I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding the current state of NASCAR, and he shared with me the top 5 things he would do if he was in charge of stock car racings governing body. This got me thinking, what would I do?
1 - Too Much Can Be Too Much
I have said it before, and I shall say it again... Cup cars are too quick! The quicker the cars, the more "aerodynamic" they become, and the more they rely on the "perfect line" round the track, neither of which is helpful if you want good racing. If I ruled the NASCAR world I would slow the Gen 6 cars down.
2 - Exception not the Rule
THE race at Daytona is a 500 mile race, obviously. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway holds the Brickyard 400. Darlington, Bristol, Martinsville, Charlotte with the 600 all hold races which are of a length worth keeping, how shall I put this, long. The others do not need to be so drawn out. In fact I am all for a few 300 or 350's in the Cup Series. 500 mile or lap races should be the execption not the rule, so if I ruled the NASCAR world I would shorten the "average" Cup Series race length.
3 - Shorter in More Ways Than One
Shorter race lengths and shorter race tracks. The current Cup schedule includes far too many mile-and-a-half copy cat tracks. Charlotte, Texas, Atlanta, all look the same. Now you can try to convince me of there fundamental differences but I would cut Charlotte down to one points race, the 600 and probably drop one of the others totally. Likewise the other cookie cutter tracks. America has hundreds of tracks, there must be a few high class short tracks out there somewhere to rejuvenate the Cup schedule. If I ruled the NASCAR world I would swap dull cookie cutter tracks for more individual, interesting short tracks.
4 - Get Out and Stay Out
The Nationwide Series is the primary feeder class for young drivers wanting to prove themselves and hopefully move up into the sports big time, the Cup Series. I say let these guys be the stars of the Nationwide Series, not the Cup Series interlopers. I want to watch these drivers battling for the win, not some Cup guy ruining there moment in the headlines. If I ruled the world of NASCAR I would say NO to Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series.
5 - More Roots, Less Blues
If I would make the Nationwide Series about the young drivers, then I would take the Truck Series away from the Cup Series schedule and back to the short tracks. The Trucks should be the link between the sports late model racers and short tracks and the top two Series. Keep some Cup dates, keep Daytona if you must (even then they could race on the back straights short track), keep Canada, for gods sake keep Eldora, but If I ruled the world of NASCAR I would take the Truck Series back to its roots, short tracks.
There you have, it the first 5 things I would do if I ruled the world of NASCAR.
If you were in charge, what would you do?
