip-toe around the chosen 12 because the worst they could finish would be 12th, not 43rd.
By the way, I used to be a card-carrying member of NASCAR, but they don’t want my money anymore because I am not influential enough to be allowed in the garage area.

What Stock Cars?

Like the open cockpit Red Baron-style fighter planes to the sleek stealth fighters of today, so has gone NASCAR from stock cars to sleek new racers. An evolution from stocks to hand-built racing machines has left the real stock cars in the museums. At first, it was engine and suspension parts, next the handcrafted body panels. Now, nothing is stock. These cars look like Trans Am series GT or prototype cars — nothing like you see on the showroom floors. NASCAR should change its meaning to Now All Stock Cars Are Relics.
Having attended my first NASCAR event in 1951, I saw at least eight different manufacturers at that event. Some of those are no longer in business, but were great competition on the track and in the showroom. Now, we are down to four manufacturers.
In 20 years of going to the Daytona 500, I’ve had my seats changed, the prices raised, been forced to buy tickets to events I hadn’t planned on going to, and then they changed the start time so we had a half-day, half-night race. This year, they had some glitch and didn’t send out renewals for the February events, so I lost my seats. Lucky enough, I called and got seats for the 50th anniversary in another section — must be some handwriting on the wall. It’s time for me to tour the museums and remember the good times of real stock-car racing.