New Stuff, Old Stuff, & Why The Network Bias

Thanks to a busy week and Blogger not working right, I wasn't able to get this posted in time but there's a few things that might be of interest to some folks.

Phoenix Reconfiguration to Cost SCCA Races
　
As a part of the reconfiguration of Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), the infield road course is being taken out to make room for more campers and motor homes. Obviously ISC hasn’t been paying attention to the empty grandstands and half-filled campgrounds at their other tracks. But they feel they don’t need the SCCA races. Why? Who knows what goes on in the empty melons of the Ivory Towers of Daytona Beach. Based on interviews done by Terry, our man in the stands out West, a number of fans won’t be going back to PIR because of the reconfiguration of the track. They liked it the way it was because it was a unique design and challenging to the drivers. So if ISC can’t take the hint by the empty stands at Bristol caused by the reconfiguration, what’s it going to take to get their attention about reconfiguring tracks? Totally empty grandstands?
　
Darlington Ratings Down
　
Hard to believe that one of the most exciting tracks on the schedule had its’ ratings drop. But then again, it is believable. According to the “standard start times” that were touted by NA$CAR, the night races were supposed to start at 7:00 PM. Darlington didn’t start til almost 45 minutes later. Not to mention the Ms Terry DeBris caution to bunch the field back up. No wonder folks tuned out and went to bed about 11:00 PM. Maybe if they started at the standard start time, they might have had some better ratings. So which excuse will be used this week? The economy? The price of gasoline? Or the NBA play-offs which were up 32% over last year? Take your pick.
　
North Wilkesboro Closed Again
　
After Save The Speedway put in 6 years helping to get North Wilkesboro re-opened, the track, under management of Speedway Associates Inc., has closed after 14 months of racing. SAI claims it’s due to the high front end cost of putting on the races there. I can’t say for sure since I haven’t seen the books. I know that a lot of money went into getting the scoring tower working again, walls being painted, and some of the suites being repaired. It’s a sad thing to see. It’s also strange that it happened after Save The Speedway decided to go look at some other tracks to save. Could it be that Save The Speedway was really the driving force behind getting the track re-opened and kept it going? Maybe, since several members were involved in providing support to the track and their operations. But this leads to the bigger question. Now that it’s closed again, what will Bruton do? Will he finally come down off of his $12 million asking price and sell it to somebody who will once again bring racing back to the track? Or will he let it return to rotting away like he did before? Hard to say. Only Bruton knows what Bruton will do.
　
AJ Foyt to Drive the Indy 500 Pace Car

　
It appears that animal rights activist got up in arms about The Donald driving the pace car citing something about a rare albino skunk that lives on his head and him endangering it’s life. IndyCar decided to go with the #2 best driver in 20^th century racing history AJ Foyt instead. As AJ doesn’t have any endangered species living on his body, it’s a good choice and the animal activists seem satisfied with it.
　
James Hylton Sets Record

By starting in the Busch Series race at Darlington, 76 years young James Hylton established a record as being the oldest driver to start in NASCAR’s Top 3 Series. Of course, with BSPN’s coverage, you’d never know that James was on the track or about the record he set. However, this is not the absolute record for a NA$CAR event. 84 years young Herschel McGriff holds the all-time record by running in the K&N Pro Series West at Miller Motorsports Park on April 30, 2011. Maybe this will give the Silver Fox an incentive to return to Cup racing? Speaking of the Silver Fox…
　
Pearson Not Happy With Current Rules
　
In a recent interview with Dale Jarrett, David Pearson said that NA$CAR needs to get rid of all their rules. Pearson has been one of the few former champs to be critical of what’s happened to NA$CAR in recent years and he’s not too far from wrong. There need to be safety rules but as observed by a lot of folks, the teams are in a box when it comes to innovation or getting the cars dialed in. This is due to the generic car they’re racing and the multitude of mandated parts which have made the series a high-priced version of IROC.
　
Fined & Penalty Issued
　
Rather than cite the on track actions and threats issued over the radio, NA$CAR cited the post-race pit road incident between Mr Happy and Shrubbery as the reason for a 4 week probation and $25,000 fine. Big deal. I guess it’s going to take somebody being hospitalized or killed before a serious penalty is issued. Can’t upset the car maker that owns NA$CAR or the teams’ sponsors. That means using Iron Head’s formula for payback, it’ll happen at Kansas.


Here’s what the NA$CAR VP for Racing Operations said regarding the penalty:
　
Not punishing fans, we would have issued 100k and pts penalties in past, this was mild-issued because of pit road.
　
Uh huh. And what about the folks who were scrambling on pit road because of Mr Happy‘s rolling car caused by Shrubbery pushing it into the pit wall after it was parked? Mild-mannered? Pull-ease!


