Just when it looked like Wally*mart was going to be the salvation of NASCAR, the whole deal has fallen apart. As a fan of competitive racing and fair play...I have to say I am disappointed that this deal wasn't put together. If nothing else to stop Chad Knaus from being rewarded yet again for being the biggest cheat in the whole garage area.
Speaking of trouble in the home improvement warehouse sponsorship camps....Home Depot has to make some decisions in the very near future. Do they hinge their good name on some sleazy little punk or do they get out before he embarrasses them big time. Joey Logano has already shown his true colors...he doesn't care who he wrecks and he has no remorse about it. Is Joe Gibbs trying to assemble the biggest cast of misfits on the planet?
I know Tony Stewart had a few rough moments early in his career and between Joe and Bob Nardelli, they were able to smooth the rough edges....but Coach Gibbs is a few years older and Bob Nardelli is now at Chrysler. So that leaves the incoming punk in the hands of the current two biggest punks in the sport. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin setting an example for a kid that is already not much more than a common street thug....oh boy. How long before we have to have armed guards on pit row? Raw talent can only carry you so far on the track. Eventually your fellow competitors tire of your nonsense and take matters into their own hands. The problem with vigilante justice is there is always the risk of innocent victims falling prey to the actions. You won't see a lot of tears for Kyle or Denny or Joey getting stuffed in the wall...but nobody wants to see it happen at the expense of the other drivers on track with them. Suddenly I don't envy Greg Zipadelli...it would be great to see him join Home Depot in departing the Gibbs organization.
On a lighter note...it seems kind of funny to see the Burton name back on the Cat car...perhaps this will bring Jeff the same good fortune at Daytona that it brought Ward. A 14, 31, 29 top three tonight would be great...but it will be even better next Sunday! Here's to a great season for Tony, Jeff and Kevin. And a special shout out to Geoff...good luck in the coming week.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Wal*mart Cup - Day V
Just when things were starting to look promising, the greedy track owners have managed to set negotiations back almost to square one. Whoever the genius was that decided that local coverage blackouts would be a good idea seriously needs to be taken out back and flogged. Once that is complete, he needs to go in for a thorough head examination.
The economy is in the freaking toilet. People are worried about silly things like putting food on the table or even keeping a roof over their heads....and some Einstein wannabe thinks that blacking out local coverage of the races is going to increase attendance. I have news for you, not only will it not increase attendance, it may very well alienate some of your loyal fan base. The last thing you need to be doing is running off fans!
There is only one way to increase attendance at the tracks...make it affordable again. People simply have a budget these days...and if they have decide between necessities and luxuries, guess what is going to win. I can tell you that I have drastically cut back on my NASCAR related travel. I would much rather see a race in person than watch it on TV, but when the prices keep spiraling out of sight, I keep my dollars in my pocket.
This isn't rocket science that we are talking here. If a person has a $100 entertainment budget and that is stretching things....they are not going to spend $150 just to buy a ticket, which doesn't include parking or camping or food or travel. What the track operators need to realize is simply this....you can find a way to get that person to the track, into a seat, with a hotdog in hand and a beer on the side....or you can just get nothing. Do the math...100,000 fans in the seats @ $100 each or 20,000 fans in the seats @ $200 each. Me, I'll take the $10,000,000 gate and work with it....but the current crop of geniuses seem to think that they would rather take $4,000,000. Economics baby, simple economics...somebody needs to wake up.
The economy is in the freaking toilet. People are worried about silly things like putting food on the table or even keeping a roof over their heads....and some Einstein wannabe thinks that blacking out local coverage of the races is going to increase attendance. I have news for you, not only will it not increase attendance, it may very well alienate some of your loyal fan base. The last thing you need to be doing is running off fans!
There is only one way to increase attendance at the tracks...make it affordable again. People simply have a budget these days...and if they have decide between necessities and luxuries, guess what is going to win. I can tell you that I have drastically cut back on my NASCAR related travel. I would much rather see a race in person than watch it on TV, but when the prices keep spiraling out of sight, I keep my dollars in my pocket.
