As The 2006 NASCAR Season Closes - - - Was It All Too Much Of A Good Thing ??

The hottest topic of debate on the NASCAR circut as the season drags to an end is whether or not the format for the Chase for the Nextel Cup should be altered.

Many of the ideas being thrown around supposedly have merit, awarding more points for a victory and the Pole Sitter ??? I don't see where that's going to help the situation. Am I missing something??? And here's the one I've heard the longest, allowing more drivers into the Chase. Why??? So that there will be more drivers that the "non-chasers" are supposed to "roll over and play dead" for??? In other words, their supposed to "clear the way" for "The Chasers", I'm sorry, I thought these were races where every body was supposed to "drive like they stole it". Unlike the points leader, who has to worry about taking care of his equipment. I'm not saying to go out there and race a demolition derby, but I also don't think you need to go out there and drive like a senior citizen either (Sorry Mom & Dad!). What, is he afraid to get his white gloves dirty or what??? If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, Jimmie !!!

Some folks see NASCAR on a totally negative side, teams are using too much technology, whatever that means, they are spending too much money, the season drags out over the entire year (February to November) with little time off for the Holidays. I think anyone who has any of these complaints needs to go do something else with their time and leave the AVID fan, like myself, alone to watch our races in peace.

Less than half of the races this season have been sell-outs with crowds at California Speedway especially disappointing. Even the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard had empty seats in 2006, producing the smallest crowd in its 13 year history. Even television ratings have been down, with 16 races showing a decline of more than 10%. NASCAR officials say part of the problem is that NBC was a lame-duck broadcasting partner, as the sport switches TV contracts during the upcoming offseason, ABC and ESPN are part of the new package and of course they expect them to "do a Golden Job" of cross-marketing their telecasts. Yeah right !!! Don't worry, race fans, at the end of their contracts - - they will be dogs too !!!

NASCAR's most popular driver held court on the subject over the weekend in Phoenix. He suggested that NASCAR shorten it's 400-mile and 500-mile races perhaps to 300-miles. In theory, a tighter show would be a more exciting one. In my opinion, this would only cause complaints form the fans that they are then not getting their monies worth, unless of course they lowered the cost of admission, and we all KNOW that ain't gonna happen. The France Family never met a dollar that they didn't like !!! A shorter schedule would produce smaller venues, leaving plenty of tracks at even bigger losses.

That's right, race fans, you guessed it. NASCAR's answer for all of this is the Car Of Tomorrow. The goal being to get a common template for the cars, lower the impact of technology and reduce costs so that more teams will have a chance (and the qualifying lines could go clear off the track). And they call all of this "keeping it simple". This will also increase the competition and give fans the side-by-side racing that has them already hooked on stock cars. The COT debuts at approximately half the tracks in 2007, so the progress begins soon, are we ready race fans ??? Personally, what I'm most interested in seeing is the TOYOTA Camry, either in qualifying trim or race trim. I think that the 2007 NASCAR Season will be the most exciting one that I have seen yet.

Govenor Jeb Bush Promotes NASCAR - - - Way To Go Jeb ! ! !

Tallahassee- Gov. Jeb Bush shifted gears early yesterday morning from Chief Executive to Head Cheerleader for NASCAR.

Gov. Bush joined Nextel Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne, 1989 NASCAR Champion Rusty Wallace and Robin Braig, president of Daytona International Speedway at a brief ceremony in the Capital Courtyard.

Forty minutes later, Gov. Bush presided over a Cabinet meeting, where he declared "NASCAR/Nextel Cup Series Championship Week" in Florida.

Michael Waltrip Racing Signs Josh Wise

Michael Waltrip Racing congratulates Josh Wise on USAC Championship and welcomes him to their organization.

PHOENIX, Ariz. (November 13, 2006) Michael Waltrip Racing, Inc. announced today that Josh Wise, who was crowned the 2006 USAC National Sprint Car Series champion on Saturday night, will drive in a variety of series for their organization in 2007.

"Michael Waltrip Racing is proud to be associated with Josh Wise not only for his ability to win championships, but also because of his humble personality," Waltrip said, "We have already tested Josh in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck a couple of times and have been impressed with his ability to get around the track and provide input to the team."

"We have plans to keep Josh busy in the off-season to help prepare him for the 2007 season," Waltrip continued, "Josh will run in a variety of venues for Michael Waltrip Racing, Inc. including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA as well as the short track racing that he has brought him so much success."

"Josh is a quality individual from a quality family and we knew it the moment we met him," said Ty Norris, General Manager for Michael Waltrip Racing. "I was able to watch him race for the first time this weekend and it's easy to see why Tony Stewart believes Josh is the next great driver to come through the USAC ranks. We're proud to have a two-time USAC champion in our camp."

"Without Tony, I wouldn't be where I'm at," said Wise, who is a two-time Belleville Midget Nationals Champion (2003, 2006), 1999 USCA TQ Midget Car Series champion and 2005 USAC National Midget Car Series champion. "He took a shot in the dark on me, I was living on the West Coast with my parents and racing my family car. I got a call from him out of the blue one day to come out to the Midwest and drive for him. The experience I have gotten and the success that I have had with the team has been huge for me."

The 23 year old Wise said, "I really want to perform for everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing, I'm ready to get started. I've already tested a NASCAR Craftsman Truck twice. The first time I didn't run many laps and the other time was on a half-mile track. I was nervous about the first truck test because it was a fast track, but the guys made me feel real comfortable and we had a lot of fun. Adapting to a truck is going to be a different challenge because of the principles and the characteristics of the way they drive." As an AVID Michael Waltrip fan, this is just another reason to be excited about the 2007 NASCAR Season. Come on Mikey, bring on your TOYOTA and your Racing Team and let's go kick some behinds !!!

Thats all I have for you for this week. I know I missed the Racin' Birthdays but I will try to get them all on the next blog, the final blog of the 2006 Season. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the races from Homestead-Miami Speedway !!!

Later.

The Wal-NutzManiac