The Frontstretch: It's Not A Sport, It's A Business: The Start And Park Phenomenon Threatening NASCAR's Future by Bryan Davis Keith -- Wednesday March 11, 2009

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It's Not A Sport, It's A Business: The Start And Park Phenomenon Threatening NASCAR's Future

Frontstretch Special Report · Bryan Davis Keith · Wednesday March 11, 2009

 

At Fontana just a few short weeks ago, millions of NASCAR fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. After offseason talk there wouldn’t be enough teams to fill the field in each of its top three divisions, the Cup, Nationwide, and Truck Series divisions all had enough cars to fill an entry list for the second race of the season.

But beneath the surface, all was not as healthy as it seemed. While Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards were there to win the race per usual, the reasons some cars and drivers showed up were far different than what you’d want to believe as a race fan. These teams – nestled within the middle and back of NASCAR’s starting fields — were there not to compete, but to turn a healthy profit, all while padding the sport’s bottom line in the process.

For these organizations – which have comprised up to 20 percent of the Truck Series field in some races – their version of competition is to slowly take a qualifying lap around the race track, making the starting lineup in the back of the pack – only to pull the car off the speedway in the first few laps of the race, what’s known in racing circles as the dreaded “start and park.” In doing so, they bring an undamaged car in the garage area, make off with tens of thousands of dollars in purse money, and ensure the sport collects its most important lifeline of all … cold, hard cash.

“The deal NASCAR has with television, if there’s 42 cars [at the track] they’ll go out and tell somebody pull out your backup car, find a driver,” an anonymous Nationwide Series pit crew member told Frontstretch. According to the team, who is being kept anonymous to allow them to keep their place in NASCAR, the sanctioning body loses television money if they show up to the race track without 43 cars capable of making the starting lineup.

“They won’t lose that bonus money for having a full field,” the pit crew member continued. “They don’t care if they have to put decals on their pace car and get it out there for a lap.”

That panic attack – combined with the weakness implied by having a less than full field – supposedly forced NASCAR to do whatever it could simply to bring teams to the race track these first few weeks of 2009. At Atlanta, an anonymous Truck Series driver also told Frontstretch that NASCAR had contacted them personally about running a Fontana start and park – a choice they decided not to make after the series figured out they’d have enough trucks without them making an unscheduled trip to California.

“NASCAR came to me and said they wanted more cars, they wanted to park,” said the owner/driver. “[So] we were going to go out there [Fontana] and do a start and park…for NASCAR.”

How has the quality of racing deteriorated to this point, where there are teams out there looking to simply crack the starting lineup – and then go home without competing? The history of start and parks is a long one, with businessmen looking to make a quick buck at various times throughout the 60-year history of the sport. But in particular, it’s some tough economic times this decade which have forced some of the sport’s seediest operations to come popping out of the woodwork … threatening the very existence of the sport as we know it.

Recent Start and Park History

The 2004 NASCAR season opened very much like 2009, with national economic concerns leaving many teams without sponsorship and NASCAR’s top three national touring series wondering whether or not the fields would be full. After seeing only 45 cars attempt the Daytona 500, NASCAR returned to Rockingham, and while the fields remained full, both the Cup and Busch Series ranks played host to a number of dilapidated efforts that showed up to the track with intentions of being cut a check — not cutting a fast lap.

That weekend at the Rock saw two of the most notable examples of start-and-parking in recent NASCAR history. In the Busch Series race, Jeff Fuller qualified a No. 88 Chevrolet only to run a handful of laps and park, marking what would be a full season campaign for Fuller without completing a single race. And over in the Cup Series, 59-year-old Joe Ruttman was black-flagged on the first lap in a Phoenix Racing-prepared No. 09 for not having a pit crew. That’s right, folks; the team was so bold as to announce its intentions not to compete, it didn’t have a full-time staff bother to show up at the race track.

