All Jacked Up

NASCAR feeling the pinch

Posted by: Jason Randall

Friday, November 14, 2008 3:16 PM

NASCAR announced today that there will be no testing allowed at tracks on the schedule in 2009. The organization says that teams will save money with this move, but I have my doubts. 

First of all, it's not like teams are just going to quit testing. That's certainly no way to win a championship. NASCAR said it will save teams hundreds of thousands of dollars, but let's be honest, the top teams will continue to test. They'll obviously just go to tracks that aren't in the various series and try to learn as much as they can in order to translate that to the tracks that are on the schedule.

In my opinion, not allowing testing will cost teams even more money than if they were allowed to test. Sure, it can cost $100,000 a day for teams to test, but what about when lack of track time turns into crashed race cars? How much is it going to cost when teams lose more cars than they have in the past? NASCAR claimed that the COT would help with costs too, but that really hasn't been the case if you look closer. It's nothing for top teams to have as many as 50 cars at the shop. And the COT isn't exactly cheap.

Also, what about the tire problems? Is NASCAR going to allow tire tests at the various tracks like Indianapolis Motor Speedway? If not, we're going to see more races where tires go away quickly and cars are wrecked. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in Goodyear to get things fixed overnight. Tire problems mean unhappy fans too, and attendance numbers are in decline as it is. What about the financial problems that will present themselves when ticket sales continue to go down? What about ad revenue that will slow down as fan interest does?

I think NASCAR acted too quickly with this move and I think it will cost more in the long run in terms of replacing race cars, not to mention compromising the safety of drivers who will have less time to get a feel for a track.

Bad move on NASCAR's part and I hope there are some adjustments to this new "cost effective" mandate. This is an all-out overreaction.

Anyway, we're heading into the final race of the season on Sunday and it's Jimmie Johnson's Cup to lose. Pick up a copy of Monday's News-Gazette where I'll run down the top 12 moments of the season. 

Oh, and just because the season is ending, it doens't mean I won't continue to write in this blog. We've got a lot of "Silly Season" stuff to talk about before the Daytona 500 in February.

Until next time, keep hittin' your marks! 

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