Steps towards NASCAR's Revival?

This column can be seen in the February 25th issue of the Pirate's Log
The Daytona 500 is far and away the most exhilarating, historic, and monumental race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Some dub it “NASCAR’s Super Bowl,” others simply label it “The Great American Race.” On Sunday, February 14th, all of those classifications (and then some) materialized at the outset of the 2010 Sprint Cup season.

Almost everything in the realm of restrictor plate racetrack possibilities occurred: A race-record 21 different leaders; the expected wild nature of restrictor plate racing; two shots at the newly-implemented rule of three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish format; a first-time Daytona 500 champion who led only the final two laps; and a troublesome pothole that induced a six-hour long race marred with a total of 2 hours and 25 minutes of red-flag stoppages.

Huh?

And this was an exiting race? Well, it was… Eventually. Just off turn 2 at Daytona International Speedway, a deep hole emerged in the asphalt, causing NASCAR officials to red-flag the race twice for necessary track repairs. These delays not only culminated in elongated delays, but cast a shadow of temporary embarrassment on the sport as well. At first glance, this was seemingly another dilemma carried over from last season’s woeful circumstances.

2009 was a dreadful year for NASCAR to say the least. The new car (car of tomorrow) still needed some obvious tinkering, the races were drawn out and monotonous, ticket sales were at an all-time low, and Jimmie Johnson made history by winning his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship and nobody seemed to care. If anything, NASCAR has been damaged by such a dominant figure with no apparent competition in the eyes of the casual fan.

This season, NASCAR has been adamant to make the modifications necessary to salvage the excitement and prominence of the sport. A bigger restrictor plate has been employed to increase speed and appeal of some of NASCAR’s most cherished speedways (Talladega and Daytona), a new spoiler will be introduced in various races throughout the season in attempt to evoke the racing and passing tendencies of the past, the aforementioned expedited green-white-checkered format has been implemented, and NASCAR is also allowing drivers to commence liberated racing styles without looming penalties unless blatant or detrimental reckless racing transpires.

Once the pothole burden passed and the final laps of the 2010 Daytona 500 elapsed, a couple of these changes had already resonated.

Two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish were initiated after a caution within the final three laps. The grandstands in Daytona, Florida were empty, only because each and every individual in the sold-out crowd was on their feet. The racing was intense, featuring a 22nd to 2nd explosion by fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final green-white-checkered finish attempts and an unexpected victor in Jamie McMurray. That’s the beauty of Daytona: you can always expect the unexpected when it comes to finishes.

In a way, the compelling finish eclipsed the serious issue of NASCAR’s most storied racetrack nearly launching yet another season of monotony and despair.

However, this past Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, some of the residual problems of last year’s oppressed season surfaced. Fields were spread out and cautions were sparse. Intermittent lead changes kept racing at a somewhat high level, but the issues of clean air and advantageous downforce for the leaders at Speedways such as California, Michigan, Kansas and Chicago are evidently still effecting the excitement and overall value of the sport.

On top of that, four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson won in fortunate fashion, squeaking out a green flag pit stop moments before caution, earning him the lead, clean air, and victory.

Daytona may have brought hope to a sport in shambles, but it remains yet to be seen if the remainder of a 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season still in its early stages can bring hope to a possibly fading sport.

Only time will tell if the days of habitually filled grandstands and consistently exciting racing will return at a premium. What we do know is that NASCAR is attempting to make the necessary changes to make these things happen again, and that’s more than a start.