Happy Hour: The great debate
Here's how odd Mark Martin's season has been: In terms of wins, he's only won more than four races in a season twice in his career, yet his average finish this year is the fifth-worst of his career.
Go figure. Now let's get to the mailbag:
Regardless of the nice spin you tried to put on the Chicago race, that was one of the most boring races of the year. Fifteen laps of good racing out of 267 laps does not constitute a good race.
Join Happy Hour
Got a question or comment for Yahoo! Sports NASCAR editor Jay Hart? Want to be a part of Happy Hour?
Email Jay
Considering it was well after 11 p.m. on the East Coast by time this snooze fest ended, I bet you would find the number of people that actually saw the ending was much much less than what started off watching the race. Ratings and attendance continues to plummet, and it's not an economy issue. It's due to the fact NASCAR does not offer a good product anymore.
Mr. France has screwed the sport up so badly that long time fans have left (the same fans that built the sport into what it was a few years ago; before the chase, the COT, and the WWE style of predictability) and I doubt if they will ever return.
The product has been damaged, and given NASCAR's handling of the Jeremy Mayfield situation and the Carl Long situations, they have no clue how to fix it.
Rob H.
Hillsborough, N.C.
Maybe inadvertently, Rob brings up a great discussion. What constitutes a good race?
While I agree that a good part of Saturday night's race was a Mark Martin parade, isn't there a parade portion in virtually every 400- or 500-mile event?
It seems to me that Cup races almost always follow a similar formula: Drivers jockey for position at the drop of the green flag, settle in, work on their cars to get them ready for the finish, then, with about a quarter of the race to go, begin the mad dash toward the checkered flag.
For the most part, this is how it's been for as long as I've been a NASCAR fan, which is going on 20 years now.
I don't always appreciate the parades in the middle, but they seem to be a necessary evil for anything that lasts longer than a sprint race.
Curious what you all think.
Mark Martin has a series-high four wins this season, yet is only 11 points ahead of David Reutimann in 13th.
(Getty)
You asked how NASCAR would explain how Mark Martin and the No. 5 crew missed the chase (if they do) with the most wins this season. That would be fairly easy I would think. Sure he has won four races this year but he has also finished worse than 30th six times and 40th or worse three of those times.
As much as we cringe at points racing there is still a lot to be said about consistency.
Mark's had 11 top 15's I believe but he's also had nine finishes worse than 15th and more than half of them like I said are worse than 30th.
Here's hoping Mark can overcome those three horrible weeks early in the season with a strong run to help cement his top 12 spot but we'll have to wait and see.
Chad Crawford
Quinte, West Canada
Your article brings up a good point on Mark Martin could still miss the Chase despite winning the most races. I would hate for something like that to happen to him as he is long due for his elusive cup. I think this is another potential change should be thrown out to NASCAR when you get a chance: the driver with the most wins during the regular season should automatically secure a spot in the Chase.
I would test that idea first next season and it seems like a no brainer, though it could eventually be expanded to: any driver who has four or more wins get automatic chase berth.
Both of the above rules put high emphasis on winning races and neither set the bar too low. Last year, Ky. Busch, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson were the only drivers to get four or more wins, and coincidently, they were ranked 1-2-3 heading into the Chase.
So, it is unlikely to come into play quite often, but it will provide a buffer for those who deserve to be in the Chase should they find themselves unlucky during the summer stretch.
Revanth Reddy
Gurnee, Ill.
I am a fan of the Chase, but I am not completely sold on how the points are awarded heading into it.
There absolutely needs to be a bigger cushion between finishing first and second in individual races. However, I wouldn't guarantee a spot in the Chase for the driver with the most wins.
Here's what I would like to see NASCAR do:
• Over the course of the entire season, award race winners with at least 230 points per win, compared to the 180 given now.
• When the points are reset heading into the Chase, the regular-season champion receives a 100-point bonus, second place a 50-point bonus, third 45 points, fourth 40, all the way to 12th place, which receives no bonus.
• Chase drivers receive a 10-point bonus for every regular-season win.
Not only would this system reward drivers for winning, it would preserve the long-accepted ideal that to win a title you have to maintain a level of consistency over the long haul.
Also, get rid of the five-point bonus for leading a single lap. It's not serving its intended purpose and as it stands now, any driver who leads one lap receives just five fewer bonus points than the winner of the race.
You spent three paragraphs mostly talking about how Tony Stewart mistreats you. But I think most people would agree (or maybe not), but it's certainly my opinion that if we were limited to only having one of the two of you in the world, that we'd pick Tony over you.
Doug Piper
State College, Pa.
Which is it, Doug? You seem to hedge your bet here.
Dear Jay, I must compliment you on giving us an idea what kind of person Tony Stewart really is. I think a lot of us fans might find it interesting to see who are "Smiling ****asses" and who aren't. By the way, I have to give my dad kudos for that phrase. God rest his soul. Keep telling like it is.
Johnny Horn
Columbia, S.C.
Let me clarify something on my take on Tony Stewart's "maturity." My purpose wasn't to get something off my chest. That's not my job, and I'm not vain enough to think anyone cares about my personal feelings on Tony or any other driver. However, it is my job to tell it like I see it, and if all I ever did was report one side of things – good or bad – how could you trust that any of what I say is true?
The truth, from my experience, is this: Tony Stewart is an amazing businessman, successful at everything he touches; he can drive a race car better than just about anyone on this planet; he's as charitable with his money as anyone inside the Cup garage; and he picks and chooses when he wants to be nice and when he wants to be a jerk, which is yet another thing he's very good at.
Can you explain the Dave Blaney deal. He has finished one race this year and his average finish close to dead last? Does he run a few laps and leave or is he continuing to wreck every week, as in the past? Can you shed some light on this? Sorry for the off topic subject, but I can't seem to get an answer to this question.
Scott A.
Lexington, Mo.
No problem, Scott. This season, Dave Blaney is driving for what's known as a "start-and-park" team. The team is simply there to qualify for the race, collect the last-place check and go home. They don't want to race any longer than a few laps because that would cost them more money (tires, parts, etc.) that would cut into their profit. Don't take this as a slight on Blaney. He's a good driver acting on team orders.
Last call …
Jay, am I the only one who thinks there should be 18 races at Daytona and 18 at Talladega and that's it?
Orly
Texas
