Chris Graham: Musings on NASCAR, UVa-VMI, Notre Dame, the Cowboys
NASCAR SNOOZEFEST: I’m listening to Denny Hamlin on “The Scott Van Pelt Show” on ESPN Radio driving around in the Valley today, and I hear Hamlin say something that to me explains what is fundamentally wrong with NASCAR right now.
Asked by Van Pelt if at this stage of the NASCAR season he’d rather win races or finish a consistent top-five or top-ten, Hamlin didn’t hesitate.
“Top five, top ten, no question,” Hamlin said. The points system, he went on to explain, rewards drivers for consistent good finishes at the expense of the occasional great day at the track.
There you have it. Competitors are hard-wired to do everything they can to win, and then NASCAR, with a points system that only gives a small bonus to the first-place finisher, says, Ah, hell, win, finish second, finish sixth, whatever.
Another reason for Dale Sr. to turn over in his grave.
Link to the rest of the column on VaSportsOnline.com.
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I could not agree more. In my opinion there are too many races held each year. It is sort of like MLB. One game don’t mean crap anymore and why does it always seem that is the one game I attend? NASCAR in an effort to spread the racing country wide and their points system has taken all the shine off of winning a race. If a guy wins 4 or 5 races in one year how can someone win the title with 1 win or even 0 wins? It could happen!
I definitely agree – too many races, too many regular-season baseball games, too many regular-season NBA games. Shorten the seasons, and each individual race/game means more.
And in NASCAR, reward the winners! I like The Chase, but it needs to reward the guys who go for the checkered flag, not the guys who hang back in the pack and try to avoid anything bad happening.
And actually, I think that’s a big thing that’s wrong with America right now. We’re not out there trying to be the best anymore. We just muddle through and give each other trophies for trying.