Looking back, these two teams that took to the Rock on a cold weekend in February could be considered the antecedents to the recent “start and park” epidemic that hit the Nationwide and Truck Series ranks last season, and that has now spilled over to the Cup Series. Starting and parking has always been around — but these 2004 teams were different. These were not examples of cars struggling to survive, but of owners exploiting a business opportunity at the expense of a sport’s integrity. Five years later, their efforts are now threatening to become both a black eye on the sport’s reputation, as well as a potential hazard to the teams currently braving the current economic turmoil in pursuit of the checkered flag. Who are they? Why are they here? And what threat do they pose to NASCAR’s future? Read on to find out the many faces turning a sport based on competition into a business based on dollars and cents.

The Positive Faces of Start and Park

For just about every start and park team that has taken to the track over the last several seasons, there is a different rationale or justification for not contesting the races they attempt. And to be fair, before we get to the devastating consequences there’s a few of them that do force critics of the start and park brigade to take a second look.

Take the No. 0 team of JD Motorsports, for instance. A longtime fixture in Nationwide Series competition, JD’s No. 01 team attempted every race in 2008, many times not having any sort of sponsorship on its quarterpanels. Still, being a team that owner Johnny Davis has stated “is heavily invested in the Nationwide Series,” a lack of sponsorship has led the team to run a second car in a start and park effort simply to keep its full-time entry running. Development driver Danny Efland and current No. 01 driver Danny O’Quinn owe their shots at running the Nationwide Series in part to the funds accrued by the team’s No. 0 team. This is by far the most common explanation offered for starting and parking, one that has been employed by a number of teams such as Rensi Racing at the end of 2008 to help keep an unsponsored Bobby Hamilton, Jr. on the race track, as well as in 2009 by Brian Keselowski’s Nationwide Series team to offset weekly race costs.

For those organizations, the “start and park” isn’t exactly an exciting proposition for them … but at least they’re attempting to run one full-time team the distance, using the money for a second car solely to keep that organization afloat in tough economic times. It’s a philosophy even some Sprint Cup drivers can get on board with, despite the dissatisfaction of watching a field of 43 quickly become 42 or less by Lap 5.

“We’re going through a tough time right now,” says Cup veteran Elliott Sadler. “Car owners have to do whatever they have got to do.”

“I promise you, the people doing the starting and parking are not living a great life.”

In all honesty, it is difficult to find fault with the practices of JD Motorsports and Brian Keselowski’s Nationwide Series efforts. Both of these organizations have in fact committed time and resources to contesting a full Nationwide schedule, and both are without primary sponsorship to support them.

Occasionally, there are even success stories for individuals involved with these teams. That’s hard to believe for drivers who qualify for the main event, only to pull into the garage before you even get a chance to compete. But stories like Kenny Hendrick (no relation to Rick) are the reason why some of these drivers do it. For a full year, Hendrick toiled under the guise of start and park operations in 2008, most frequently for Stanton Barrett’s No. 31 team. In an interview last year, Hendrick described the role of his start and park entry as multi-faceted; he used his practice times at the track as a de facto test session to assist Barrett’s primary No. 30 entry with setups. Further, Hendrick’s car often carried the same sponsor decals as Barrett’s, giving the sponsors more on-track exposure — if only for a limited time.

But besides a way to make a living, Hendrick also saw his seat time as a way to get his name back in the garage…prior to start and parking throughout 2008, it had been four seasons since his last Nationwide stint behind the wheel. And some solid qualifying efforts were actually enough to attract some free agent interest in the offseason; right now, the driver is currently in a fully-funded ride in former Chip Ganassi equipment, driving the No. 42 Nationwide car for boxer Evander Holyfield.

…And Then, Everyone Else

Unfortunately, for every hard-earned success story within these start and park organizations, there’s about seven or eight whose only goal is simple: dollars and cents. And while that’s an envious proposition when you’re talking about starting a small business, the purity of sports competition is supposed to prohibit money from coming into play.

