Post by rsp #72 on Mar 1, 2006 16:12:23 GMT -6
Death of the Short Track
by Cary Strome- US Navy and Guest Contributor
03/01/2006
Ever get the feeling your being held back? For some of us older guys, run down the street. You body will let you know what I'm talking about. Your head's down and you're leaning forward. Your legs are moving but you fill like your pulling a truck.
Welcome to Super speedway racing. As much as it's a safety issue to have the restrictor plate on the cars, I think it's a bigger issue to have 40 cars 3 wide at almost 200 miles per hour for 500 miles. Some people say it "makes better racing." I say its like watching a long pace lap. Then, with 10 laps to go and 5 up-coming cautions the race starts. Please don't get me wrong. I love to watch NASCAR. Its something that is alive in me. Even the super speedways. However, my true love lies with the short tracks.
I didn't get to watch Daytona this year. I listened to it on the way home from a road trip to St. Louis with my wife. I just couldn't get excited about anything until the last few laps of the race. I see many things that can be changed about the sport, yet I know that it wont change because its a money maker the way it is. Closer racing brings more fans which means more tickets. Unfortunately, money, which is sad to say, is what is slowly becoming the heart of NASCAR. Its the same thing that has killed all the other major sports in America.
Its hard to sit back and watch the sport I have come to love slowly slip away from the fans. But we are caught in between a rock and a hard spot. You can't not watch, go to, or support NASCAR because it's like your life is missing something. However, by participating, you are not really helping the problem. My wife always says, "Your either part of the problem or part of the solution."
So what do we do from here? What can we really do? How do you express your concerns to the likes of NASCAR with out it being over looked? These questions rattle my brain day in and day out. However, at the same time, I, like everyone else continue to watch my favorite drivers and support them in anyway I can.
by Cary Strome- US Navy and Guest Contributor
03/01/2006
Ever get the feeling your being held back? For some of us older guys, run down the street. You body will let you know what I'm talking about. Your head's down and you're leaning forward. Your legs are moving but you fill like your pulling a truck.
Welcome to Super speedway racing. As much as it's a safety issue to have the restrictor plate on the cars, I think it's a bigger issue to have 40 cars 3 wide at almost 200 miles per hour for 500 miles. Some people say it "makes better racing." I say its like watching a long pace lap. Then, with 10 laps to go and 5 up-coming cautions the race starts. Please don't get me wrong. I love to watch NASCAR. Its something that is alive in me. Even the super speedways. However, my true love lies with the short tracks.
I didn't get to watch Daytona this year. I listened to it on the way home from a road trip to St. Louis with my wife. I just couldn't get excited about anything until the last few laps of the race. I see many things that can be changed about the sport, yet I know that it wont change because its a money maker the way it is. Closer racing brings more fans which means more tickets. Unfortunately, money, which is sad to say, is what is slowly becoming the heart of NASCAR. Its the same thing that has killed all the other major sports in America.
Its hard to sit back and watch the sport I have come to love slowly slip away from the fans. But we are caught in between a rock and a hard spot. You can't not watch, go to, or support NASCAR because it's like your life is missing something. However, by participating, you are not really helping the problem. My wife always says, "Your either part of the problem or part of the solution."
So what do we do from here? What can we really do? How do you express your concerns to the likes of NASCAR with out it being over looked? These questions rattle my brain day in and day out. However, at the same time, I, like everyone else continue to watch my favorite drivers and support them in anyway I can.