This isn't rocket science that we are talking here. If a person has a $100 entertainment budget and that is stretching things....they are not going to spend $150 just to buy a ticket, which doesn't include parking or camping or food or travel. What the track operators need to realize is simply this....you can find a way to get that person to the track, into a seat, with a hotdog in hand and a beer on the side....or you can just get nothing. Do the math...100,000 fans in the seats @ $100 each or 20,000 fans in the seats @ $200 each. Me, I'll take the $10,000,000 gate and work with it....but the current crop of geniuses seem to think that they would rather take $4,000,000. Economics baby, simple economics...somebody needs to wake up.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Wal*mart Cup - Day IV
Negotiations are continuing at a frantic pace. It is enough of a done deal that teams and tracks have been notified to remove any and all reference to Sprint/Nextel in preparation for the arrival of the new Wal*mart Cup logo. Graphic designers back in the Bentonville, AR home offices are scrambling to come up with just the right catchy logo...to guarantee the fans will immediately recognize and enjoy. Rumor has it that the roll back the prices guy, holding a beer in one hand and a cheesy trophy in the other has the inside track. I wonder if the dangling James Deanesque cigarette will be incorporated as well.
We haven't seen the new championship scoring...but it is no secret that the "Chase" is history. Someone has finally discovered that it is the fans that actually pay for the sport and since they universally hated the artificial championship format....that sucker is gone. In an effort to instill a sense of fair play that NASCAR couldn't seem to grasp, any team penalized for cheating during the course of the season would be ineligible to win the championship. Face it, race fans aren't stupid...and they don't want their champions to be either...if you get caught cheating, you don't deserve to be champion. Also gone is the stupid penalty for a driver displaying a little emotion. Accidentally let slip the F-bomb and you won't be losing points and bucks...the folks in Bentonville only believe in censoring music! Really, think about it...Tony Stewart leads the first 450 laps of the race and is preparing to lap 43rd place Michael Waltrip for the 82nd time....when Michael's immense talent comes to a boil and he turns dead left into Tony in mid-pass...putting them both on the hauler. Do you really want to hear an interview where Tony tell us what a lovely sportsman Michael is, or would you really like to hear what he thinks?
It looks like we will still have to look at the ugly Cars of Tomorrow/Today for at least the immediate future, but expect that come the July race at Daytona...teams will be back in something that looks like a stock car...powered by "stock" motors....if the only engine a consumer can buy in a Toyota is a 4 cylinder...then the only engine in a Toyota on track will be a 4 cylinder. If the biggest V-8 available in the Chevy Malibu is 305 cubic inches...then that is going to be the maximum displacement come race day. One other little kicker will happen while the teams are refueling at the Murphy Oil/Sam's Club gas pumps....each car will be allowed a maximum of 30 gallons of gas for a 500 mile race. Wal*mart is all about green these days and fuel economy standards for the race teams will help reinforce that point.
I hope we have all the details ironed out before the start of speed week!
We haven't seen the new championship scoring...but it is no secret that the "Chase" is history. Someone has finally discovered that it is the fans that actually pay for the sport and since they universally hated the artificial championship format....that sucker is gone. In an effort to instill a sense of fair play that NASCAR couldn't seem to grasp, any team penalized for cheating during the course of the season would be ineligible to win the championship. Face it, race fans aren't stupid...and they don't want their champions to be either...if you get caught cheating, you don't deserve to be champion. Also gone is the stupid penalty for a driver displaying a little emotion. Accidentally let slip the F-bomb and you won't be losing points and bucks...the folks in Bentonville only believe in censoring music! Really, think about it...Tony Stewart leads the first 450 laps of the race and is preparing to lap 43rd place Michael Waltrip for the 82nd time....when Michael's immense talent comes to a boil and he turns dead left into Tony in mid-pass...putting them both on the hauler. Do you really want to hear an interview where Tony tell us what a lovely sportsman Michael is, or would you really like to hear what he thinks?