But for the past year or two, several organizations in NASCAR’s top-tier divisions have shown up merely to collect a check. In some instances, these team owners might have the best of intentions … but then wind up lost in the sea of purse money they use to simply pay off old debts. Take the case of Derrike Cope, Inc. A team formed in mid-2008, over the second half of the season DCI often entered two Truck Series and two Nationwide Series entries – cars that completed only one full race out of dozens of starts. The team was using start and park, they contended, to accrue funds to use down the road in order to run the distance regularly the following season — as well as to make their presence known to perspective sponsors.

However, Cope’s argument that start and park builds bank accounts for team building also rings hollow. Outside of running in Cup and Truck competition at Daytona, they have yet to be seen on the race track in 2009. What happened to the $150,000 + in winnings that the teams made last year building for the future? Apparently, it wasn’t enough to make them stick around and take a shot at running the first five races to lock into the top 30 in owner points.

But at least this team isn’t making a mockery of the starting lineup. For others, even full-time sponsorship doesn’t preclude them from running a second, sometimes a third car only to pull it back into the garage and collect some extra cash. Let’s look at the Gunbroker.com team in the Camping World Truck Series, for instance. The team already has sponsorship for their full-time No. 23 truck, but continues to run two additional vehicles on race day that have no intention of running the full distance. With money already secured for a full-time competitor, where’s the need to muddy the field of competition for the sake of making more money? Sure, Gunbroker.com may not be the most lucrative sponsor in the garage…but there are full-time teams out there with less sponsorship that are still able to compete. Specialty Racing in the Nationwide Series had fewer than a half dozen sponsored races in 2008, yet using primarily purse money were still able to run the distance for the entirety of the Nationwide Series schedule. If it can be done for 35 races at that level, a small-time sponsor can definitely fit the bill for 25 Truck contests.

Instead, the team chooses to make a mockery of the competition fans pay their hard-earned dollars to see. Just check out the transmissions of one of GunBroker.com’s start and park drivers, Johnny Chapman, during the race last Saturday afternoon at Atlanta. After just 11 laps, Chapman parked the car that had no pit crew in its box and was simply out on the race track to collect an $8,025 purse for finishing 35th. In fact, Chapman was in a hurry to get back to the garage…to meet someone.

Spotter: Going 10. She [unidentified person] will be ready.
Chapman: I will not run more than 10 [laps]. I want to be there.

And then, there’s the case of MSRP Motorsports. Formed at the beginning of the 2008 season, the Nationwide Series organization run by Truck Series announcer Phil Parsons and businessman Randy Humphrey maintains they’re starting and parking simply to have a presence on the track and to entice sponsorship. But after running 65 races in two years and failing to complete a single one, it’s an argument that appears to ring hollow. What company in their right mind is going spend their sponsorship dollars on a car that starts in the back, and runs briefly for just a few laps before packing up? History shows us the chances are nearly impossible; of all the start and park organizations formed since the 2004 season, not one has continued to remain a competitive entity in any of the sport’s top three series in 2009.

Perhaps the most disturbing comments come from MSRP’s drivers themselves, who – when cornered – refuse to admit they’re part of an operation whose primary focus is to leave the track with tens of thousands in profit.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know the MSRP team was a start and park team,” said current No. 91 driver Terry Cook at Atlanta, playing dumb to the odd coincidence of 65 straight part failures. “I just thought they had bad parts on the car. I thought we had a lot of problems.”

When pressed, Cook moved on to defend the fledgling organization.

“They’re not taking advantage of anything,” he said. “If we didn’t have teams doing it, we wouldn’t have full fields. Ultimately, we have got to thank those guys for having full fields to start with.”

“At the end of the day, all these teams are trying to do is make a profit. They don’t have the money to race weekly, so what they try and do is try and generate money by running awhile and then having enough money to race. It’s a business.”

