At The Track with Ed Coombs - Latest comments on The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

Brian [Visitor] — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:18:01 +0000

Ed, I think Rene's point was that previous to Roush, (from a Ford fan), that there were dozens of teams with one or two cars. Now there are truly only a handful of teams (4 cars teams plus the "oartnerships" and then those that have a dream and little chance.

Yes in the past there were fewer cars on the lead lap. However also in the past NASCAR did not intervene nearly as much with various cautions and rules that are goofy. Hence, in reality there is a similar number of contending cars on a consistent race to race basis with the ocassional feel good story (Petty top 10's and a couple wins with the 9, but still the same issue as before the best teams still are the one vying for the victory. It is just that there are fewer best teams and as such not as much of a story. DO you think Raymond Beedle wins a CUP even with Rusty Wallace driving today compared with Hendrick? How about Kluwicki winning? Stewart's team is not and should never be compared to that of Alan's. They did it themselves and was not just a satelite team of a powerhouse. Yes, Stewart is doing better than Haas before but again has the support and funding for better people. I also believe that Hendrick is, was at least, supplying better equipment now then to Hass before.

Bakc to the point though, there are more cars on the lead lap to due more caution flags for fanthom or even real debris that would not have been throw before as it would be on the apron or way out of the racing groove thus no caution. Also, a car lightly smacking the wall would typically not bring out a caution "in the old days". I watch several races on Classic that prove the point. Yes there may be more cars on the lead lap now but how many of them get gifted back onto the leap lap with late race caution flags for "questionable" cautions?

Ed's Response- Brian, you make some decent points, however, we can't have it both ways. You can't want side by side racing yet not have a way to get that done. Phantom cautions have been about since inception of racing. I'm not sure why people think that watching a car go fast, in circles, for 500 miles is supposed to be a 4 hour orgasm....

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

SB [Visitor] — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:54:54 +0000

Ed, you are right that many races in the 'old days' may not have had many cars on the lead lap by the end...but back then they weren't giving charity laps back at every caution, either. What's missing these days is passion. It was different when winning meant the difference between eating that week or not. Pretending the last 10 races on the schedule (with no regard for the quality or diversity of the tracks) just isn't the same as being able to put together an entire 36 race season. Points racing and playing it safe changes the game entirely. And lately, that's what nascar is...a game.

Ed's Response - Hey there- I think you nailed it, we need some passion in this sport. However, every guy out there points races... I know how to motivate them, MONEY- now if the winner got half the purse and the top 12 shared 90% of it, the rest would barely get entry fees... isn't that how we run a lot of local tracks??

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

Keith [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Ed I think Gordon would have 5 but not 6 the year Kurt Busch won would of been his but the first one Jimmie won Jimmie had such a big lead in August and he blew up a couple of times and Gordon got close. According to interviews I heard of Rick Hendrick he even said they were testing new engine packages for the Chase because they had clinched a spot and had nothing to lose and they never would of did it otherwise.

Ed's Response - Keith- Thanks for commenting. Gordon would have won in 2004 and 2007 under the old points. I was surprised to see that many former champions would not be champions if they ran under the chase system... I recall seeing a study at my good friend Jayski's

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

Rene [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:12:30 +0000

I have been a race fan for many years and never thought I would say that the "racing is boring".

The beginning of the end began with the multi-car era. The IROC series is gone and NASCAR will be next. What a shame.

Ed's Repsonse - Look, the 'good old days' would see 3 cars on the lead lap at Dover and Bristol. How come no one seems to remember that??

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

Ken [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:00:16 +0000

Ed, the chase was never a good idea.

Ed's Response- Ken- Sometimes change is good- until someone finds a way to keep up with the 48 bunch its all a moot point...

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

CANUCME [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:50:09 +0000

oh don't you worry. there is no way i am giving up until the end. i was brought into this sport back in 1994 thanks to the publicity of the earnhardt/gordon rivalry. once i became hooked in 1994 something about mark martin just clicked with me and i have been living and dying with him every weekend since. so you would think as a huge mark martin fan i would be a fan of this chase. i mean afterall it has given mark probably his best chance in almost 2 decades to win a championship. well i don't. actually i can't stand it. it's like jeff gordon has said. if he can win a chase he won't consider it his 5th title. he will view it as 4 plus 1. if you can read between the lines you will understand that jeff sees this whole thing as entertainment and not the true measure of a champion. the champion is the guy who can make it through all 4 plate races, all the short tracks, the road courses and then be able to hold his own on the 1-1/2 milers. a guy who can put together a 10 race run simply doesn't impress me.

if mark can somehow win the title this year i will be thrilled and may even shed a tear. the guy deserves it. but deep down inside it just wont be the same had he been able to seal the deal with the old points format.

Ed's Response- Mark Martin has always been a racer first. He's a pretty decent guy as well.

I don't tell a lot of people but I'm a Gordon fan and this chase format kills me as a fan. The man is truly a 6 time champion, just one away from the King and Earnhardt. This whole chase deal doesn't fit him as well as others...

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

CANUCME [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:46:28 +0000

ironic isn’t it? the chase was forced down our throats as a solution to stale championship battles. there were a few years where the title was locked up with a whole 3 races to go and something needed to be done. now with 8 to go the media and many fans have already given the title to the 48. as if the failing tv ratings and empty seats at the track aren’t enough to show that this chase format is a failure they are crowning a champion with almost a quarter of the season left to run.

i personally take great joy in watching this whole mess unfold. nascar is getting exactly what it deserves. they completed alienated their long time fans with all of this nonsense chasing a younger, more hip, west coast demographic. so they lured those fans in for a couple of years and now just as many of us predicted those fans have moved on to the next flavor of the month. the only thing worse, i guess, to the new generation fan than 1 guy wrapping up a title with 3 to go is the same guy going on a 10 race hot streak year after year to win the crown. people are bored with it. tired of it.

the sad part is that lost in all of this bullshit is the race. as mark martin has pointed out more than once this year…. it should really all be about the race. every weekend there is a race and nobody seems to care because they are so wrapped up in a contrived points battle. i guess that is what bothers me the most. the racing and competition has taken a back seat to story lines and entertainment.

Ed's response -
CANUME- look at your email addy... I hope you have not given up... I hope Martin wins this thing (well actually I picked Jeff Gordon in the media game).

I left your post unedited because it makes a great point, it should be all about the race. Maybe he can do this. Maybe Johnson has a couple sub par runs and this thing tightens up... All I know is that there's a pile of people yelling:

I TOLD YOU SO!!!

In response to: The Chase Doesn't Seem Like Such a Great Idea Right Now

ginger [Visitor] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:16:45 +0000

I don't know what is being said in Daytona, but I know what the fans are feeling. Nascar has become like one of the Wall Street CEOs. They only care about the fans where money is the factor. Neither do they care about the drivers. They will do and say whatever it takes to keep the drivers and fans in line while they fill their coffers. It's their ball field, their ball/bat, their tracks, their rules (the ones written in pencil), their interpretation of the rules, and if the drivers don't like it they can leave. Any organization that has a complete choke hold on its' participants like Nascar has becomes a sham. Brian has seen to that. Having been involved with Nascar since its inception, it is a heartbreaking experience to realize that something you've treasured for all those years has evolved into a caricature of it's old self.

Ed's Response : Ginger- In any sport there are rules, interpretations, fields of play, etc. I always wondered why some act as if it is a public commodity, clearly its not. Its a business. What I wonder is where has the luster gone? Remember, just a few short years ago NASCAR was the up and coming sport.

My point is that if Johnson runs away with this thing it is going to hurt NASCAR more than help it.

Thanks for your comments...