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Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint All-Star race.....again
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 19, 2013
Five-time is now four-time when it comes to the Sprint All-Star race. Coming into Saturday night’s race, Johnson was tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt for most wins in the annual event with three wins. Johnson bided his time, restarted the last segment in the second spot, dueled Kasey Kahne for two laps to secure the lead and pulled away to a convincing win. Joey Logano started the last segment in the seventh position, took advantage of a slip up by Kyle Busch on the start of the final segment, and ultimately came home in the runner-up spot. Kyle Busch rebounded from his slip up to muscle his way back to third. Kahne started the final segment on the pole but couldn’t hold off Johnson on the first few laps of the restart and ended up fourth. Kurt Busch won two segments, was the first on pit road for the money pit stop, but finished the event in fifth place. Jimmie Johnson summed up his results in two words, “we’re lucky”. It was tongue in cheek but Johnson was poking fun at the people who continue to accuse the No. 48 of preferential treatment, fixed races, and a blind eye to cheating. Johnson has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history and it comes from natural talent and chemistry with his crew. This race also now ties Johnson with Davey Allison as the only two drivers to win the race in back-to-back years. Logano and Busch visited with the media after the race to speak about their runs. Logano was understandably upbeat about his second while Busch was quite dejected, having another All-Star race slip out of his grasp. Kahne spoke about the elephant in the room that is the length of the segments in the race during his post race availability on pit road. He noted that the inherent problem with the format is that the car is designed with downforce, on a track that is cool and has a bunch of grip. The only way to make the races exciting after the first couple of laps of racing would be to extend the segments to the The first 20 lap segment was won by Kurt Busch. Segment two went to his brother Kyle. That segment win allowed Bruton Smith to breathe more easily since he put up a $1,000,000 bonus to anyone who won all four of the segments. Segment three also went to the younger Busch, while the fourth segment win was tallied in brother Kurt’ s account.
Kyle Busch wins the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
posted by Mike Neff
Friday May 17, 2013
‘Rowdy’ Busch was back in his familiar No. 51 truck at his favorite track on the Truck schedule. Busch led 80 laps and thought he should have led more but had a fuel issue on pit road that resulted in him having to battle back through the field. The race was slowed by eight cautions that helped him work his way back through the field. Busch beat Brendan Gaughan to the finish by .488 seconds, while Max Gresham chased them both to the line for his first top three finish of his Truck career. Matt Crafton came home in fourth place after having to battle through a couple of tire mishaps during the event. Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5 for his first finish that high this season. Busch led the race three times for his 80 laps. Miguel Paludo was second on the laps led board with 33. Gaughan, Gresham and Dillon also scored bonus points for leading laps. There were two cautions in the first 72 laps of the race while 29 of the last 62 laps were completed under the yellow flag. Jeb Burton started the race on the pole but did not lead a lap. He did however end the race as the Rookie of the Race for his 13th place finish. Matt Crafton leads Burton by 22 points in the season standings after five races this season.
Matt Kenseth Snatches Victory from the Jaws of Defeat at Darlington
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 12, 2013
Kyle Busch appeared to be headed for another weekend sweep after winning the Nationwide race at Darlington on Friday night. However, a funny thing happened as they were bringing out the dustpan. Matt Kenseth chased down the dominant car of the night, passed him with relative ease and then strolled away to a 3.165 second victory. Kenseth led the final 13 laps after Busch had held the point for 265 of the 354 laps leading up to Kenseth’s race winning pass. After Kenseth worked around Busch, the No. 18 slid rapidly backwards over the final eight laps to fall from second to sixth place. Joe Gibbs Racing did manage a 1-2 finish after sweeping the podium in Friday night’s Nationwide tilt. Denny Hamlin, in his first full race back in the car since his vertebrae fracture at California, soldiered through the pain of his arms, neck and shoulders more than his recovered back to wrestle a second place finish away from the Lady in Black. Coming home in third was Jeff Gordon, who turned his 700th career start into a top 3 finish. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5 in the Bojangles Southern 500. Kurt Busch started the race on the pole and led the first 51 laps before coming to the pits for a green flag stop. After the stops cycled through Busch was back at the point for 18 more laps before his brother began his domination. The race went green for the first 302 laps save a seven lap caution stint from lap 125 to lap 131. The final 65 laps saw four more cautions that flew for accidents involving Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Josh Wise, David Reutimann and Kasey Kahne. The race saw four leaders including Jeff Gordon in addition to the Busch brothers and Kenseth. The win is Kenseth’s 27th of his career and breaks a tie between himself and his teammate Kyle Busch. The win is Kenseth’s third this season which is the most among all of the competitors in the Cup series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the Rookie of the Race. Jeff Gordon’s top 5 finish was his 300th of his career. He joins Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison as the only four drivers in the history of the sport to accomplish such a feat.
