Remember a few years ago, when the US was turning into NASCAR NATION(tm)? How the media convinced us that, within the next two to three years, NASCAR was going to be part of the average sports fans' lives just as much as the NFL, NBA or MLB? That NASCAR had crossed over from a highly successful niche sport to the "mainstream"?
Yeah, weird, right?
The simple fact is that, as we approach this Sunday's 50th running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR is still a niche sport appealing to a select subset of the population. Granted, it is more popular than it ever has been, and that "niche" is one that most other sports (say, the NHL) would slice their own carotid arteries for. (Editor's note: Too soon?) People like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart aren't just drivers - they are brands, packaged and sold to willing consumers. Even if you don't watch NASCAR, you know the drivers and their ready-made "personalities", and Madison Avenue thinks that this will lead to you buying products because of them.
The majority of the NASCAR story has less to do with racing and more to do with marketing, advertising, TV ratings...all of the "behind the scenes" stuff that writers like to write about, because it gives them a chance to show their "expertise" in their subject, and talk about "real world" stuff like "big business" so they can pretend that their beat is about something tangible and real and not writing about people going around in a circle really fast.
But what about the racing - you know, the thing that is supposed to be the big draw? For millions of fans, this weekend is their one time to experience NASCAR - they might watch this weekend because they know it's the "Super Bowl of stock car racing" and then not watch another race the rest of the season. If NASCAR is lucky, it's a great race with a dramatic crash, and maybe a spectacular crash that everyone walks away from. If NASCAR is incredibly lucky, that all happens at once, like last year:
So if this is the only NASCAR race you're planning on watching this year, allow me to give you a primer on a few pre-race storylines to keep your eye on (basically, the things that Fox will be drilling into your head all race long):
The Car of Tomorrow Never Knows: Last year, NASCAR began phasing in the Car of Tomorrow at select races in the second half of the season. This is the first time it will be used in the Daytona 500. What is the Car of Tomorrow? It's like an old NASCAR car, except boxier and slower. (Which is a weird way to think of "the Car of Tomorrow" I always pictured jet packs, and being able to take a nap in the back while the new "cruise control" steers you to your destination.) The idea of the COT (a lousy acronym for what you would probably want to portray as a sexy, sleek race car) was two-fold: reduce costs and increase safety.
In practical purposes, the COT reduced the impact of aerodynamics on the car (think about the difference between an airfoil going through a jetstream versus a brick). Which in theory is great, because that lessened the "all in a line" style of racing where no one dared jump out to pass for fear that they would lose the draft and shuffle back 30 spots. The reality is that a lot of drivers complained that the COT was "difficult to drive" or "sucked." The essential complaint was that the lack of aerodynamics made it tougher to drive side-by-side, since you could get a lot of "dirty air" and go all over the place.
What does this mean for Sunday? Wait and see. We learned something from the exhibition Budweiser Shootout this past Saturday night: you can pull a "slingshot" and pass a group of drivers - essentially shooting out of the draft to gain momentum on a pack of cars long enough to pass and then get ahead and back in line. We'll know more after the qualifying Duels on Thursday about how the cars react in long stretches with 20 or more car fields. I'm cautiously optimistic that the racing will improve throughout the 200 laps, and break from the format that's plagued NASCAR in recent years: nothing for 125 laps, big crash, nothing for 50 laps, then racing starts with 25 laps to go.
The Rick Hendrick Experience: There is no doubt that Hendrick Motorsports is the dominant force in NASCAR today. With Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, his drivers have won two of the last three Daytona 500s (six overall for his team), and Johnson and Gordon finished 1-2 in drivers points last season. Add former Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., and there is no question that this is the team to beat this year - especially since Hendrick Motorsports clearly had the best COT program last season. Have the other teams caught up?
Toyota in NASCAR: Turning Japanese? - Toyota's first season in the Sprint Cup last season was anything but smooth. Because their marquee team (Michael Waltrip Racing) was new, they weren't automatically in the field and had to race their way in (and frequently did not). And even when Toyotas did race, the results were spotty at best: two poles, one Top 5 and six Top 10 finishes all season. Not unexpected, but disappointing.
But the off-season brought a savior in the form of Joe Gibbs Racing. Sick of being the second or third team in the Chevy stable, JGR decided to defect and become the lead team for the Toyota brand, bringing two drivers who made the Chase last year - Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. There was no question that this was a coup for Toyota - it meant instant credibility, and the other Toyota teams would benefit from the expertise, knowledge and resources that JGR could contribute to making the Toyotas more competitive. For JGR, it's definitely a gamble to go with a manufacturer that is unproven at NASCAR's highest level. But no one questions Toyota's commitment, and they've become dominant in the NASCAR truck series.
I find it interesting to re-read articles from several years ago about how NASCAR fans would never embrace Toyota "invading" their All-American racin'. Frankly, it was a lot of garbage by sportswriters who don't understand NASCAR fans, continually underestimate their intelligence, and who probably watched "Gung Ho" too many times in HBO in the 1980s (when it seemed to run on a 24-hr loop with "Rad" and
Romancing the Stone"). Just as many NASCAR fans drive Toyotas and Fords or Chevys (and if sales numbers are to be believed, probably more). Hell, more NASCAR fans probably work at a Toyota plant in the US than at a Ford or Chevy plant in the US. NASCAR fans are savvier than you think.
Stewart vs. Busch - I Couldn't Think of a Cute, Music-Related Title: When the two most hot-headed drivers in NASCAR keep wrecking each other, things are going to get ugly. Last year, they wrecked each other out of the 500 when they probably had the two best cars. Then later in the year in Dover, Busch decided to "buzz" Stewart's car after an on-track incident by rubbing into him in the pits, a stupid and dangerous move that could have caused an innocent crew member to get injured. NASCAR docked Busch $100,000 and 100 points for that.
So what happened in practice this week? Yup, Stewart and Busch wrecked in practice, with each side having a different story of what happened. Busch retaliated by again banging Stewart's car under caution (this time on the track), while Stewart blocked the entrance to pit lane to annoy Busch. This got them both hauled into the NASCAR hauler for a lecture by the brass, where things remained heated and Stewart may or may not have (depending on who you believe) socked Busch square in the nose.
The upshot? NASCAR, following an off-season edict to let drivers "show more emotion," responded with a slap on the wrist - six race probation for each driver. Needless to say, if they are battling for position on Sunday, it's going to be really interesting. After all, it was a fistfight that brought NASCAR truly out of the South and into the mainstream almost 30 years ago...
