Happy Hour: Valentine's Day massacre
By this time next week, we'll have the 2010 Daytona 500 pole sitter, a Bud Shootout winner and the first stock car race from Danica Patrick. Oh, and Drew Brees will be heading to Disney World.
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That's my Super Bowl prediction, now, let's get to the mailbag:
Conflict of interest
Jay, I'm really looking forward to the new season beginning, especially with the changes being made. However, I have to criticize NASCAR for something. I know, if we ain't crying we ain't trying right?
But what I would like to be critical about is having the Daytona 500 on Valentine's Day. I know the 500 is supposed to run the Sunday after the Super Bowl. However, NASCAR has to understand that some of us have wives/girlfriends etc. who don't like sports and don't like NASCAR. So for those of us who do have a significant other who tolerates NASCAR on Sundays, we're in a pickle this year. I will not be able to watch the 500 at all which really, really sucks.
NASCAR should have seen that the 500 would have been run on Valentine's Day and pushed it back another week and eliminated one of the early bye weeks. Is that so much to ask?
Daniel Prekopa
Lakeland, Fla.
I deal with this conflict every year, Daniel, except it's multiplied by about 10,000 beings that my wife's birthday is Feb. 13 and the only thing she loves more than Valentine's Day is her birthday.
Still, I don't have an issue with NASCAR scheduling the Daytona 500 on Valentine's Day. That's just how the calendar falls every couple of years. What I don't understand is scheduling your media day on the Thursday before the Super Bowl and your premier kick off event (the Bud Shootout) the day before it. Neither are going to get the attention they warrant; both are going to be relegated to the back pages of every sports site/section in America.
I say take advantage of having virtually every sports media member only a couple hundred miles away, schedule the Bud Shootout for the Monday night following the Super Bowl in primetime (if possible) and host your media day on Tuesday. But that's just me.
Wait and see
There are too many good drivers in good stuff with good people this year. I've decided I'm not even breathing about anyone's Cup season until five races in and I'm certainly not making any Chase predictions until August.
DRL DeBoer
Florida
You're absolutely right, but where's the fun in that?
There are a number of drivers who are worth paying attention to in the early part of the season, all for different reasons:
• Kyle Busch, to see if he can settle for a top 10 when the win isn't there.
• Denny Hamlin, to see if his knee impacts his ability to drive.
• Brad Keselowski, to see if he can run up front in Penske equipment.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., to see if he's turned things around mentally.
• The entire Roush Fenway stable, to see if they've found what they were missing in 2009.
The driver I won't be paying much attention to is Jimmie Johnson, because as we've learned the last four years, what he does between February and, say, June has no bearing on where he'll end up in November.
I think Junior will have a great year this year. If you review he would have placed more often but when it came close someone usually wrecked him. With cars going back to the spoiler, he is more comfortable with his crew chief, and the rules changed I expect to see 88 at the Winner's Circle! Go Junior!
Ritzy
Nebraska
Blaming Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s problems on someone wrecking him is tantamount to blaming the previous administration. At some point, you've got to take responsibility for your own actions.
But I do think Ritzy brings up an interesting point. Could part of Junior's decline have something to do with the new car? I started to entertain this idea when Junior no longer carried that dominating presence at the restrictor plate tracks, where he was always one of the best. But looking at the past results, Junior's struggles started well before the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow.
I know this is going to stoke the fire, but 2004 was Junior's last good year and last year with Tony Eury Sr. as his crew chief. They won six races that season. Senior left Junior's pit box at the end of '04, and Junior has won three races since.
In regards to "Last Call", will somebody tell that bonehead Jr. did get in one of Johnson's cars last year and still sucked. I've been an Earnhardt fan starting with his dad and carried on to Jr. Jr's biggest problem is Jr himself!!
Maybe since Hendrick laid down the law and "good ol' boy" Mark Martin and the whole 5 team along with all of Jr's team agreed to work together as "One team with Two cars" maybe we can get Jr back to the front!
I actually agree with Mark Martin, They WILL make it work!
Oh and BTW you guys are awesome put yourselves up for a raise! Keep up the great work!
Jay
Steamboat Rock, Iowa
Your check is in the mail.
Where's the incentive?
Jay my question to you is about the winnings in NASCAR. Instead of changing the point system near every year do you think changing how much drivers take home from races would make a bigger impact? Let first win say 75K and move 2nd to say 30K, as it is now the winner and the second place car get too near the same points and money.
Greg Jones
Kingsland, Ga.
Twenty years ago I think your plan would have worked, Greg, but nowadays the top drivers make so much in base salary that altering the race payouts wouldn't matter that much.
This is exactly what Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty talked about a few days before the 2008 finale – that winning isn't as important as it once was. Sure, drivers today want to win just as much as the drivers of bygone eras, but they don't need to win just as much because they've already got their paychecks.
"You know you're going to make 10 million bucks when you sit down in the car, these guys do, so why do they get excited about one race or one season?" Petty told me. "It's competitive because I want to beat you, but that's as far as it goes. There's nothing else that gives them incentive to beat each other."
The biggest thing that motivates today's drivers is a championship, and so if you're looking to light a fire under their butts, you have to start there. This is why I'm a proponent of making wins worth more in terms of points. If a win is worth significantly more points than finishing second, you'll see drivers bumping and banging for the lead and fans jumping out of their seats, screaming.
Hey Jay: About the wing and the spoiler … I think NASCAR should allow teams to pick whichever they want to use, that way another element is in play :) and since there is not enough data to, at the moment, confirm which is better … it would be interesting what would happen with teams being able to choose one over the other.
Alberto Cruz
Carolina, Puerto Rico
It's an interesting idea, Alberto, especially when considering how many fans don't like the fact that the cars are too similar. But teams would know before they get to the track which would be better – the wing or the spoiler – and if they didn't they'd find out real quick in practice.
Last call …
Is there any way to edit the questions before you publish them online? They are painful to read.
Danelle Miller
Colorado
