|
4/27/2009
|
PAVEMENT NOTES:
STAFFORD SPRING SIZZLER
by Walt Stubbs |
Temperatures were sizzling this past weekend up in New England where the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour headed for the traditional Spring Sizzler. And
while the temperatures were above normal outside for the end of April,
tempers were even hotter for a lot of people who support NASCAR’s oldest
division. That included not only the drivers and crew members but some fans
as well. And while some fans in this region like to refer to a certain New
York baseball team as the Evil Empire, who by the way was playing up the
road around an hour and a half way against the home town Red Sox, many can
now refer to the Evil Empire to the Tour’s sanctioning body whose home
headquarters are in Daytona Beach Florida.
Yes, NASCAR has done it once again and it all centers around an
event that is supposed to honor the Whelen Modified Champion as well as
those teams that finished in the Top Twenty in points. NASCAR recently
announced that it was moving the banquet from the Mohegan Sun, where it has
been held the last few years, down to Charlotte, North Carolina, where it
would be held in conjunction with all the other Whelen Series in honoring
their champions. The question everyone is asking is why? From the outside,
it appears to be a cost saving measure on NASCAR’s’ behalf, moving the venue
to one place with all the Series taking part rather than having a bunch of
different banquets at different parts in the country. And while it may be
cheaper long term to have one banquet, does it really make smart business
sense? Think about it. NASCAR has long said it wants to help its teams with
expenses and the like. How does moving a banquet, which was virtually in
everyone’s backyard to a place that most will have to drive ten to thirteen
hours to get to or pay the expense of a flight helping teams and there
expenses? And just to add insult to injury, NASCAR then announced that it’s
moving its ultimate prize, the Cup Banquet, from New York City to Las Vegas.
How is that saving any of those teams money? Why not move that banquet to
where most of its teams are based out of, which would be Charlotte, and let
the regional series have their banquets in an area that is geographical to
where they race? While the Mohegan Sun was a first class venue, if expenses
do matter, then why not move it somewhere else in New England then? NASCAR
managed to move the Nationwide and Truck Series Banquets to the same
weekend, right after its season ending races at Homestead to save money for
those teams. Those teams, who by the way, have a lot more money and sponsors
than those on the modified tour. You’d think NASCAR would have learned from
its past blunders, especially concerning the banquet. I can still remember
back when the banquet was held in Worcester Massachusetts honoring Jerry
Marquis and NASCAR only serving finger foods and the memory of the late John
Blewett III walking out of the banquet and flagging down a hot dog vendor
and ordering a dog for his walk back to the hotel. What NASCAR has to
remember is something it has preached to the modified teams over the years
in explaining its reasoning of not venturing to race tracks outside the
northeast; it’s a regional series. Take that same reasoning and apply it to
the banquet. The one thing NASCAR has to understand is that many in the
modified series do it for the love of it because the purses certainly don’t
pay most of the bills. With that, there is camaraderie among its members,
much like a family. Thus, the banquet becomes a place to get together and
honor not only its champion, but most of those drivers and teams that
compete on the Tour. Also, I’m sure a few car owners, in thanking some of
their team members for the hard work they’ve done throughout the season,
pick up the tab. Now you’re asking for everyone to pack your bags, fill the
gas tank or get out of the credit card to pay for the flight to Carolina.
You wonder if the driver who finished 20th in points will actually lose
money in traveling down to Charlotte to pick up his point money. I guess
what is really bothersome is how NASCAR has handled all of this. Many were
not aware that NASCAR was thinking of moving the banquet. If NASCAR is as
caring as it likes to say it is when it concerns its teams, then why not
talk to the teams themselves and get their thoughts on the idea? Give and
take can get you a lot further than just making an announcement and leaving
it at that. It leaves open a can of worms, and in today’s society, that‘s
the message boards. And sure enough, the banter has been hot and heavy with
even some former NASCAR employees and current NASCAR employees getting into
the act. Is this any way to go about business with names going back and
forth (The Torch and Pitchfork Mob)? I’d like to think there’s got to be a
better way but what do I know? I’m just a guy who’s seen mostly everything
on the Tour for the last 23 years. And while this decision will not lead to
a revolt or a big meeting of the minds like back in 1991, it is something
that NASCAR should re-exam carefully to make sure it keeps its oldest
division from staying as its oldest division.
There was a race to be run at Stafford on Sunday, and from the
looks of things in the first two races, it’s starting to look like Ted
Christopher will once again be the man to beat for the championship.
Christopher struggled in the early part of the race, but once he pitted,
Christopher made it look easy, picking off car by car in winning back to
back races on the tour. (Christopher also picked up the pole Saturday
afternoon). Since most of the Tour races are run at Thompson and Stafford on
the 09 slate, Christopher will definitely have the advantage over the rest
of the teams based on his past success at those two particular tracks. Well,
that’ll do it for this week. The Tour now takes its mini vacation until
returning to Stafford the Friday of Memorial Day. All views and news can
reach me at 2 Constitution Court Unit 501, Hoboken, N.J. 07030 where we are
wondering whatever happened to John Giacobbe?
|
|
Source: Walt Stubbs /
Pavement Notes
Posted: April
27, 2009 |
|
|