Try telling that to the tens of thousands of fans who pack the stands each week – that they’re there to watch a business at work – and you’d probably not have a whole lot of people willing to come back and see it. But that’s what the back of the field is turning into within the top three series these days – and why not? The money’s great.

Parking for Profit

After entering Joe Ruttman in the Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March of 2004 only to have Ruttman complete four of the 500 laps run, car owner James Finch wasn’t the slightest bit phased by being outrun by completely overwhelmed Cup efforts such as Kirk Shelmerdine and Morgan Shepherd. His mind was on one thing and one thing only — his share of the purse.

“I made more money per lap for running four laps at Bristol than Kurt Busch got from winning,” said Finch, who in the same interview said he would continue running the Cup circuit as long as it remained profitable.

This mentality has recently proliferated across NASCAR’s garages. Continuing to use MSRP Motorsports as an example, their efforts have reduced the Nationwide Series to all but an ATM machine. The $1 million plus in earnings that the team has accumulated hasn’t come close to being invested back into racing.

Humphrey and Parsons have taken their act to the Cup Series as well now, hidden under the newly-named banner of Prism Motorsports. Dave Blaney completed less than a third of the Cup race at Fontana before quietly exiting the track due to a mechanical problem, and followed that up this weekend by running only seven laps of practice…then completing just 83 laps on Sunday before officially retiring with mechanical failure. Joining Parsons and Co. is none other than James Finch’s No. 09. Sources close to the team revealed to Frontstretch as early as last season that the team will park its Cup car quickly whenever they run without sponsorship…like this weekend. Driver Mike Bliss ran only four laps of practice Saturday, including sitting out Happy Hour, before running just 21 laps and parking due to “overheating problems.”

Why It’s A Big Deal

The start and park issue was a hot topic both in the media center and in the garage this past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with attention turning to the issue more and more now that it has spilled over from the minor leagues to the Cup ranks. But, when questioned about it, the stars of the sport really couldn’t seem to care less.

“I don’t think it’s as big of an issue that some people are making it out to be,” said Jeff Burton in the media center Friday.

“What, do we have 47, 48 cars here today? It is what it is, and I don’t think there should be a whole lot of concern about it.”

“It’s expensive to do this sport,” added Kasey Kahne. “If guys can figure a way out to make a living, enjoy themselves, make the race, and pull over…I don’t see anything wrong with it. The only way I think they shouldn’t make the race is if someone comes and out-qualifies them.”

It’s perhaps not surprising to hear established Cup drivers blowing off the issue…having million dollar race teams at the front of the garage is a far cry from the guys in the back hauling their own cars with pickup trucks and working outside in a chain-link fence pen. But this take is also very misinformed.

The fully-sponsored No. 41 car of Jeremy Mayfield became a bit of a victim at Atlanta; he not only failed to qualify, but then watched two of the cars who knocked him out park early under questionable circumstances Sunday.

Just ask Key Motorsports’ new No. 40 Nationwide team how they feel about the issue. The car, which had no owner points to start the season, has committed to running the distance with or without sponsorship in 2009. And, despite outrunning MSRP Motorsports’ No. 90 start and park car in qualifying at Fontana, they fell victim to the top 30 rule that locked that car in the field and missed the race. In short, an upstart team trying to establish themselves on the Nationwide circuit missed out because the NASCAR rulebook locked in a car that every person in the garage knew would park before lap 10 on race day.

The same story played out this weekend at Atlanta. Two of the most prominent upstarts in the Cup garage, Tommy Baldwin Racing and Mayfield Motorsports, missed the field on Friday night in favor of Prism Motorsports’ No. 66 and Phoenix Racing’s No. 09. Atlanta marked the second consecutive DNQ for both teams, and in the case of TBR potentially cost the team a sponsor. Sources have also told Frontstretch that because of the DNQ at Atlanta, making the race at Bristol could make or break Mayfield’s year, ruining the storyline of an underdog darling of this year’s Daytona 500.

