Sometimes DW is not just a windbag....
snip~
NASCAR dropped some rule bombs in the latter part of the year with leasing tires, limiting the number of teams, the Car of Tomorrow, and a new testing policy. It just seems like they're always tinkering with the rules and looking for something to do. We don't really know if the new rules will be better, but they will be different. Sometimes I try to figure out what NASCAR is trying to accomplish.
Take the impound rule, which made no sense to me. Teams were at the track the same amount of time, but they were just sitting around. There were days when they only went to the track and ran two qualifying laps. They couldn't work on the cars. They had to get the car right to race and qualify, and it was almost impossible to do.
The only time an impound makes sense is at Daytona and Talladega. I'll bet it costs close to $1 million to prepare a cars to run eight laps in qualifying for those four races. That's ridiculous so impounding the cars there makes sense. It keeps you from using all of the trick pieces that teams have been known to use at Daytona and Talladega. But impounds don't make any sense anywhere else.
We've worked for 50 years to get to this point, and it's counterproductive to make rules that disrupt the consistent flow that we've had for those 50 years. The procedures we've always followed have proven to be successful over time. Teams practice, qualify, practice and get ready for the race. That's been the procedure, and it just makes no sense to me to start changing around things like that. We want to practice to get our cars ready to qualify, and then we want to practice again to be sure that we've got the right setup for the race. That's what we've always done, and that's what we need to do.
You need that practice time after you qualify to get your car setup right and put on a good show on Sunday. There are so many things that you don't know when you start off a weekend with just practice and qualifying. By the time the Busch race is over, you say, "Man, I wish I had a chance to run my Cup car. I found out things that I need to change." I just think it's counterproductive to the teams, the sport, the fans, the media and everybody else to make rules that affect things that we've always done
There's more here including the dawg rule
SMOKE ALERT...
Stewart on Letterman: 2005 Nextel Cup Champ, Tony Stewart is scheduled to appear on Late Night with David Letterman Friday night, November 25 at 11:30pm/et on CBS. No word on any other appearances yet or the New York City appearance schedule. Banquet info on my Awards page.(11-22-2005)
Parade for Stewart on Dec 17th: Tony Stewart's hometown will hold a parade next month to honor him for winning the NASCAR series championship. The parade is planned for Dec. 17, starting at 2:20pm from the Hamilton Center Ice Arena and ending at Columbus [IN] North High School. It would be the second parade in Columbus for Stewart in four months. On Aug. 15, he was recognized for his win in the Allstate 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Judy Jackson, the city's community development director, said Monday that Dec. 17 was the earliest date Stewart was available for the parade.(Fort Wayne Sentinel/AP)(11-22-2005)
Thanks Jayski