There’s Always An Angler, er … Angle

Hmmmm … anyone else just wake up from the bad dream that was yet another long, boring race weekend in California? Well, if not, I sure did - and just in time to read the following from Jeff Hammond … who, curiously, doesn’t really mention that the Cup Light race was just as boring as the Cup race because both California and Michigan “sister”-tracks absolutely, well, suck - and have sucked long before the COT came onto the scene. (Try about when NASCAR/ISC started to “standardize” and “safety-ize” and otherwise MESS with stock car racin’.)

Though, granted, I suppose that whole “boring, boring, boring” statement for each race held at these venues would be pretty redundant - so another ‘hmmmmmmm’, before I get all redundant myself here, anyway, grin …

But, hey - at least in the following excerpts, I am savin’ you from Hammond’s half-hearted cheerleading to “hold on, fans”, because someday NASCAR/ISC will get it right, etc., sigh. Honestly, if the guy’s gonna’ start an article that says “Let’s not sugarcoat this, folks,” mid-section it with “NASCAR is smart enough,” and end it with “don’t give up on this sport”?

Come on, lol … he lost me his second line in: “I know the last couple of weeks have been frustrating from a fans’ standpoint.”

The last couple of weeks? Are you kidding me???

Ah, but it gets so much better - at least if you’re into reading about the terribly obvious:

To be fair, I don’t know that the track in California is the [ONLY] problem. Let’s face it, Bristol has a bunch more banking, and they faced the same issues a couple weeks ago. So are we going to blame the track? What’s the other common denominator here? The answer is this new car. [No ... really?]

[...]

I think we are really going to have to look hard and do some serious analysis about what we can do to make this better. I am just being honest. I just wasn’t that impressed with the racing we saw this weekend. I am looking for the opportunity where these guys can put on more of a show with passing and hard racing. [Wow - and that all just started to gel for ya' this past weekend? Way to be on the ball, there.]

It is frustrating for all those involved. I think we all are disappointed because again, this is not what we had hoped for in this deal. You can’t tell me that the folks at NASCAR right now aren’t the same way. I mean c’mon, this isn’t what they are looking for either. [Dude - they're lookin' for money. Yours, mine, teams', sponsors' - any buck is a good buck to the Frances, long as it's in their pockets. "Racing" be damned, as that's just an expensive side-show now ... and an increasingly lousy one, at that.]

[...]

We are hoping and praying [pray harder, lol] the racing will improve because now we are going back to these tracks with this new car not for the second time but now for the third time. The hope is we can be better and we can work in some areas that will allow us to be better. There clearly is more effort to make these cars handle better at places like Dover and Richmond. We have to build a database and pull the information out that is necessary to fix it. That’s what NASCAR did when they built this car from the safety issue. [Then they obviously need different data - any data. Data, anyone? No, seriously- anyone?? grin]

No one can deny that this car has been tested time and time again. The results have shown less injuries than ever before — everything from broken shoulder blades to broken ribs, even to losing someone, there has been a dramatic decline with this new car. NASCAR set out to make the car safer, and they have passed that with flying colors. [Sigh ... can't dispute at least part of that after McDowell's crash, especially, though all of this will be a very moot point if the RACIN' isn't put back into whatever "safe race car" they're trying to run out there. Sad fact, perhaps - but that's the way it is. NO one in their right mind wants injuries of any kind out there, but it happens; it's part of the sport, and the "risk-factor" part of such adrenaline-rushin' passion for it. Otherwise, we'd all be watching cycling - which, at this point, is actually more exciting than NASCAR , at least from a "racing" perspective.]

Now, by working on the safety side of it, they may have gotten complacent on what they needed to do on the competitive side of it. Maybe they were looking for more help from the teams, but the teams have now had their shot at it. [Bullshit.] So maybe it is time for everyone to sit down and put their heads together and figure out a way to fix this. [Just which "heads" are gonna' do that, Hammond? Ya' think NASCAR/ISC's about to open this up to real discussion and/or input from anyone outside of their own circle - the very brainchildren who created this problem in the first place, have seen it evolving (make that spiraling), and have still accomplished nothing in the way of fixing it yet, OR in the way of letting teams TRY to fix it with engineering prowess presently penalized all to hell and back, IF tried? Think again.] Full Article

Ok, so … tap-dance much, Hammond?

How about truly not ’sugarcoating’ it:

NASCAR/ISC has had their head up their collectively France-esque asses since the day they decided to run this COT-pos for a full season - long before any of the bugs were worked out for “fans”, let alone for racers. Any talk of “help from the teams” to achieve “better racing” is a complete load of crap, as well, because every time teams have tried to tweak anything on this squished-blowfish-lookin’ behemoth, they’ve been penalized up the … well, to be redundant again and again here … ass.