Busch Dominates at Darlington as JGR Sets Nationwide Series Record
posted by Amy Henderson
Friday May 10, 2013
Kyle Busch dominated the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 on Friday night en route to his 56th career Nationwide Series victory and fifth series win of 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing in general was the class of the field all night at Darlington Raceway, claiming four of the top 5 finishing spots, with only fourth-place Joey Logano keeping them from sweeping the top four spots. It was a historic night for JGR, as no team has ever before placed four cars in the top 5. Elliott Sadler finished second to Busch and Brian Vickers third, with Logano and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. Busch led 107 of 147 laps on the way to the win. Sadler was the best among the Nationwide Regulars, finishing second despite an early spin in Turn 2, and gained points on leader Regan Smith, who finished seventh. Kyle Larson continued to impress at the Lady in Black, posting a sixth-place finish in his first Darlington start as he runs for rookie honors. Sam Hornish, Jr., who remained second in points, finished eighth while Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier filled the top 10. Smith now leads Nationwide Series points by 28 over Hornish. Sadler jumps two spots to third on his second-place run as Justin Allgaier fell one place to fourth. Vickers gained three sports and is now fifth, 49 behind Smith. Austin Dillon, Parker Kligerman, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson round out the top 10.
Joe Gibbs Racing Penalties Reduced Following Appeal
posted by Summer Bedgood
Wednesday May 8, 2013
Joe Gibbs Racing had many of their penalties for the No. 20 team reduced during the appeal process on Wednesday. Driver Matt Kenseth and owner Joe Gibbs had their points penalties reduced from 50 to 12 points. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s suspension has also been dropped from seven races to one, though he will still be forced to pay the $200,000 fine. Not all of the penalties were reduced, however. Toyota Racing’s manufacturer points penalty was increased from five points to seven. All other penalties were dropped, including the suspension of Joe Gibbs’ owners license, the loss of bonus points for the Chase earned at Kansas Speedway, and the loss of eligibility into the Sprint Unlimited garnered from the pole at Kansas Speedway. JGR has accepted the penalties and will not appeal further. Following a dominant win at Kansas Speedway a few weeks ago, Kenseth’s car failed post-race inspection when it was found that a connecting rod was 2.7 grams below the minimum weight. Toyota Racing Development accepted the blame for the incident. The reduction moves Kenseth up to fourth in points, 66 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. JGR has not announced who will replace Ratcliff this weekend in Darlington. The appeal was heard by Mark Arute, Dennis McGlynn, and Jack Housby. NASCAR cannot appeal the revised penalties.
Penske Has Suspensions Reduced On Appeal
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday May 8, 2013
Roger Penske’s team got some relief Tuesday from NASCAR’s Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, as he chose to reduce penalties assessed to that organization at Texas Motor Speedway in early April. Middlebrook, after hearing the evidence from both sides Tuesday chose to reduce all suspensions in the case from six to two weeks, plus NASCAR’s All-Star Race on May 18th. That means the final consequences for both teams are the following: No. 2 car No. 22 car Other Middlebrook’s official statement was short, simply stating, “After looking at all the facts, data, and interpretations from the rule book, I have decided to uphold the original fines and points penalties. However, I have decided to reduce the suspensions of the seven team members involved from six points races and the All-Star race to two points races and the All-Star Race.” However, it seemed both sides, after presenting their cases were far more pleased with how the case was handled during this portion of the appeal. “We were able to talk about areas we worked in,” said Roger Penske, referring to the “gray area” of the NASCAR rulebook officials ultimately felt stepped over the line. “I’m very happy with the outcome. This sport has been built on innovation. All of us have tried to innovate in areas not defined in the rulebook. We were in that area.” In conversations with the parties involved, it was clear the controversy surrounded parts designed to increase the rear-end angle at the back of both cars. In past years, with innovation limited through the Car of Tomorrow templates teams have played around with suspension systems designed to make the rear end of the car easier to “move.” The more the car skews in the corner, the easier it can be to handle and gain extra speed. However, NASCAR had made rules designed to curb those types of innovations this year and made the determination Penske parts to build the rear suspension were unapproved. Why they had gone undetected in previous inspections was never addressed, along with claims someone else in the garage had alerted officials to possible inappropriate car construction. One thing Penske did admit, though is had this decision been issued by the initial appeals panel, he would not have pressed his luck with Middlebrook. “All of us,” he said. “Have lost points for certain infractions over the years. The key thing is to have people back at the racetrack operating in full control.” The end results leave Logano 18th in points, 146 behind championship leader Jimmie Johnson and 43 outside a Chase position. Keselowski is far more stable; fifth in points, he’s 69 behind and 45 ahead of 11th-place Matt Kenseth. Neither of the Penske cars have won a race this season. “Moved on from last few weeks,” Keselowski tweeted Wednesday morning. “And ready to focus on @TooToughToTame (Darlington Raceway).” The next round of NASCAR penalty appeals, focusing on Joe Gibbs Racing and Matt Kenseth will be heard on Wednesday morning. Connect with Tom!
