Exactly what NASCAR needs! Photo Credit: SPYDERMAN360

First off, the views expressed within this blog are solely the views of the blogger, and angryracefan.com is not responsible for them.  OK, after recently watching some of the coverage from recent Indycar, F1, and even motorcycle races, I figured out what NASCAR needs to do to gain in popularity:  Grid Girls, Umbrella Girls.  Whatever you want to call them, NASCAR needs them.  The “aw shucks”, southern boy mentality needs to go.  I mean get over it.  You built your sport runnin’ ‘shine right?  Then you were sponsored by a cigarette company and had a Winston Girl.  You want to catch the younger demographic, back a truck up to the next NOPI nationals and just start running herd.  With today’s MTV culture, as wrong as it is, young people expect this sort of stuff.  The official mouthpiece of NASCAR, SPEED TV, even showcases this sort of thing on their website.  How about “Hooters Girls, The Official Pit Lane Eye Candy of NASCAR?”  I think we’d have a winner.

Who are you going to alienate?  Doubtful it would be the 50-60 year old guy that has been following for years, perhaps that guy’s wife?  They probably have one of these Gen “Y”ers at home.  They’re used to it.  NASCAR is a sport.  Sports have cheerleaders, except for baseball and the Detroit Lions (thank you Mr. Ford).   It is the same sort of thing.  Don’t tell me the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders from “America’s team” are any less offensive to the mainstream than the grid girls at almost all professional racing events outside of NASCAR. 

This may sound like it is coming from a sexist point of view.  Really it isn’t.  Run out some Grid Boys for your feminine participants (like Kyle Busch or Danica if she makes a poor choice and jumps ship).  Be ahead of the curve on that one NASCAR.  So let’s get to it and get with the times.

Another note:

Didn’t Mark Martin retire four or ten years ago?  I’m not sure if I’m impressed or annoyed by his run this year.  Maybe it is a NASCAR conspiracy to bring in the AARP crowd, the antithesis of what I endorsed earlier.  Mark Martin may very well finally get his elusive championship.  Obviously he can still drive.  I’ll just always remember him as the guy that would back down from Dale Earnhardt every time they got close to each other on the track.  I also remember hearing stories of how arrogant he was on his trips to Howe Racing back when he ran ASA in the early 80’s.  Seriously, you’re inside the shop Mark, take the Ray-Bans off.  To be the best, you have to beat the best, and he is doing it this year.  So while some may say he is simply in the best equipment, there are five other guys in the same Hendrick machinery and not one of them is a slouch.  One might be a slouch now, but that will be another topic one day.

So I’ve never been a fan, but I’ll give Mark a tip of the hat if he brings home the hardware at season’s end.  Then will he really retire?

My relatively random thoughts on this past race weekend 9/18 – 9/20/2009:

The Good

• Mark Martin won another race.  That is always cool.
• Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole and  finished 3rd in the race.

It was a great weekend for JPM and his team.  A win would have been great but you can’t complain about being on the pole, leading some laps, nailing a 3rd, and moving up 7 positions in the points.  JPM is my pick to win the Chase this year. 

• Graham Rahal scored a podium finish @ Motegi and Castroneves was the only Penske car in the top 10.  Good work young Rahal and NHL!  Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m a big Roger Penske fan and his team is in no doubt superior to the remainder of the field save Ganassi, but I’m very bored with his team doing so well.

• The Grand Am race in Utah was exciting and the points race between Gainsco, Suntrust, and Ganassi continues with only 10 points separating all 3 teams.

• Briatore and Symonds leave Renault F1.  In the midst of the “Crashgate” scandal Renault F1’s Managing Director (Briatore) and Director of Engineering (Symonds).  I guess that should open up Briatore’s calendar for scoping super models.  Both have since been banned from FIA sanctioned events Symonds for 5 years and Briatore indefinitely.  Wild to think that people operating at the highest level of motorsport would not think asking a driver to crash deliberately would get out after he was released from his contract.  Seems as likely as Peter Windsor getting brushed off by a driver on the pre-race grid.

Bad News

• JPM got a solid 3rd but didnt’ win @ New Hampshire.  It was his Birthday this weekend so a solid win for the man would have been nice.  I suppose the pole was pretty good though.
• Scott Dixon won @ Motegi and Dario Franchitti finished 2nd.  Now don’t get me wrong, these are two of my favorite IndyCar drivers.  But come on, aren’t we all getting a little tired of the same guys up on the podium.  As I said above about Penske I want to see these guys do well but the dominance currently on display is about as interesting as listening to Robin Miller talk about Spring Cars.

The Ugly

• I didn’t get to watch the IndyCar race @ Motegi because I DirecTV dropped VS.  I have a dog in this fight but I’m not getting involved.  I wouldn’t dare to say that they just need to figure it out and maybe even the IRL should drop by the VS office and put in a good word for DirecTV.  Not that it would probably help but we all know in the battle of DirecTV vs. VS. the loser is IndyCar.  No question.

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.