California and Michigan tracks both either need to be revamped entirely, or they need to lose ALL dates. Yet, that sort of major overhaul and thus expense falls directly on ISC’s plate, the buck-thirsty right-hand of “God” in this scenario - which of course is NASCAR. They’re equally evil partners in what appears to me to be a truly nefarious plot to kill stock car racing over, and over … and over. (But only until it’s REALLY dead, lol.) Which means that we’ll probably never see either change actually made before the last fan’s asked to turn out the lights on this once-great sport.

“NASCAR’s too smart” to WHAT, then, Hammond?

I’m sorry, but as much as he’s “trying” to be honest to we “fans” out here, he can’t be - not if he wants to keep his job; because NASCAR/ISC will pull his hard-card faster than I can bitch a blue streak about the COT the moment he steps over ANY line in telling us the truth about any - any - NASCAR/ISC situation.

Of course, the real issue with even that idea of unvarnished “truth” - coming from him or anyone else connected to NASCAR/ISC the way Jeff Hammond is - is that we, as fans, already know what the “problems” are.

And, quite frankly, “NASCAR [FANS] ARE TOO SMART TO” CONTINUE TO PUT UP WITH (MUCH LESS PAY OUT FOR) THIS WHITE-WASHED, LILLY-LIVERED, YELLOW-BELLIED (lol - remind me to tell you about one of my mother’s classic Irish tirades sometime) PSUEDO-RACIN’ CRAP THAT’S BEEN PASSIN’ FOR IT LATELY. (While, not so curiously, nothin’ much is passin’ on the TRACK - any track - anymore … hence the “issue” here, ahem).

How about I review and expound, because God knows we all need to beat this to death, grin:

1. The COT isn’t working; and it ain’t GONNA’ work until they bring us back a RACE car.

The concept of an entirely safe race car is an oxymoron, anyway - and real heavy on the ‘moron’ if any driver thinks that he’ll ever strap himself into somethin’ doin’ around 200mph and not be risking his life. Hell, we can all stub our toes, trip, fall and break our necks at any moment. Life itself is a risk - but somehow, we’re now going to take the ‘risk’ outa’ NASCAR RACIN’?

Get real. Thus far, NASCAR/ISC has only managed to take the RACIN’ out.

Needless to say, then, which is of course why I’m writing it - it’s time to put RACIN’ back into this “safe car” equation, or else NASCAR is over. Done. Finito.

I, along with millions of other true, grass roots RACIN’ fans, will simply start enjoying true “stock car” racin’ again at our local dirt tracks. Meanwhile, NASCAR/ISC can sit there holding a very pretty, overstuffed bag of the money we wasted on “NASCAR racin’” JUST this year alone. Hell … look at the grandstands, if you ever even attend a NASCAR race again (because God knows they won’t let broadcast cameras pan ‘em much anymore) - many true stock car fans are already doing just this already. We’ve not just been priced out … there’s simply nothin’ to enjoy in terms of “racing” at a NASCAR “race” anymore, so we might as well stay home and toss our money on the BBQ. (At least then, we’d spend about the same while truly enjoying the luxury of not being jammed into stifling-hot stands like freakin’ sardines with knees in our backs and JJ fans whinin’ “foul” every other minute over our shoulders (lol), channel-surfin’, playin’ with our kids, drinkin’ ourselves into oblivion without risking a DUI, catchin’ up on our z’s - you know - basic weekend stuff like that.)

2. All “snooze-fest” ovals like California and Michigan need to be retooled, rebanked and rebuilt, or, they need to be eliminated from the schedule entirely. Period.

3. Bruton Smith might be the only hope this sport has left, but only because he’s made his venues into mini-Disney-Worlds for fans who pay a helluva’ lot of money to attend races, only to end up standin’ around starin’ at each other during the races themselves. Dumbstruck, because they can’t actually find a race goin’ on anywhere - unless it’s to the restrooms, of course.

I mean, GEEZ … at least SMI gives them something else to do until they have the unique “fan experience” of spending four hours just trying to get out of the parking lot with a hundred-thousand-plus other equally drunk, pissed off, cranky and otherwise “frustrated” fans.

There. Now, that’s not “sugarcoating” it, lol …

[Hey, Grump!! grin ... thanks for keepin' the torches burning here at anglerred while I've been sleepin' through this mid-season nonsense - fabulous job, darlin'! Are you sure you're glad to see me back, tho? hehe]