Angry Race Fan

So this is in fact my first blog. Making me a blogger I suppose. Great, another person narcissistic enough to think their opinion is more important than everyone else’s and even worse, that someone wants, no needs, to read it. Steven Colbert said, “a blogger is a person with a laptop, an axe to grind … and their virginity.” Well, I don’t have a laptop yet. Amazingly enough I am a father. However, I do have a dull axe, and the people at this site have graciously given me a place to put an edge on it.

Up there in the address bar says it all. Angry Race Fan. Believe me, I’m more angry than I am content when it comes to racing and its media coverage. The various series consistently make poor choices in marketing and competition regulation. NASCAR TV, errr, Speed, constantly evolves from what was once a great channel to the mouthpiece of NASCAR. Still in my first post on an “angry” site, I have to take skip through the daisies.

The timing is strange as NASCAR’s Sprint series postseason and college football kicks off about the same. One sport has a playoff and one doesn’t. College football needs one, but it NASCAR’s premier series that has it. Why not? It isn’t a perfect system, but what is? Sure it is driven by a TV contract. However it does add some excitement to a series that has become stagnant in its growth and has more than enough races on the docket to support it.

They still need to tweak their point distribution all season long, pre and post Chase. Come on, why would you get points for less than a 35th place finish? It is ridiculous. I’m not saying you should stop paying out prize money past that position. I wouldn’t want to put an end to the field fillers and start and park entries, which are a necessary element. You should just get more points for winning as well as points falling off more than they do after the top ten. I won’t even start on the other changes like only 36 cars at Bristol and Martinsville (other than that start right there).

Regardless of how it turns it, it should be one of the most competitive Chase series to date. With Kyle Busch’s four wins, he should have been in it, but I know most fans won’t miss him. Matt Kenseth absence is also noticeable. However, everyone races the same points system, just like they race the same car design. No matter how much they complain about it. There is certainly plenty to complain about with NASCAR, but they have leveled the playing field about as much as possible with this near spec series.

So grab your beer and pretzels, sit back on Sunday and let it all play out. When your guy bites it early in the Chase and you start to complain, just think of how much better you have it than that college football fan come December and January. At least he was given the opportunity to be a champion.