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New car puts premium on the driver
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That's why you only had 10 or 12 cars on the lead lap at the end of the day. Those cars were evil. They were hard to drive and it was hard work. It was physically demanding. Sure, we complained about the cars. We talked about them being hard to drive, and guess what? They gave us power steering. We complained about how hot it was inside the cars and how they were so hard to drive, and guess what? They gave us Gatorade.
I once told Bill France that the races were too long. He looked at me as serious as could and said, "DW, maybe you should look for another job." You know, back during that time, the same guys won all the races. You would go complain to whomever and they would tell you, "Well, maybe you just aren't working hard enough."
My point is, it's never been easy. It never will be easy. Racing is hard. It's hard work and takes a huge commitment. It should never be about the car every time it doesn't go the way you want it to. It's always been about being better than the other guy. It doesn't matter how much better your car is. Are you better than the competition? Did you beat everybody else no matter what the conditions.
It's called racing. Wow, what a novel concept.
My point is, Sunday we had a camera in Carl Edwards car. That boy worked his butt off. He was on top of that steering wheel for the entire 500 miles. He was focused and looked like he was running at the Eldora dirt track.
The car was slipping and sliding. He was turning it right and turning it left. But he was getting around that racetrack and, more importantly, he was getting around there better than anyone else. And you know what he worried about all day? I don't think he mentioned the handling of the car. He just hoped and prayed his engine wouldn't blow up like at Atlanta, where he should have won that race but his engine failed.
So Carl Edwards' only concern Sunday wasn't about how hot it was, or how the car was driving or anything else. He was worried about, "Am I better than everybody else? Will my engine last and am I going to be able to win this race?"
Here's something else that I think the other drivers better take notice of. Carl is in great shape, and there's no doubt about that. The bike he rides every morning at 6 a.m. is called a mountain bike. Until everybody else realizes it's not all about the car, well, ol' Carl will stay head and shoulders above everybody else.
Imagine that.
Oh by the way
Even before the race on Sunday, there were a lot of unhappy car owners, drivers and crew members.
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Kyle Petty and that whole crowd comes to mind. There is a lot going on there.
Chip Ganassi gets on the radio and says things have got to change in his organization. I think you will see a driver change or two in the next couple days.
There are just a lot of teams searching for answers, and sometimes I wonder if they are looking in all the wrong places. The No. 45 team, for example, made a driver change and that didn't solve their problems.
Some of these teams are struggling and have gotten off to a poor start. Part of that frustration is coming from this new car. It's so hard to figure out what to do that it's putting a lot of pressure on these teams, drivers and crew chiefs to get their performance up. Unfortunately, a lot of them are just lost right now about what to do, and that's unfortunate.
That's the facts of life in NASCAR racing today.
Member Comments
SundayDriver, boring races to watch for sure we've had about 10 yrs of watching, 43 of the same cars running, the areo ugly Monte carlo to the, COT 43 impalas, i've got a driveway full of chevy's dont want a racetrack full of them. Nascars took the fan root'en for a car down to just the driver
runwhatyabrung4/15/2008 5:36:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
attuser: did you see they are going to start making AMCs again, read it in HOT ROD magizne. They had some pic of the new designed cars, i think it was the Jan 08 edition
runwhatyabrung4/15/2008 5:26:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
stp43fan, good post, very informative. You left one out though, or I'm just showing my age, the AMC Javalins even ran a couple years. Those were good years, we had 4 "all american" manufactures on the tracks. I even remember my uncle running a "55" Hudson on a local dirt track.
attuser4/12/2008 8:08:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
I disagree. were you out at 6:00m riding mountain bikes DW.<br /><br />Yeah he was "up on the wheel" but so were others. If the car can run in dirty air , and all it does when you get next to spmeone is totally lose any grip, and spins, that is not the driver. Tony stewart doesnt get up on the wheel? Even thr Shrubs are on the whell, JJ too, and they love that lose driving, and they get 10 feet away, and cars takes off like wirly-brid, thats design, not driver.<br /><br />You got " up on the wheel " dw, lets see you do side by side in this car.
Benji21124/11/2008 18:56:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Thanks STP43FAN<br />I remember the Wide World of Sports days as a teenager. Barely got to see a race back then.
AFGuy4/11/2008 11:26:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
But for sure you are dead on with all that stp43fan. The COT does put most of the onus on engineers these days and the driver cant over ride the COT with his ability alone. Real good post man.
GLMCALLISTER4/11/2008 7:16:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
AFGuy good post and youre right man. Simple fact is few beers and racin period was the fitness plan. Nothin wrong with that for sure. <br /><br />Step43fan think DW knows the difference in the cars for sure. Youre comparison and your reasonin behind all of the COT problems is real good man but the driver in the last couple of ice skatin races like Atlanta and Texas did play a big percentage in the drivers final position man.