Rolling Thunder Modifieds Saving Teams Money
　
Unlike NA$CAR, who every time they’re saving teams money it ends up actually costing them money, the Rolling Thunder Modifieds have a money saving solution for their competitors. They’re letting teams use the F-35 Hoosiers they got from any source to be used providing they’re scanned into the system and are deemed safe for use. Now, when was the last time NA$CAR actually saved the teams money? Way to help out the small guys Rolling Thunder. Two thumbs up.
　
Focks Bias Towards One Carmaker
　
Back when it was announce that the carmaker with it’s international headquarters in Japan was joining NA$CAR, one of the things that was done to secure their place in NA$CAR was the automaker ponying up big bucks to not only NA$CAR but also the networks. This is from a 2007 NY Post article but it gives you an idea of the money being spent on just the commercials:
　
Toyota paid at least $2 million for the TV time - the equivalent of a Super Bowl ad buy - for "Chasing Sunday: The Race to Cup," according to industry sources. Fox is part of News Corp., which also owns The Post.

While the documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at the sport, Toyota wasn't allowed to use the Nascar name or logo in the title because of Ford's sponsorship.

The TV special comes on top of the ads Toyota bought during the race - advertisers pay as much as $500,000 for a 30-second spot - and throughout the season to promote the Tundra.
The auto maker has earmarked a reported $100 million dollars to tout the 2007 Tundra, which the company has called the "most important launch in Toyota's history in the U.S." That's on top of an estimated $200 million it will spend on its Nascar effort.
The Japanese automaker's journey deep into the heartland and a beloved American sport infuriated some fans. As foreign competition forces U.S. automakers to curb ad spending, the Japanese Toyota has money to burn.

The sponsor-friendly Nascar commissioned a study to gauge fan opinion and claims 93 percent were "favorable or neutral" about Toyota entering Nextel Cup racing. "For Nascar it's about the racing product," said spokesman Andrew Giangola. "Having another manufacturer in the sport helps raise the level of competition."
I think they must’ve sampled the wrong market because of the number of complaints I’ve received over the last 4 years since the entry of Toyota into NA$CAR. I’ve probably received 93% against and 7% for or neutral.


But getting back to why Focks is biased towards the Japanese carmakers. Just look at the amount of money being spent on their TV ads. Look at who they own in the announcing booth. Is it any real wonder why the Focks broadcasts are so biased towards JGR, MWR, and other Toyota teams throughout the 3 top NA$CAR series?
　
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/item_Wjrumh7xx0KU4Saay3crPJ#ixzz1LxWeKOAv

Tax Deductions, Missing Memorabilia, HOF, & Other Stuff

Sam Ard Donations Can Be Tax Deductible

　
If you’re looking for a tax deduction for next year, you can donate to the Sam Ard Care Fund through Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) at:
　
Samuel J. Ard Care Fund
M.R.O.
Smith Tower Suite 405
555 Concord Parkway South
Concord, NC 28027

　

Ramo Stott Memorabilia Still Missing

 

　
Still no word or any leads on the Ramo Stott memorabilia that was stolen from the Stott household in Iowa. There is still a reward for the arrest and conviction of the dirt bags who stole it.
　
Spinning the Ratings Numbers
　
NA$CAR’s latest “spin” has to do with the ratings numbers. If they moved a race from one weekend to another, but there was still a race on, then the numbers are still valid. For example, if race #5 of this season is measured against race #5 of last season, then the numbers comparison should be valid. However, because the race locations may be a week earlier or later than last season, the numbers are being skewed to show that this season race at Talladega for example is up versus last year’s race even though they’re not on the same weekend. “Flip it on full spin cycle boys, we want those numbers to look good”.
　
Nielsen Media Research estimates there are 115.9 million television households in the U.S.A. "Household Rating" is an expression of the percentage of households tuned in to any show at a given time. Therefore, a 1.0 rating would equal an average of 1.159 million households were watching during the program.
　
　
2012 HOF Nominees


