“ I don’t think it has to be Labor Day. I think, to me, this race ought to be 500 miles. It should be but I don’t think it has to be Labor Day. I know a lot of people are calling for it to be on Labor Day and I think that a lot of people are forgetting what it used to be like here on Labor Day. It’s a little hot. I can remember thinking ‘I don’t know how in the world we’re going to run 500 miles.’ Burning up in practice and, oh my God it was hot. So, I’m good with the race a little earlier in the year. I think if we are going to run here one time it ought to be 500 miles. I don’t think it matters if the Southern 500 is in January or August or May. The same with the Daytona 500. If the Daytona 500 were in November, it would still be the Daytona 500.”
Jeff Burton spoke those words the day before the 2009 Southern 500 in Darlington, SC. He was answering a media member’s question “Does it have to be Labor Day to really be the Southern 500?”
Some form of that was asked to several drivers over the Mother’s Day weekend event. Opinions varied. Greg Biffle has been victorious in the annual Darlington race but it was since the move to May and without the Southern 500 name. He wanted a Southern 500 trophy.
Others echoed Burton’s thoughts. Commented Tony Stewart “It is still the Southern 500. It doesn’t matter what the date. It is still the Southern 500. You could run it on December 31st and it would still be the Southern 500 and it would still be a huge win. Doesn’t matter what the date is, we still want to win here.”
Many traditionalists feel that if there was going to be one race per year, Labor Day weekend was the proper place. There was some discontent among fans about holding the Cup and Nationwide doubleheader in Fontana, California.
A few dates have swapped again this year with Atlanta now hosting the late summer holiday NASCAR races. We will see what the heat will be. Georgia is south of the Carolinas so I can make a prediction.
As a fun and non-scientific project I thought up my own version of the Cup schedule. NASCAR for the most part keeps dates from jumping around too far and is fairly consistent year to year. That has helped build the fan base for over fifty years.
But since I am appointing myself king for a day I would redo it in an image I prefer with a few new rules.
One visit per track which will shorten the schedule. I feel the season is overexposed. The NFL is the most successful sports model in the country that leaves fans wanting more when the year is complete. Even with their talk of expanding to two more games during the regular season, that is still only half the length of the points paying Cup schedule.
We will have a few tent poles as well using a 2009 calendar. The Daytona 500, World 600, and Southern 500 will once again form the Triple Crown and there will be a large financial bonus to winning all three. Why not? It’s easy to write checks out of someone else’s bank account.
As long as I am waving a magic wand I will implement a few more rules as well:
There is no chase. The champion will earn his title from the season’s start to the end.
Daytona will have two races. One to open the season and one to close it. Simply because it is Daytona. And the July race is too hot.
The Easter and Mother’s Day weekends are off.
The July fourth race will be the date of the All-Star Race at a rotating location. Having the event move around was the original intent at the 1984 announcement.
We will separate market areas, making it easier on tracks to sell tickets and fans to buy tickets.
I gave consideration to climate as well. Atlanta in March can be brutally cold.
If the Super Bowl moves its date, The Daytona 500 will move accordingly.
Fontana’s one date right after Daytona makes sense. The Los Angeles market is the largest one we race in. So to take the media momentum from the Daytona 500 and then go to California is a good move on paper. A single race per season is something the fans may be able to support.
I am not a fan of stock cars on road courses, but Watkins Glen and Sonoma are good market areas for sponsors, so they stay.
The fastest forty-three in time trials start the race. Period. I believe in taking care of the sponsors, but not when it impacts anything that happens on the track. Let’s return this piece of integrity. Taking care of sponsors, to me, means making sure suites are available in the VIP towers, that they have plenty of tickets to entertain their families and guests, and helping them with travel plans, hotels, and hospitality areas. But if their sponsored car is to get in the race, then go fast enough. If the fan favorite gets a flat tire on his qualifying lap, oh well. That’s racing.
There is no more “free pass.” If a driver wants want a lap back then earn it by passing the leader.
There are a few more weeks off so the team members can breathe and see their families. Trust me that will make for better racing.
And there is room for expansion.
Now all this is just for fun and it is quite obvious this all will not happen. There are just too many realistic reasons why not. I even included the speedway in Pike’s Peak, which is currently not in operation. But as long as we are dreaming, let’s not let reality get in the way.
Feb. 15 Daytona, FL
Feb.22 Fontana, CA
March 1 off
March 8 Miami, FL
March 15 Las Vegas, NV
March 22 Sonoma, CA
March 29 Ft. Worth, TX
April 5 Phoenix, AZ
April 12 Easter-off
April 18 Rockingham, NC
April 26 Nashville, TN
May 2 Talladega, AL
May 9 Mother’s Day-off
May 16 St. Louis, MO
May 24 Concord, NC
May 31 Dover, DE
June 7 Pike’s Peak, CO
June 13 Sparta, KY
June 21 Brooklyn, MI
June 28 Loudon, NH
July 4 All-Star Race @ rotating speedway
July 10 Chicago, IL
July 18 off
July 26 Indianapolis, IN
Aug 1 Watkins Glen, NY
Aug 7 Richmond, VA
Aug 15 Kansas City, KS
Aug 22 Pocono, PA
Aug 28 Bristol, TN
Sept 6 Darlington, SC
Sept 12 Newton, IA
Sept 20 Martinsville, VA
Sept 27 Atlanta, GA
Oct 3 Daytona, FL
Well readers, what do you think?
{ 11 comments }
Interesting ideas here Patrick. Less may truly be more for NASCAR. I don’t think the sport is affected too much by MLB and the NBA, BUT I think the NFL really kills NASCAR if the chase isn’t good.