Those two should have just qualified faster, right? Wrong. Saying that ignores the fact a team that arrives at the track simply to qualify and park has a huge advantage from the second they park their hauler. They don’t have to worry about durability issues, race setups, or preparing pit equipment. They have to make their stuff last a few laps… a challenge far removed from trying not only to qualify for a race, but to actually take part in it once the green flag falls. It’s hard to put a finger on just how big an advantage this is, especially in a time when race teams find resources more and more limited. But in the case of TBR and MMI, it was big enough to keep them out of the field.

This situation that played out in Atlanta on Friday is one that has larger ramifications for the sport than Cup drivers…and a lot of race fans in general for that matter…seem to realize. What does it say about a sport whose premier level is occupied by racers that don’t race? And perhaps most importantly, what does it do to new teams’ chances of courting sponsorship? The top 35 rule already makes being a new team all but impossible…and now having shots at making fields dashed further by start and park teams that inherently hold the upper hand in trying to race into shows is perhaps best compared to being kicked in the stomach while knocked on the ground.

Where Is NASCAR?

Until this weekend at AMS, NASCAR had never addressed this underground culture of “start and park” on a public scale. But with the numbers upping themselves to nearly a quarter of the field in some races last season, officials were finally backed into a corner where they felt they needed to make a statement.

“We owe it to the garage area [to make sure] that everybody is on the up-and-up,” NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said Friday. “When the [teams] call [they’re] out, we will continue to look at what put those cars out. What we’re going to encourage at this level here is that people participate and do what they can do to race.”

“What we want to prevent is someone legitimately trying to do a race setup and getting bumped out by somebody that may have gone above and beyond what the spirit of the rules are.”

On the surface, this is exactly what NASCAR should be saying and doing. But Pemberton’s remarks gloss over the truth behind the sanctioning body’s actions. While saying one thing, our Nationwide Series sources mentioned at the top of this piece have no shame admitting the sanctioning body is coming to them in supposed desperation to ensure their minimum 43-car requirement is filled.

When contacted by Frontstretch about the issue, NASCAR Communications Director for Competition Kerry Tharp responded by saying, “NASCAR has absolutely no knowledge of that claim [of asking other drivers to start and park to fill fields].”

“NASCAR doesn’t anticipate having to create a hard-line rule prohibiting Sprint Cup teams from starting a race and then parking their car a few laps later,” he added. “But NASCAR plans to put an increased emphasis on making sure the reason a team gives for falling out of the race is legitimate.”

How long that stance holds is open to question, however. Sources tell Frontstretch that NASCAR was livid that on Friday, the same day that Pemberton issued NASCAR’s first stance on the start and park issue, two full-time Cup teams intending to race 500 miles at Atlanta were bumped by the two start and park operations of Blaney and Bliss.

Unfortunately, the sanctioning body has absolutely no one to blame but themselves and their own greed for the situation as it has emerged. Just as the sanctioning body has trivialized the competition it relies on for its existence just to earn a TV bonus for a full field, now team owners seeking a quick buck are realizing they can do it, too. And as they succeed, it destroys the chances of a number of competitors who can legitimately call themselves racers.

Robin Pemberton and NASCAR didn’t speak up on Friday regarding the matter simply to provide a sound bite. The statement put out Friday was years in coming, and came because the time is now for NASCAR to make some very hard decisions.

Clearly, the time is now for them to decide where they are going to draw the line. Their racing, including even the Cup ranks, is having its fields diluted by teams that are not there to compete, but to carpet-bag a living out of a sport fighting hard to stay on the track. And something has to give. Because if NASCAR doesn’t put the visions of TV bonuses dancing in their heads to bed in favor of putting their foot down for competition and leveling the playing field for the actual competitors trying to carve their way into big-time stock car racing, start and parking will continue to proliferate as a business. Underdogs like Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield will continue to go home, and along with them prospective new sponsors and much needed financial support for the sport.

And the dream will be that much closer to dying out.

Doug Turnbull contributed to this article.