It looks like we will still have to look at the ugly Cars of Tomorrow/Today for at least the immediate future, but expect that come the July race at Daytona...teams will be back in something that looks like a stock car...powered by "stock" motors....if the only engine a consumer can buy in a Toyota is a 4 cylinder...then the only engine in a Toyota on track will be a 4 cylinder. If the biggest V-8 available in the Chevy Malibu is 305 cubic inches...then that is going to be the maximum displacement come race day. One other little kicker will happen while the teams are refueling at the Murphy Oil/Sam's Club gas pumps....each car will be allowed a maximum of 30 gallons of gas for a 500 mile race. Wal*mart is all about green these days and fuel economy standards for the race teams will help reinforce that point.
I hope we have all the details ironed out before the start of speed week!
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Wal*mart Cup - Day III
Wow...just got wind of some exciting news about the impending Wal*mart/NASCAR merger. The changes are happening so fast that it is hard to keep track of them all. Here are a few of the highlights that have come to my attention in this morning's press releases.
Concessions...you know the little old ladies that push around the microwave and hot plate carts at Sam's Club? Well guess what? They are taking over the concessions at the tracks. They even have an agreement in principle that will allow them to keep those spiffy hair nets! There will be a veritable gourmet selection of items to choose from, the only catch being you are going to have to buy one of those industrial sized frozen packages if you wish more than the one bite sample.
Pit stops...the days of pulling into the pits in front to main grandstand is over. Starting immediately, all tracks will be reconfigured with an exit ramp that leads directly to the Wally*world Express Tire and Lube Center. Cars will be serviced by the crack teams of service technicians voted as the best in regional competitions among all North American Wally*worlds. Cars will be serviced on a first come, first served basis...and all the action will be displayed for the fans on the new Vizio big screens. As an added bonus for the fans, they will be able to purchase the TVs after the race...at demo prices!
Tickets...as was previously mentioned, you will be able to put tickets on layaway and make easy weekly payments. Yes, there is a down side to this method, a ticket that would normally cost you $100 will end up being $200...but you will be able to make simple $4 weekly payments. Ticketmaster and other ticket venues will be totally out of the loop...tickets will only be sold at the new NASCAR customer service desk located in Wally*world Supercenters. All tickets will become first come, first served items. Tickets for the following year's race will go on sale at 8a.m. Tuesday mornings following the completion of each event. Infield spectators and campers will now purchase tickets in the same fashion as everyone else. Ticket packages will come in 4 levels...Level 1 - The Springer Show Rejects @ $25 each - the first 10 rows at any track...Level 2 - Trailer Trash @ $50 each - the second 10 rows at any track, any obstructed view seat and general admission to the two road courses...Level 3 - Fancy Rich Bitch @ $100 each - all remaining grandstand seats from row 21 and up, also the base fee for all infield spectators and campers (each person and each RV in the infield must have a ticket)...Level 4 - The Fat Cat Package @ $999.99 - formerly known as the luxury boxes, now available to anyone with the cash. External camping is free with a $250 purchase that the trackside Supercenter or $100 with any lesser qualifying purchase ($150 minimum).
Watch this space for further updates!
Concessions...you know the little old ladies that push around the microwave and hot plate carts at Sam's Club? Well guess what? They are taking over the concessions at the tracks. They even have an agreement in principle that will allow them to keep those spiffy hair nets! There will be a veritable gourmet selection of items to choose from, the only catch being you are going to have to buy one of those industrial sized frozen packages if you wish more than the one bite sample.
Pit stops...the days of pulling into the pits in front to main grandstand is over. Starting immediately, all tracks will be reconfigured with an exit ramp that leads directly to the Wally*world Express Tire and Lube Center. Cars will be serviced by the crack teams of service technicians voted as the best in regional competitions among all North American Wally*worlds. Cars will be serviced on a first come, first served basis...and all the action will be displayed for the fans on the new Vizio big screens. As an added bonus for the fans, they will be able to purchase the TVs after the race...at demo prices!