The idea of more breathing room in the schedule is good, even for racing addicts like Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. It’s not hard to imagine an appearance at a local track. Hmm, that could could be good for roots racin’ too.
You present some good arguments on changing the schedule but I have two comments:
1. I’m glad to see someone else besides me that don’t like road course racing in NASCAR. Just a personal preference for me.
2. No race in Texas?? Seems you have the whole eastern third of the country covered, but why take not only one but both races from Texas?
Okay, I have a third comment. No matter what NASCAR does to change things for the good or worse, there will be LOTS of people upset and unhappy.
Jackie,
You are right. I overlooked Texas. I have been tinkering with the article for a few weeks and in my notes I have the race March 29th. Ft. Worth absolutely deserves a race. I just plainly blew it when I typed up the list. Good eye. Keep me on my toes. Sorry to the Lone Star state.
Edited. March 29 Texas. Thanks Jackie.
Glad you changed it. I thought for a while I would have call upon the spirits of General Houston and Davy Crockett to come and haunt you for such a blasphemy as no race in Texas!!! lol
Hi Patrick, I wrote a column last year about the very same things you just talked about. I agree with 99% of what you said. I love the idea of moving the All-Star race somewhere different every year, and the last race be at Daytona. The Only problem I have with any of this, is there are a lot of people, iclucing my self who own time shares in Daytona for the race weeks. If they move the Daytona 500 in February, I have a time share for sale on the beach!
Some date shuffling won’t fix the structural problems facing NASCAR.
Here’s a few of the problems (and solutions):
1. The fans cannot identify with the cars anymore
Solution: return to production-based race cars and engines; dump the “common template” COT.
2. The fans cannot identify with the superteams
Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the “common template” COT so that 100+ crewmen and engineers aren’t necessary to run a “Cup team;” Force the superteams to disclose all of their engine, chassis and body specifications to the public on the internet (which wouldn’t really be a problem with a more production-based formula) and to sell cars and engines to whomever wants to buy them (or require participating OEMs to sell turnkey NASCAR racers, similar to Ford Racing’s FR500 Mustangs); Ban the “big rig” transporters and put strict limits on crew sizes; institute a separate championship award for single car teams; Limit the number of chassis and engines that a team can use for a season (tracked with VIN numbers and permanent markings).
3. The fans cannot identify with all of the “riding instead of racing” and stroking.
Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the “common template” COT so that there’s a greater possiblity of passing; cut the maximum engine size to 300 cid, require modern OEM production EFI V8s and allow production OHC/DOHC; change the points system to encourage more battling for the lead: payout prize money and points based on position at the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full race distances.
4. The fans cannot identify with cookie-cutter tracks
Solution: fewer visits to the “McOvals;” protect the unique, historic “Wrigley Field’ tracks like Darlington, Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond and Dover; ban new ovals longer than 3/4 miles; Put more short tracks and wide road courses on the schedule; institute a “cup” class at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
5. The fans cannot identify with highway robbery ticket prices
Solution: Cut the prices; Get rid of the Camping World Trucks and the Nationwide Series and make all of the support series races run “cup-spec” cars; add more variety to events (i.e. “Roval” support or qualifying races for an oval “cup” event; run an event or two on dirt).
6. The fans cannot identify with rain delays and cheap, rain-shortened wins
Solution: Rain tires and windshield wipers. Red flag only torrential downpours. Cut the points and prize money awarded for rain-shortened races.
7. The fans cannot identify with single-file, “follow the leader” “racing”
Solution: Double file restarts or perhaps even Indy/WOO-style 3-wide restarts at some tracks; encourage development of an OEM production KERS system for “push to pass” power boosts; allow production-based six-speed transmissions with multiple top-gear ratios so that drivers will have an Indy-style option of a crusing gear and a passing gear.
8. The fans cannot identify with single car qualifying and the protected “Top-35″ rule
Solution: Qualifying heats and fields inverted on season points.
9. The fans cannot identify with “Toyotas” in NASCAR
Solution: Limit the series to U.S.-Headquartered manufacturers and cars designed and built in North America; require current, production-based car engines (no truck engines; no “clean sheet” racing engines; no “common-template” engines).
10. The fans cannot identify with “the aero push”
Solution: return to production-based race cars and dump the “common template” COT; raise the ride height; reduce downforce and make the cars more dependent upon mechanical grip; reduce speeds at most tracks with smaller engines and reduced aerodynamic “slickness” (increased drag); return to harder bias-ply tires that produce fewer “marbles,” are more “forgiving,” and which will smoke when over-driven in the corners; force track owners to repave and/or prepare their tracks for multiple grooves.
Taking away the second date from most of the tracks would most likely make some of them close because there is not enough money to keep some of them open if they lose a date or they will surely stop building all the extra amenities. Even Indy was in bad shape and falling apart before Na$car showed up. The reason Na$car is successful is because of it’s tracks. Also why everyone thinks the season should bookend with Daytona is beyond me. 2 races in 12 weeks in a market that by Na$car standards is small will affect attendance because most fans travel there and don’t live close and to come up with the kind of money it costs to go to Daytona for a race it will kill one of them.
Keith, Pococno still has two dates. One in June and one in July. Does that make sense?
43 fastest each week, for sure. I hate that rule about the top teams guaranteed a spot.
I would also like to see them find a way to get rid of the plates at Daytona. Daytona used to attract drivers from other series and now it doesn’t.
Janine
No it does not make sense I live 2.5 hrs from Pocono and have not been there since 1989 the place sucks and it is better on TV. I’ll drive 1000 miles to a good track but still will not go back there.
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