Contact Bryan Davis Keith

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M. B. Voelker
03/11/2009 07:13 AM
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Start and Park is no big deal. Its happened before then gone away and it will go away again — only to happen again in due time.

When economic factors improve those teams will either transform into competitive teams or they’ll be replaced by competitive teams.

Until then, anyone who can’t manage to out-qualify a start and park team would be nothing but a hazardous, moving chicane on the track anyway.

So what if there’s a qualifying advantage to not running the distance? If you can’t be both fast and capable of lasting the distance better to have you off the track early than causing problems for others when your car gives up later.

Purity of intent doesn’t grant an inherent right to race and being under-funded and over your head is NOT a virtue.

Steve G.
03/11/2009 12:24 PM
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There are several things NASCAR can do to fix the problem. One, is to give no points or the same amount of points to cars finishing 36 or worse or not qualifying. This way a Start and Park team can never be locked in.
Another would be to reduce purse money and have NASCAR supply fuel and tires to all teams. If a start and Park team succesfully makes the race and they do not finish it, they are effectively leaving money on the table.

John Trussell
03/11/2009 12:36 PM
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M.B., you do realize that Blaney qualified the start-and-park #66 in 27th place for Atlanta, right?

By your logic, the #99 car (which qualified 29th) shouldn’t have been in the race, because he’d have been a “hazardous, moving chicane on the track.” How’d that turn out for Edwards, anyway? Oh. Right. He finished third.

Bobb
03/11/2009 01:23 PM
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Steve G. I’ve thought the idea thru about not rewarding 36th or 35th place trucks with money or points, but, the problem with that is if a wreck happens on lap one taking out a couple of point leaders… they become victims of an ill-conceived policy.

Intent is always difficult to ascribe and NASCAR would be treading on thin ice to begin judging intent. Last season, as every season before, and already some races this year, teams show up with little regard to finishing position. They use the track time as practice sessions; they’re not interested in racing… should they be banned, disqualified, or sanctioned also?

Start and Park began long before 2004… in the 70’s teams took the easy money they could collect when there was a shortage of teams.

S and P is a function of a poor economy. During strong economic times, S and P vanishes… Even during good economic times, there’re teams that are weak sisters rolling on the racetrack without any chance of significant success.

This isn’t a new issue. It’s been around for decades yet it seems to be “explosive” and “controversial” to everyone that’s unaware of the history of the practice.
I don’t enjoy the idea of S and P, but it is not going to go away despite the recent posturing of NASCAR to do something about it.

Ryan
03/11/2009 02:28 PM
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I couldn’t help but notice your quote “ the start and park was a hot topic in the media center “ . Another interesting quote was “ Its not surprising to hear established Cup drivers blowing off the issue “ . The media center working themselves into a veritable frenzy over a non issue .
If you want to go back to the very beginnings of auto racing you;ll find instances of teams entering back up cars just to give a driver a chance to be in the show , or collect some prize money , or keep the promoter or sanctioning body happy , or a little of all of the above . In the fifties and sixties it was commonplace to drag out a back up car , slap a number on it and send it out on the track . The Petty organization did it many times over the years with a myriad of different drivers . Bruton Smith has done the same thing many times to beef up the field , or to give an underfunded team or driver a chance to be in the show .And the fact that NASCAR and the fans were fully aware of the fact didn’t detract from the racing one bit . If Morgan Shepherd , or Scott Riggs , or any other small team makes it into the race , and doesn’t finish for what ever reason , more power to them . I’m glad to see them out there .
And of course if they weren’t i doubt there would be a full field at certain tracks . Now why would that be a good thing .
To recap , certain members of the media working themselves into a froth over something all of the teams and drivers ( and any serious fans ) really couldn’t care less about . We don’t even care about these small teams taking NASCARs’ money .
As for your interest in saving the “ purity of the sport “ , What purity would that be exactly ? You are familier with the history and the people of stock car racing aren’t you . PURITY ? Oh brother !