Penske Racing LOSES Penalty Case, Will Appeal To NSCRC John Middlebrook
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday May 1, 2013
A three-member panel Wednesday unanimously upheld penalties assessed to Penske Racing after pre-race inspection at Texas Motor Speedway. Comprised of Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky, Bowman-Gray President Dale Pinilis and former NASCAR VP Paul Brooks, the trio determined the sanctioning body’s evidence was enough to “convict” Penske to the tune of points lost, suspensions given and $200,000 in fines. Roger Penske, in response has pledged to send a final appeal to National Stock Car Racing Commissioner John Middlebrook. That hearing will occur Tuesday, May 7th at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center. Here’s a quick list of what penalties are pending (everything but the points deductions will be deferred, pending Middlebrook’s approval until after the final appeal): No. 2 team No. 22 team Both teams NASCAR’s representation included Sprint Cup Director John Darby but not Vice President Robin Pemberton, who was whisked away to Florida on jury duty. Owner Roger Penske was in attendance to defend the allegations along with Team Manager Travis Geisler, Tim Cindric, Walt Czarnecki, Joey Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon along with several other key principles. UPDATE: The National Stock Car Racing Commission issued a brief statement, reviewing the penalties and then explaining the following. “Upon hearing the testimony and carefully reviewing the facts, it was a unanimous decision by the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR.” “The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the rule book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer.” Connect with Tom!
Kyle Busch Wins Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown
posted by Thomas Bowles
Friday April 26, 2013
Who says Joe Gibbs Racing teammates don’t get along? Kyle Busch is certainly receiving gifts, from Denny Hamlin in the form of shiny trophies from winning the latter’s annual charity event. Rowdy was romping through the field again at Richmond Thursday night, taking control at the race’s midpoint and cruising during the latter stages to win the Showdown for the third time in the past six years. In a race that benefits the Denny Hamlin Foundation, created to help those with cystic fibrosis Busch had his late model hitting on all cyilnders down the stretch. Pulling away from fellow Cup driver David Ragan, in the final segment of the 75-lap race the outcome was simply never in doubt following a 5-minute break for pit stops prior to Lap 47. Ben Rhodes, Ronnie Bassett, Jr., and Garrett Campbell rounded out the top-5 finishers. Other Cup drivers, including defending race champion Tony Stewart were in the field but never a factor up front. Smoke, actually extending his slumping start to 2013 into this race got wrecked before the halfway point and wound up 28th. Matt Kenseth, still distraught after a midweek penalty virtually negated his win at Kansas was never truly competitive, either; he finished 22nd. Also on Thursday night, African-American driver Ryan Gifford won the first K&N Pro Series East race of his young career. Surviving a five-lap shootout, following a red flag he cruised home over Brandon Gdovic. Connect with Tom!
Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Penalized As Engine Fails Kansas Post-Race Inspection
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday April 24, 2013
Until the end of time, Matt Kenseth can say he crossed the finish line first at Kansas Sunday. NASCAR Record Books will say the same. But after a harsh series of penalties announced on Wednesday, should they stand that’s about the only thing Kenseth can hang his hat on after a successful weekend turned sour. According to multiple reports, officials at the NASCAR R & D Center in North Carolina discovered a connecting rod on Kenseth’s engine, brought in for Kansas post-race inspection weighed three grams less than the minimum weight of 525g. The consequences, announced today are crippling for both driver and team. Kenseth, along with car owner Joe Gibbs have been docked 50 driver and owner points, actually reducing their overall totals heading into Kansas even though the No. 20 car won the race. That lost chunk of points drops Kenseth from eighth to 14th in the standings. More importantly, the win “won’t count” for either bonus points in the Chase or determine postseason eligibility; that means the driver, now in “Wild Card” position is considered to have one win so far this season instead of two. That’s just the tip of the iceberg on these consequences. Crew chief Jason Radcliffe, fined $200,000 based on the infraction has also been suspended for the next six Sprint Cup points events, along with the All-Star Race. Toyota, whose TRD engine department ultimately supplies the JGR powerplants has had five points deducted from its total in the manufacturer’s championship. And finally, Joe Gibbs himself, already docked 50 owner points has had his license suspended by NASCAR, which means he’s ineligible to accrue owner points for the No. 20 until the next six Sprint Cup Series points races are completed. Gibbs, NASCAR has clarified will still be able to travel to the racetrack despite a suspended license. In a tersely worded statement, the owner says he’ll appeal the ruling, which violated three parts of the series rulebook. The one most pertinent is Section 20-5.5.3(E) which states only magnetic steel connecting rods, with a minimum weight of 525.0 grams will be permitted. Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4J, which gives officials the right to penalize for parts they claim do not conform to NASCAR rules were also cited in the sport’s official release. Toyota Racing Development’s Lee White, in a statement released early this afternoon took responsibility for the violation. During NASCAR’s routine post-race tear down of Matt Kenseth’s race-winning car and engine from Kansas Speedway,” he stated, “One of our engine connecting rods weighed in approximately three grams under the legal minimum weight of 525 grams. None of the other seven connecting rods were found to be under the minimum weight. We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine used by the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team this past Sunday in Kansas — JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD’s part and there was no intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage. Toyota is a company that was built on integrity, and that remains one of the guiding principles of the company. The goal of TRD has always been — and will continue to be — to build high-performance engines that are reliable, durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR.” Kenseth, who has led 482 laps this season, two higher than his total last year has been one of the strongest competitiors on the Sprint Cup track in 2013. His engines have also passed several previous inspections.
Johnny Sauter Penalized For Fuel Cell Infraction At Kansas
posted by Thomas Bowles
Wednesday April 24, 2013
Thorsport Racing, along with former Truck Series point leader Johnny Sauter are reeling this Wednesday after a major penalty involving their No. 98 Toyota. On Wednesday, NASCAR announced the team was fined $10,000, crew chief Joel Shear has been suspended for four races and 25 owner points were taken away as a result of a faulty fuel cell, confiscated during pre-race inspection at Kansas. Driver Sauter was also hit was a loss of 25 points, completely reshaping the championship Chase heading into the next race of the season at Charlotte May 17th. According to NASCAR officials, the team violated multiple sections of the rulebook. The key ones involve Section 20B-16 and 20B-16.1B, regarding the proper size and functioning of fuel cells. “Once a fuel cell or fuel cell components have been certified,” the rules say, “Modifications of any kind will not be permitted.” The 16.1B portion refers to black safety foam, with a minimum height of eight inches that must be used as a safety mechanism when putting together the fuel cell itself. By violating that rule, NASCAR is insinuating the team modified or enhanced the cell in some way by cutting back / replacing that foam. Section 12-1, actions detrimental to stock car racing was also listed as a rules violation along with 12-4K, which gives NASCAR Officials the leeway to penalize teams when they feel previously legal equipment was modified, in any manner after being initially inspected. Thorsport, as of yet has not said whether they plan to appeal. The penalties mean Matt Crafton becomes the new Truck Series point leader, by 13 over Jeb Burton while Sauter gets pushed back into a tie for second place. |
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While it didn’t have quite the seismic kick of Junior kissing his girlfriend in victory lane, most of NASCAR nation was surprised to learn Tuesday morning Matt Kenseth is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season. Kenseth has, after all, been with the organization for 12 years, and he’s the only member of the current RFR squad that’s won a Cup title. During the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Kenseth’s car owner was officially listed as Robbie or John Reiser, a satellite operation to Roush Racing. That alliance began when he was the surprise winner at the then-Busch Series race at Rockingham in 1998, after knocking some guy named Tony Stewart out of the way exiting turn four on the final lap.
In addition to winning 22 Cup races for RFR, Kenseth has reliably made the Chase every year except for one (2009).
