Saturday, June 20, 2009

NASCAR and Start and Park

I just got done watching the Nationwide race at Milwaukee and it was quite boring. Yeah, I like to see the wrecks and side by side racing for the entire race. What ticks me off is the new concept of start and park in Sprint and Nationwide.
What happens is that a car starts and before the first pit stop, the driver brings the car in parks it. There is a good article from Tom Bowles and SI. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_bowles/06/11/Start-and-park/
While I understand the concept, it just seems wrong that a driver who qualifies for the race chickens out and withdraws. It's like you qualify for the U.S. Open golf tournament, make the final cut and then drop out because you are going have to stay in a hotel room for two extra days and have to pay for extra meals. it just doesn't make any sense.
Part of the reason is the pay schedule. as stated in the article, a driver who dropped out and finished 41st was only paid $725 less than a driver who finished around 36th. So what is the incentive.
My solution, make a minimum amount of winnings and then pay for each additional lap they run. It will lower the winnings but maybe it will convince the start and park drivers to compete longer in the race.

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