Nathan
03/11/2009 02:44 PM
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A very, very good article on start-n-parkers.

My personal opinion is that if they’re fast enough to make the race, then they can do what they want. As for the teams that miss a race because of them……get faster. Elimination of the top 30-35 rule wouldn’t hurt either.

Shawn Annett
03/11/2009 03:28 PM
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What I cannot understand is what do all you journalists come down on s&p teams..giving them a bad name with potential sponsors then cry about the s&p..you should try to help these teams write stuff about how many people are working in their shop and what they’re trying to accomplish and what they need to continue so that they can find sponsors and run the whole race.You say the 66 took away a spot from the 36 car…well who set up the 36 car Phil Parsons?So much of attention was given to Baldwin so they got sponsors but none to prism and now they have to s&p to continue..if they really s&p because i listened to their scanner out of curiosity this week at atlanta and why would a s&p team go to the garage and fix their problem then come back out on track 80 something laps down and continue to run the race?Bet you guys didnt know that because you were probably listening to jr and busch cry about how loose their cars are and what ever.My advise to you do some home work..listen to some scanners and hear what they have to say before writing an article.

Duncan M.
03/11/2009 04:04 PM
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Jeremy Mayfield is not a driver worth defending, imo. He had a premier ride until he ran his mouth and lost his job.

piss_on_you
03/11/2009 04:37 PM
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You’re right. It’s not a sport anymore. It’s wrestling racing!

Dance puppet monkeys!!!! You may not be dancing with heavy pockets much longer =)

Ken
03/11/2009 04:41 PM
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I think elimination of the top 35 rule would help with the problem. If the “regular” drivers had to qualify, they would qualify better and the Start & Park crowd would be at the end of the field and not qualify. If they did qualify, the ones who did not would deserve not to race.

OG
03/11/2009 04:51 PM
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I think Nascar should ban these guys who just rip off the system and the fans for a few thousand dollars each week. I certainly am not interested in guys dragging around the track laps down or run a few laps and have some mysterious car problem. It’s crooked.
There are teams struggling to get in such as Mayfield of Tommy Baldwin’s team who are sincere about competing each week end and get knocked out by some guy who out qualified them for one lap by a few hundred’s of a second.

David Pruitt
03/11/2009 04:54 PM
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Holy Smokes, “Independent”?!?!?!?! How about none other than Richard Childress? He was an owner/driver…he was an iindepnedent, a field filler, a Start&Parker. In fact, Dale Earnhardt drove for an independent (Neil Castles), Ricky Rudd drove for an independent ( Bill Champion), Then there was Jabe Thomas, Dean Dalton, Ray Williams, Frank Warren, Dr. Don Tarr, Joe Frazzon, Bill Seifert, Dave Marcus, Henly Gray, and HOW ABOUT Tony Stewart’s first ride…Harry Rainer’s return to NASCAR field filler and Jimmy Johnson in the Herzog’s car. The more things change…. Thanks David

Russ the spotter
03/11/2009 07:26 PM
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People should understand it is all a business. NFL MLB NBA NASCAR and so on. It is about money… and without it you do not compete. Fans will watch races with field fillers in them and some do not even know it. That is the same as watching MLB game and watching AA and AAA talent on the roster, Those teams know they will not win with that talent. No different than a field filler in NASCAR that knows he has no chance of running up front.