GLMCALLISTER4/11/2008 7:04:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
AFGuy, as far as live flag to flag coverage, closed-circuit coverage of the Daytona 500 actually began around 1965; live segmented coverage began on ABC's Wide World Of Sports in 1974, then CBS began live flag to flag coverage of the 500 in 1979. The 1980s saw a steadily growing umber of races get live flag to flag coverage until the entire season was aired live.<br /><br />The cars in the 1970s were Dodge Chargers, at least three models of Chevrolet, Mercury Montegos, Ford Torinos, and Olds Cutlasses in the late 1970s. The 1980s saw Chevy Monte Carlos, Ford Thunderbirds, the Pontiac Grand Prix and Lemans (the 1981 Lemans with its low-slung nose and sloped rear glass partly revolutionized the cars in the early 1980s in aerodynamics), Buick Grand Nationals, and Olds Cutlasses.
STP43FAN4/10/2008 21:33:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Boring races to watch ...that is for sure. Bu I do like the results.
SundayDrivers4/10/2008 18:28:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Everybody has the same equipment. The cream is rising to the top.
SundayDrivers4/10/2008 18:21:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
STP43FAN<br />You seem to be a hard core fan who probably knosw this. I am just a fan who likes to drink a beer and watch a good race on Sundays. When did TV start brodcasting all races flag to flag and what kind of cars were they driving?
AFGuy4/10/2008 16:41:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
AFGuy, their workout regumen then was racing - they were whipped into race shape by constantly racing.
STP43FAN4/10/2008 15:49:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Darrell, he is what you consistently forget when comparing the COT to the cars back then -<br /><br />The cars then had over 300 LESS horsepower than today's car and were thus some 25 MPH slower.<br /><br />The cars then weighed more - 3,800 lbs.<br /><br />The cars then were more brittle than today's car.<br /><br />The cars then ran bias-ply tires that ALLOWED the drivers to race it through the corners better.<br /><br />The cars then had a more effective draft than the COT.<br /><br />The cars then WANTED to race in dirty air. The COT refuses to race well in dirty air.<br /><br />The cars then did not punish aggressive driving; the COT punishes aggressive driving.<br /><br />The cars then did not have the technology arms race today's car has.<br /><br />Far from putting the emphasis on the driver, the COT puts all the onus on the chassis engineers, aero engineers, and all the other engineers to beat NASCAR's supertemplates - and the teams are succeeding at beating the supertemplates. <br /><br />There are a lot of unhappy teams and drivers, and a lot of unhappy fans, because the sport is in a closed competitive loop and the COT has closed it and has no potential to open it.
STP43FAN4/10/2008 15:47:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
DW seems to imply that you have to be in great shape to drive the new cars and the cars he drove. If that is true, just wondering what his and the other drivers' work out regimens were when he drove, other than lifting a few beers
AFGuy4/10/2008 13:21:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Dawg I agree with you 100% on all that. Shoulda never got rid of ol Winston. Seems like why bother being in number 1 if you got nothin else to prove since it gets all erased anyway. Just kick it in when the Chase grows near man.
GLMCALLISTER4/10/2008 12:44:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
If all we saw was the front runners, most races are boring. The toughest racing is in the back. Guys trying to stay on the lead lap or trying to keep in the lucky dog slot. Guys trying to make or stay in the top 35. Guys trying to keep a ride or get a better one. Guys trying different parts of the track. Guys just trying. The COT has put a premium on the driver that requires more skill, as they do not handle as well as the old car. Drivers complain because they have to prove themselves. I am enjoying it.
ragcooks4/10/2008 10:19:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
DW We are big fans and enjoy your posts. Keep up the good work.
jimabbey4/10/2008 8:58:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Hey DW heard from your good buddy George Michael on Smokes show on Sirius this week. Pretty interesting stuff but nothing I didnt already know about you, Smoke and Dale Sr. Gotta question tho interested in why was you were fightin with Michael bout Smoke?
GLMCALLISTER4/10/2008 7:51:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Jeff Gordon finished dead last. Jimmie Johnson said that he is now understanding the criticism given by Smoke and some of the other drivers about the new car. That doesn't sound like hendrick is poised to make a run at Rousch. JR has been the most consistent. Actually, I take that back, Casey Mears has been the most consistent. He has been consistently terrible. Rousch came into the season looking as though they were behind everyone else at grasping the COT, but now it looks as if they have the best grasp.
dominodan_3164/10/2008 5:42:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
hey carl you know who was behide you last sunday better not look back because here comes jimmie passing you this time dont think you will win anymore races this year behide dale jimmie jeff are rt on your tail better speed up they have found the grove and the set up roush racing your in trouble
junglejims494/10/2008 5:36:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
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