Backseat Blonde - Riding Around in Circles

April 11, 2005

Riding Around in Circles
By Allison Wagda

The fastest car on the track isn’t always the one that wins.
Teams are always searching for a way to sneak in for a
win – taking two tires on a pit stop to gain track position,
playing the fuel mileage game, or even taking out the
competition with the ol’ bump and run.

It seems all’s fair in the game of speed and greed. But there’s another strategy
growing in popularity among the NASCAR elite, and it’s contributing to the declining
entertainment value of the sport: playing the waiting game.

“I’m just riding around back here…lemme know when it’s time to go.”

I’m not going to pick on the driver who oh-so-casually made that statement over the
radio to his crew at Daytona in February, but aren’t those of you who paid a month’s
salary to attend that race happy to know the drivers are just chillin’ out enjoying a nice
Sunday drive until the last 50 laps or so?

Okay, so endurance is a big part of the game. I get that. Like it too. But what happens
when everyone starts to lie back and save their stuff? We get a lackluster 400 miles
with a miraculously exciting finish. (Random but useful thought: anyone else notice
how many ‘shootouts’ at the end we seem to be having this year brought on by
convenient cautions?)

Fans travel hundreds if not thousands of miles to see a race, not a parade. We skip
all sorts of fun stuff to watch our favorite drivers duel it out on the pavement. The
perception that these cars are coasting for three quarters of the race is disturbing.
I’m not even claiming it is reality. I think a lot of guys go out there and don’t give an
inch from the minute the green flag drops. But those guys are often targeted by
commentators as overly aggressive. They say cheesetastic things like “why is he
racing his teammate this early in the day,” or “he should just let X go by, since X has
the faster car and why hold him up.”

Why hold him up, indeed. Perhaps because it’s a race and not a tea party?

I’m tired of how “safe” this sport is getting. Do the big monster teams have any risk
anymore in running in Cup?

They’re safe during qualifying (rendering qualifying not only moot but a joke), safe in
the back of the pack (after all, get caught a lap down, just take a lucky dog), and safe
in the championship as long as they safely make the top 10.

I know these guys work hard and risk much for the love of racing and for our
entertainment. But at least half the races so far this season have been snoozers for
the vast majority of the day. Sure, we’re coming off the Bristol Bumper Car Fest and
the Martinsville Madness, but even then teams were touting patience over
aggressiveness. Gordon won the race by staking his claim on that real estate and
refusing to budge. And ol’ DW was sitting there castigating him for it, saying Gordon
should’ve given Busch the position. Given it to him? WHAT? Okay, I’m not trying to
make any judgments about that particular move, but why should anyone ever back off
to give another driver the position? I mean, if a driver is already in the position it is
one thing. You shouldn’t just run him over. But if you are both fighting for the same
piece of track, either you’re faster and your spotter guides you into position or you
tangle and someone goes for a ride.

The only driver who should even consider backing off is the one least likely to
emerge unscathed. And that would be called self-preservation.

Anyways, I just wanted to vent a little. I’ve been under whelmed by the racing as a
whole this season, even with the handful of “happy endings” orchestrated for us.
Bristol and Martinsville were both brutal reminders of how racing can be when
drivers go for it from flag to flag and I’m dreading Texas next week. Will we be lucky
enough to get another Atlanta-style race, or will we get to watch cars play it safe until
the very end?

If that’s the way the teams decide to play it, then I have just one message for them
and their sponsors. Just go ahead, save your stuff, stay outta trouble, ride around
until it’s time to go etc. While you’re doing that, I’ll take a nice nap. Wake me when it’s
time to race.

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