The timing of this announcement could hardly be more awkward. Kenseth is leading the point standings, and is the reigning Daytona 500 champion. Now that he and his team have to put the drama of Tuesday’s announcement behind them, they must buckle down and get back to work trying to win the championship. Despite the friendly platitudes of the press releases, issued by concerned parties Tuesday within the RFR organization, there’s got to be some hurt feelings and maybe even anger.
Ford is once again losing another top-name driver and champion to another manufacturer. Call me petty (but not Richard), but if I’m one of the guys working in the No. 17 shop, I’m going to be a little angry. The team is after all providing Kenseth with equipment that’s capable of winning nearly every week, and a streak of strong consistent finishes has Kenseth atop the points. How much greener pastures do you envision on the other side of the fence? Is Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Kenseth’s replacement, going to be able to attract and keep a sponsor with good results or is the future of the No. 17 team in question?
Am I going to have a job come next fall?
So why is Kenseth leaving his longtime home? It probably has more to do with sponsorship concerns as I see it. Despite being a legitimate title contender in 2011 until Kenseth and Vickers had their run-ins during the Chase race at Martinsville, the No. 17 team lost its sponsor, Crown Royal at the end of the season. (Remember that oh-so awkward moment in Victory Lane when Kenseth pleaded for them to come back to the team?) This year, the No. 17 outfit has been running with a patchwork quilt of sponsors and they don’t have any funding lined up for several races. When you see the No. 17 running the black, blue, and white Ford EcoBoost scheme, that’s like taking your sister to the prom. It just spares Ford and Roush from having to run blank quarterpanels like the No. 51 Phoenix Racing team of James Finch this past weekend at Sonoma.
“It’s the weirdest thing, I won the Daytona 500, am nice to everybody, don’t cuss people out, and I can’t get a sponsor!”
While other big name teams have had sponsorship issues, the Roush-Fenway organization has been plagued by them. Over the years, several high-profile sponsors have either chosen to leave the team or cut back on their involvement to an associate or occasional sponsor. Right off the top of my head I can recall Valvoline, UPS, Subway, AFLAC, Crown Royal, Tap ouT, and Jeremiah Weed just to name a few. Garage gossip has it that RFR is out of touch with the economics of racing, and while they know what it costs to run a competitive team, they’re not going to discount it to Wal-Mart pricing.
Another factor at play here may seem a bit more ominous. Kenseth won this year’s prime-time running of the weather and fire delayed Daytona 500, is running towards the front of the pack almost every week, and he is, in fact the points leader. Guys who run up front get talked about and shown on TV a lot, right? In a perfect world.
The latest stats I could find from Joyce Julius were compiled after Dover, the thirteenth race of the season. To date Jimmie Johnson, who is fourth in the points has been interviewed 25 times on TV. Those interviews lasted almost twenty minutes total, with Johnson proudly displaying those big old Lowe’s graphics on his clown suit.
Kenseth, meanwhile, has been interviewed 13 times, and was on air a mere eight minutes and 50 seconds. Oddly enough, Carl Edwards, who is struggling a bit this season and has yet to win, has been interviewed 18 times garnering seventeen minutes and 22 seconds worth of exposure. That’s more than twice his teammate who is leading the points. Even Jeff Gordon, currently mired 18th in the points and still winless has more live interview minutes than Kenseth and more mentions to boot.
Perhaps even more tellingly, Johnson has been mentioned on air 2,361 times this season. Tony Stewart is a distant second in that category with 1,776 mentions. Kenseth ranks seventh on the list with 1,336 mentions. When a driver is mentioned, typically he’s shown on TV — and that’s the sort of exposure the sponsors paying the big bucks crave.
Part of the problem is the FOX crew’s man-crush on the Hendrick quartet, particularly Waltrip’s obsession with Jimmie Johnson. Since he does most of the talking, the mentions rack up quickly. But old DW isn’t aiming the cameras, at least not yet. If you watch a typical race on FOX, you’ve probably noted the cars that get shown the most often are sponsored by companies that also bought ad minutes during the race broadcast. Has there ever been a NASCAR race that didn’t have at least 10 minutes worth of Lowe’s ads?
After 25 interviews and over 2,300 mentions during race telecasts in 2012, it doesn’t leave much time for other drivers to share the spotlight. Maybe that’s why Matt Kenseth talks as fast as John Moschitta in those old FedEx and Micro Machines commercials.