Tickets...as was previously mentioned, you will be able to put tickets on layaway and make easy weekly payments. Yes, there is a down side to this method, a ticket that would normally cost you $100 will end up being $200...but you will be able to make simple $4 weekly payments. Ticketmaster and other ticket venues will be totally out of the loop...tickets will only be sold at the new NASCAR customer service desk located in Wally*world Supercenters. All tickets will become first come, first served items. Tickets for the following year's race will go on sale at 8a.m. Tuesday mornings following the completion of each event. Infield spectators and campers will now purchase tickets in the same fashion as everyone else. Ticket packages will come in 4 levels...Level 1 - The Springer Show Rejects @ $25 each - the first 10 rows at any track...Level 2 - Trailer Trash @ $50 each - the second 10 rows at any track, any obstructed view seat and general admission to the two road courses...Level 3 - Fancy Rich Bitch @ $100 each - all remaining grandstand seats from row 21 and up, also the base fee for all infield spectators and campers (each person and each RV in the infield must have a ticket)...Level 4 - The Fat Cat Package @ $999.99 - formerly known as the luxury boxes, now available to anyone with the cash. External camping is free with a $250 purchase that the trackside Supercenter or $100 with any lesser qualifying purchase ($150 minimum).
Watch this space for further updates!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Wal*mart Cup - Day II
I think more and more people are starting to embrace this concept. Face it...NASCAR, Wal*mart and trailer parks go hand in hand, just ask any Formula One fan. Cheap beer, generic cigarettes, trashy women, toothless Skoal chomping rednecks, jacked up pick-up trucks and Confederate flags....are common denominators for all three venues.
Somebody is bound to ask what trailer parks have to do with this. Have you ever been to a NASCAR event? One look around and you will see the ultimate mobile home park, one that relocates every single week for 36 weeks before retiring to Florida for a couple of months. It is hard to believe that they don't experience a tornado every single week, given that most of the racetracks are located in the heart of tornado alley. Under Wal*mart sponsorship...fans will have the option of putting their mobile homes up on blocks at their favorite track...they can pay their $50 weekly rent at the customer service desk.
In a radical departure from previous title sponsors, Wal*mart says that it has no desire to demand other sponsors be banned from the track, instead they will just roll back their prices until the competition cries uncle. That means great news for Chip Ganassi, who can now keep Target (to be pronounced tar-zhay from now on, so that it sounds more sophisticated) as one of the prime sponsors of his team. The cell phone carriers will all be back as sponsors too....as long as they agree to put kiosks in every Wally*world and Club Sammy.
Now for the real bombshell. Wal*mart is going to announce that Walgreens is actually a part of the Wally*world family and will be taking over as title sponsor of the former Busch/Nationwide series. They will be handing out free Viagra and condoms to Saturday race fans....and will offer free in-house early pregnancy screenings for 30 days after each race weekend.
Even with all these big changes in the wind...look for one more. Wally*world will absorb Camping World....and the truck racing series will become the Sam's Club Series. Your whole world...now under one macro-economic umbrella. Who could ask for more?
Somebody is bound to ask what trailer parks have to do with this. Have you ever been to a NASCAR event? One look around and you will see the ultimate mobile home park, one that relocates every single week for 36 weeks before retiring to Florida for a couple of months. It is hard to believe that they don't experience a tornado every single week, given that most of the racetracks are located in the heart of tornado alley. Under Wal*mart sponsorship...fans will have the option of putting their mobile homes up on blocks at their favorite track...they can pay their $50 weekly rent at the customer service desk.
In a radical departure from previous title sponsors, Wal*mart says that it has no desire to demand other sponsors be banned from the track, instead they will just roll back their prices until the competition cries uncle. That means great news for Chip Ganassi, who can now keep Target (to be pronounced tar-zhay from now on, so that it sounds more sophisticated) as one of the prime sponsors of his team. The cell phone carriers will all be back as sponsors too....as long as they agree to put kiosks in every Wally*world and Club Sammy.
Now for the real bombshell. Wal*mart is going to announce that Walgreens is actually a part of the Wally*world family and will be taking over as title sponsor of the former Busch/Nationwide series. They will be handing out free Viagra and condoms to Saturday race fans....and will offer free in-house early pregnancy screenings for 30 days after each race weekend.
Even with all these big changes in the wind...look for one more. Wally*world will absorb Camping World....and the truck racing series will become the Sam's Club Series. Your whole world...now under one macro-economic umbrella. Who could ask for more?
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