So, lets look at this from a fans point of view. Show up and run a truck series race. We will use the past weeks Atlanta race. You run all day and buy the maximum number of tires as allowed per the rulebook. Have a good day and possibly finish in the top 15. That may sound good for the fans. Now lets look at it from the angle of those behind the fence. If you did not finish in the TOP 3 you lost money unless you have the big sponsor. In this case the 3rd place truck is more or less unsponsored and may not compete at the next race. My point is this, it takes lots of money too make laps. At any truck race it is roughly $4,000 just to get in the garage. This is considering your owner and driver along with crew have their license paid for and all involved are working for free. So without a major sponsor no one is going to make a field and run the entire race. If they are foolish enough too try they will be soon out of business. Originally they had 39 entrys for this race. By the time the teams arrived at the track it dropped to 36. Some gambled and went knowing they could be sent home. For those who took the chance they where in the race before the inspection process even began. At Daytona 3 trucks went home, Fontana had 1. Only 36 trucks at Atlanta means that 3 teams where making business
decisions based on the teams needs and chose staying home and in one case leaving the backup in the hauler. Did anybody notice that the
last place truck or first out was a S & P that was a back up to another S & P? I heard his radio transmission and he was upset that his spotter allowed him to be the first out. Perhaps 1 spot higher in the finish order would have made him feel better about himself. Either way his mission was accomplished. Looks like the sign of a good business plan. Funny how the dreaded B word keeps coming up.

NASCAR will not allow anybody to start a race without reaching the minimum speed for that event. They will not remain on the track for the race without sustaining minimum speed. For those of you who think this is no big deal should try it yourselves.

This business has had fillers in it from the start and always will. As far as the S & P bunch I would rather see Geoff Bodine taking care of his business and getting out of the way by lap 20 than seeing a field filler like Scott Speed getting in the way all day long.

Robert Eastman
03/11/2009 10:46 PM
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Trivia Quiz Question: Who is the highest paid drver in the world?
Answer: Whoever finished last in the most recent NASCAR Cup Race. This has always been a fact, and will probably always be a fact. At Atlanta, Jeff Gordon took second but won the most money, taking home $186,276 for driving 500 miles. That works out to $372.55 per mile. Mike Bliss took 43rd position, drove 31 and 1/2 miles and took home $70,141. That works out to about… $2,260 per mile. David Gilliland took 24th position, drove 489 miles and took home $73,200. That works out to $149.69 per mile. Gilliland’s team burned through a $75,000 engine, as much as $20,000 worth of tires, plus a whole lot of other costs. The Mike Bliss team used 1 set of tires, had little engine wear and saved a whole bunch of money. If you were to count on prize money only to pay expenses, Mike Bliss made more money than Jeff Gordon did, after all costs are deducted. So who’s the smartest ones of the bunch? Obvious answer; The start and park teams that run 10, 20, or 30 miles! Why would anyone in their right minds run an extra 450 miles for a lousy $3,000? Duh!
Everyone complains about the top 35 rule, but I’m positive that NASCAR implemented this rule to try to keep most of the cars on the track for the majority of the race. There has to be some incentive to keep burning up the miles and equipment for “no extra money.” NASCAR Economics Kindergarten is now concluded.

Beth
03/11/2009 11:00 PM
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Some great comments here on the start and park cars. I’d like to invite everyone to join in the discussion going on at the Frontstretch Forums by clicking here

Steve Cosentino
03/16/2009 02:58 PM
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I know its an off week but “threatening the sport” is a little harsh in my mind. So how exactly is a fan cheated by a so called start and park? Only if the fan is there to root for “THAT” guy. Before you start blaming them start with you. Start with NASCAR. Start with the TV networks. Your so bored with an off week you have to create a buzz about NOTHING. The networks are to blame cause they forget that there are 43 cars in the race. And when an underdog is up front most of the time its only shown when they are showing one of the money guys. Blame NASCAR for letting the top guns steal good sponsors away from mid level teams, making them disappear or fall further behind. But don’t blame the so called start and parks. They are in spot you just cant imagine. Why don’t you pick a mid to low level team and write about them sometime. Instead of making stupid statements that the start and parks are threatening the integrity of the sport. OMG you are so off base. You want integrity? Why don’ you write about how unfair the top 35 rule is. That is threating the integrity of this sport far more than a couple of guys that are just trying to survive. Go take a reality pill and step back into the real world. You should print an apology to every team you blasted in this untimely article. Better yet…next time there is an off week you should do the same.

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