How Do You Define Great Racing in NASCAR!?

So, we had quite a finish at Talladega this year... Carl goes high (in the air) after Brad goes low and we saw glimpses of potential tragedy with drivers and fans... Even on Saturday, when Matt Kenseth got bumped too hard and went end over end for a while, we held our collective breaths that he would walk away safely.  Of course, we pray for good health for all those impacted by debris.  

However, the racing that was seen at Talladega also calls to mind exactly what NASCAR fans expect and/or deserve when they think about the term 'Great Racing'.  After all, we've had plenty of it this year.  Yeah, there have been plenty of drawn out parade laps with long runs, but in a few races, we've seen great finishes because of late cautions that (thankfully) bunched the field up.  Then, at Talladega (as earlier at Daytona), we get 'treated' to 3 and 4 wide racing because the cars are articificially controlled to not be able to 'outpower' anyone else... so ultimately, knowing how to 'work the draft' at the right time is a more important skill than manufacturing horse power.

So, the question is, just what is 'Great Racing'?  Is it the 20 lap shootouts we've seen a couple times?  Is 'Great Racing' the controlled chaos of 35 cars running 3 wide within 2 seconds of each other for tens of laps on end like we see at Daytona and Talladega?

Maybe the better question is what's NOT 'Great Racing'?  

... 100 'parade laps' where one by one, there are less than half on the lead lap by the end of the race

... short track races where a tank-like car all but makes passing impossible and guarantees where 'track position' is more important than a drivers' ability to move someone out of the way

... Long green flag runs where you're praying for debris to bunch the field up before the 21st car gets lapped TWICE in the same run

Yeah, those are all definitely NOT great racing.

So, it seems that NASCAR has a task at hand... create a product that offers Great Racing and incredible excitment not just for a few brief periods, but not necessarily for the entire 4.5 hours either.... We wish them luck because in the meantime, we'll be watching Great Racing in heats and qualifiers all over the United States and hoping that NASCAR figures it out before the local dirt tracks around Marion Center and North Cambria, PA are outdrawing the snooze fests across the state at Pocono.

What's your definition of Great Racing?  We think it'd be a GREAT debate!

Is it Gimmick Time for NASCAR? Great Chats Lead to Great Ideas!

So, let's think for a minute about how much excitement plays out at tracks all over the nation every weekend night while modifieds, sprints, and superstocks battle for a little bit of area on a small track...  Much of it with dirt flying into into the beards and sodapops of the families watching on the edge of their bleacher.

While chatting with some great race fans during the phoenix race, we started debating how NASCAR could re-ignite some excitement that could generate some real buzz among current fans and potentially NEW fans.

What did we debate more than anything else?  A multi-night dirt track race featuring all the current NASCAR drivers battling it out for 'King of the Dirt' at a premiere dirt track somewhere in the US.

I know... Tony Stewart has built an incredible event at Eldora... but it doesn't include everybody and if memory serves me correctly, the only way it can be seen by people not in the stands is on Pay Per View.

What if NASCAR decided to put on a gimmick race with no other goal than to try and create some buzz... 43 Drivers... or heck, invite all active drivers including Cup, Truck, and Nationwide... Make it a 2 or 3 day event with blind draws, heats, and even 1 on 1 races between a randomly drawn NASCAR driver and a local champ from somewhere in the US?

Televise it on a Tuesday/Wednesday night (LIVE) and let the program run like only local tracks know how to do it... CONTINUOUS action... as one heat leaves the track, the other comes on.  Have live cameras in the pits out behind the track where the activity is constantly a craze while cars crews race to get their cars ready for the next heat.

Yeah, I know it's probably a pipe dream that NASCAR embrace something like this, but with TV Ratings down in virtually every race this year, maybe it's time for something like this to generate some buzz... maybe it is 'Gimmick Time'!  What do you think?

If you're a Fan of Fast and need to find a track near you, click here to check out RacingIn.com and create your own Race Fan Profile!