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.
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