The announcement was made for next years HOF nominees. And once again I’ll say that Raymond Parks Jr and Red Byron should be inducted. They should’ve both been inducted in the first class. Without the financing of Raymond Parks Jr’s moonshine, Bill France Sr would’ve had to fold up his tent and gone home. In the tradition of real sports, Red Byron should’ve been inducted in the 1^st class as he was the first champion. But as this is about family oriented sports entertainment and Faux King Brian doing his best to sever the ties of moonshine and the South to the origins, revising history, and making of what was once a sport, both of them lost out.
　 　
After those two, here’s where it gets tricky. There are a lot of worthy folks on the list. The Wood Brothers who revolutionized the pit stop. Two time Grand National and American Motorcycle Association Champion Joe Weatherly. Two time champion Herb Thomas, who’s career was ended early thanks to Carl Kiekhaefer because Herb changed teams and Kiekhaefer was irate about it and had Herb intentionally taken out during a race in Shelby NC after which Herb was never quite the same. Two time Grand National champion Tim Flock who was blackballed by Bill France Sr along with Curtis Turner for trying to form a badly needed drivers’ union which is still needed today is another worthy candidate. There are some sentimental favorites for me on the list. Fireball Roberts, NASCAR’s first real superstar, who was my hero as a kid. Hometown hero Curtis Turner. NASCAR’s original Golden Boy Fred Lorenzen. Cotton Owens who was a success as both an owner and driver and was selected as one of NASCAR’s Top 50 drivers. But despite the accomplishments and contributions of some of these early legends, they won’t make it in because they don’t have the “name recognition” or “star quality” that Faux King Brian is lusting after. Some still have the heavy taint of “redneck”, “Southerner”, and “moonshine” to their names and legends which the Revisionists, PC crowd, and Faux King Brian despise so much. We have one driver who could be selected because of his ethnic background, and no, I’m not going to mention his name because that would be used by Faux King Brian‘s Diversity Program as yet another sham showpiece and actually dishonor the driver. Pick who you want and vote for them. Drop an e-mail to Dustin Long as he’s one of the voting members and let him know who you think should be in the 2012 class and why.
　
IndyCar Moving Forward
　
While the dinosaur that is NASCAR still continues on with it’s generic race vehicles and will eventually embrace 1980’s engine technology with the TBI (Throttle Body Injection) system, IndyCar is bringing in engine manufacturers who are using current, state-of-the-art engine technology and will be moving away from their generic 1980’s Dallara bodies to a variety of body styles next season. According to Autoextremist owner/writer Peter De Lorenzo, “Because the buzz at Long Beach wasn't about how great the ALMS is, it was about how many quality teams from the ALMS and Grand-Am were seriously considering giving IndyCar a shot in 2012”. This could boost the car count for IndyCar to levels where they could actually have to resort to “go or go home” qualifying procedures and hurt the Grand-Am Series, which is owned by NA$CAR, because of it‘s dwindling car counts under the “leadership“ of Jim France, Faux King Brian‘s uncle, and the real lack on interest by NA$CAR in the Grand-Am Series and the incorporation of NA$CAR‘s “techniques“ to generate artificial excitement. What’s it going to take to get NA$CAR into the 21^st Century, run relevant engine technology, and have race vehicles that actually resemble their street counterparts? A walk-out by the Big 3, which they have threatened to do if NA$CAR doesn’t get off their slower than molasses rear ends and start making the cars readily brand identifiable as either a Mustang, Challenger, or Impala.
　
Another Woman to Drive in the Indy 500
　
Conquest Racing has announced that they will be fielding a car for Pippa Mann. This means that the Indy 500 field will have 3 female racers and one female celebrity in the field. Folks don’t know it because Pippa’s not a celebrity but she was the first woman to sit on the pole at IMS and did it in the Indy Light cars. Pippa will be joined by drivers Simona De Silvestro and Ana Beatriz and female celebrity the Queen of Hype.
　
IndyCar to Bid Bye Bye to the QoH Next Season
　
It’s looking like the Queen of Hype won’t be back in the IndyCar Series next season based on what sources are telling me. She’ll be spending next season promoting her branding and marketing in NA$CAR full-time instead of the current part-time branding and marketing schedule she’s had the last two seasons. If the branding and marketing schedule on BSPN turned your stomach the last 2 seasons, just wait til next season when it‘s all Danican‘t all the time on BSPN.
　
No Problems at Talladega for Robby

Robby had his Fast 5/Speed Energy show car and souvenir hauler at Talladega and didn’t have a single problem with his show car being towed, being banned from the I$C tracks, or being accused of “ambush marketing” which is also used by a home improvement company, a car manufacturer, a certain cell phone provider who is the only one allowed thanks to the exclusivity agreement, and the “fine” folks at Focks who employ ambush marketing every time they shill for one certain auto manufacturer who owns Jabber Jaws, certain drivers who are brand names by themselves, the official fuel provider, the official tire provider, and every time they slip in a logo for the Cup and fuel provider on either the roof cam, in-car, or rear cam views with the driver‘s name and car info.
　
Speaking of which, anyone happen to notice which driver’s fans are being targeted by American Ethernol with the roof cam shots?
　
SCCA Action at Long Beach
　
In the SCCA World Challenge race at Long Beach, female driver Shea Holbrook won the Touring Car division. Joey Hand co-piloted the Team BMW RLL M3 to the ALMS GT win at Long Beach. So far he has won the Rolex 24, Sebring, and Long Beach - 3-for-3. Looks like Joey could have a banner year if this keeps up. Can or will anyone step up to the challenge?
　
US Forces Still Involved With Japanese Relief Efforts
　
About the only thing we’re hearing about now in the media is the occasional reports about the nuclear reactors that were damaged during the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan but our troops are still there helping with various relief efforts. Now that roads are re-opened, helicopter efforts launched and recovered from the USS Ronald Reagan have been scaled back. Our troops will continue to assist in the relief efforts there until the Japanese government can fully take over for our troops. Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said the U.S. aid underscored the importance of the two nations’ military alliance. “At no other time have I felt as proud of our alliance with the United States,” Kitazawa was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. So while things may be scaling back some, we’ve still got goodwill ambassadors on the ground lending a helping hand.