So naturally, Johnson and the No. 48 get shown most often and mentioned most often. Crown Royal didn’t play that game well, so Kenseth lost his sponsor despite his racing solidly all last year. In addition to laying out the big dollars to sponsor a front-running team, it would seem logical that those companies also need to pay out the big bucks to the presenting networks, FOX, TNT and ESPN, if they actually expect to have their rolling billboards shown or mentioned during a broadcast. They are basically holding those sponsors’ feet to the fire if they wish to actualize their marketing strategy.
After all, the TV guys choose where the cameras are pointed.
I’ve noticed lately that KFC is buying an awful lot of ads during race broadcasts. Then they have on air gimmicks like “KFC – Hot Off The Wire” (which is an unfortunate title; reminds me of chickens getting electrocuted in the slaughter house) that get them more mentions during the broadcast. Apparently, the Colonel’s marketing boys decided it was better to buy into the coverage than risk sponsoring a car and not having it shown on air.
In some cases this year things have gotten extremely out of hand. Danica-Mania isn’t just fueled by the novelty of a female driver in the sport, it’s fueled by heavy ad buys by GoDaddy.com. On a typical TV broadcast, Patrick will likely get more air time than the guy who finished second. It’s gotten so ridiculous, when she wrecks the TV crews hurry to the garage to show clear and in focus images of the GoDaddy-sponsored car being repaired even while there’s green flag racing going on.
But the most cynical effort I’ve seen on behalf of FOX involves their side-by-side coverage for the last hour of most races. In theory it’s a grand idea allowing fans to keep up with the race during breaks. In practice, too often the small screen shows the car sponsored by the same company running the ad even though that car isn’t racing anyone nearby. There might be a pass for the lead but we’ll still be focused on those Lowe’s logos on the No. 48 hood. That renders the whole concept useless.
Naturally if a driver wins, he and his car has to be shown on TV. But for how long? Have you noticed sometimes when a driver wins the cameras focus on his cool down lap and his victory burnouts, but other times they show the leader crossing the line and cut away to commercial then come back and start the interviews?
Here’s a hint: The guys who get the extended coverage of their win are sponsored by companies that bought ads for the broadcast.
Add in the fact NASCAR is also competing for those same marketing bucks by luring sponsors to become “The Official Whatever of NASCAR”, and suddenly you’ve got three huge hogs, all trying to get their nose in a trough that ain’t as full as it once was. In fact to complete the circle, the network execs would probably say the huge fees NASCAR charges for broadcast rights mean we have to find novel ways to earn some of that money back…even at the expense of the broadcast itself.
What it comes down to is NASCAR racing isn’t a business, it’s a sport. Oh, there’s a business aspect to it of course, but at heart it’s a sport. Thus a race broadcast should show the race. It should focus on the drivers who are running up front, making decisive passes as they cut their way from the back to the front, or engaged in a side-by-side battle for 18th if nothing is going on up front. Cars that are running competitively should be shown regardless of whether their sponsors bought ads in the broadcast. This is a race — not a paid infomercial. There should be a separation between the network ad division and the broadcasters themselves, like there’s a line between church and state. If this sport has devolved to the point when the networks have a hand in deciding which teams will prosper or even survive something has gone badly amok.
Driver: TV Interviews Interview Min. Driver Mentions
Johnson, J. 25 0:19:49 2,361
Stewart, T. 19 0:20:40 1,776
Biffle, G. 14 0:11:37 1,523
Gordon, J. 12 0:12:17 1,503
Hamlin, D. 11 0:13:07 1,496
Earnhardt, Jr., D. 15 0:15:34 1,321
Kenseth, M. 13 0:08:50 1,316
Busch, Ky. 3 0:02:06 1,275
Harvick, K. 9 0:10:34 1,238
Edwards, C. 18 0:17:22 1,061
Statistics reflect live race telecasts and replays of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series through Dover (13 events).) _Data courtesy of Joyce Julius and Associates.
Wednesday on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice? … The Evolution Of An Ending, Double Duty’s Drought And Charlotte Controversy
Side by Side: Daytona Or Indy — Which Race Is More Important?
Life at the 55: How Engineering and Technology Brought Billy Scott into NASCAR
Top Ten Ways Drivers Entertain Themselves During A 600-Mile Race
Open-Wheel Wednesday: The History of the Indianapolis 500
A Good Friend Mourns: Dick Trickle Remembered
Happiness Is… Racing, Racing, Racing
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