Something remarkable happened a couple weeks ago during the Bristol Cup race. As such, I feel compelled to remark upon it since I am able.
Tyler Reddick finished fourth that evening. Chris Buescher finished eighth. Ryan Preece finished ninth, his best Cup finish to date this year. Michael McDowell left Bristol with a solid top-10 finish as well. But you might not have known that, because if any of those drivers were shown on TV during the race broadcast, it was either by accident or I missed it. None of those four drivers were among the 16 drivers who started at Bristol that evening eligible to mathematically advance into NASCAR’s all-singing, all-dancing playoffs.
The hilarity continued at Las Vegas Sunday evening. Matt DiBenedetto actually finished second. Had he won, there would have been wailing and gnashing of teeth inside the NBC trailer on site. They have prepared a script for the rest of the season that only focuses on the playoff contenders, as if the other 30 or so drivers also running out there have ceased to exist.
The Law of Conservation of Matter says those drivers couldn’t have simply just disappeared. 5-foot-10, 180-pound men can’t do that even if they learn to wiggle their noses like Samantha on Bewitched and plant their hands jauntily on their hips. Even if they could, what of the very loud 3,400-pound masses of metal and chromium steel they were piloting at the time they went missing? Well, OK, I guess there isn’t much chrome left on Cup cars these days, but I will say this: If you’ve never spent a hot summer Saturday afternoon using a can of DuPont No. 7 chrome polish to return the front bumper of your Mach One to a mirror-like sheen, you probably wasted your adolescence. When last seen, those fast, loud cars Preece et al were driving were liberally festooned with sponsorship decals. We’ll get back to that shortly.
After Bristol, four more drivers are in great danger of becoming invisible as well. Ryan Blaney, DiBenedetto, William Byron and Cole Custer failed to earn enough points to advance to the next round of the playoffs. If the process hasn’t started already, we need to do a rush job to get those four drivers faces printed on “MISSING” milk cartons. You won’t be seeing much of them going forward during NASCAR’s playoff TV broadcasts even if they do happen to run toward the front like DiBenedetto did Sunday. For the record, non-playoff contenders Blaney (finished seventh), Erik Jones (finished eighth) and Buescher (finished ninth) also managed largely unheralded top-10 results Sunday.
Their chances of a non-playoff driver winning a race are greatly hindered by NASCAR’s edict that all drivers who are still playoff eligible get to start ahead of those drivers no longer in contention for the title and to pick their pit stalls before the “also-rans” as well. In the absence of real qualifying sessions where a driver’s skill and sheer desire can earn him a starting spot up front, that’s how it’s done. Handing those drivers the prime starting spots and pit stalls seems like another instance of NASCAR giving to the rich and taking from the poor. So what you’re saying is the best 12 drivers and teams currently in the sport perhaps couldn’t pass the teams and drivers that are typically running slower this season if forced to start from the rear? Gotcha. I’m beginning to form a notion on why there’s so little on-track passing in Cup racing this year. It can be done. I’ve seen it happen with my very own two eyes. Kyle Busch was forced to start at the rear of that Bristol race and finished second after having led 159 laps. Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night …
So in a roundabout way, what I’ve been saying is that NBC doesn’t show the drivers and cars that aren’t part of the championship chase, the playoffs or whatever they want to call it these days (and amusingly enough, whether the ‘P’ in playoffs is capitalized if that’s the term that’s used).
In fact, the Wood Brothers No. 21 team has until late this week to let DiBenedetto know if he’ll be back with the team next season. One might assume his strong performance Sunday earned him a second season with the storied team.
What’s at stake here is drivers’ careers and the continued existence of some of the sport’s smaller teams. If you’ve been shopping at this five and dime a while reading my columns, we’ve talked about Joyce Julius and her magic numbers before. How does a sponsor decide whether the marketing dollars they spent on backing a NASCAR team that weekend was well spent or wasted?
Well, Ms. Joyce and her associates watch each race second by second. (Likely in super-slow-mo videotape.) They look at how long each sponsor’s logos are shown “clearly and in focus.” They add together those seconds and they turn into minutes in some instances. Whatever the total is for each team and sponsor, they then compare that to what the network that presented the race charged per minute for regular ads during the broadcast.
Let’s say a driver ran up front and he got three full minutes of broadcast time with his sponsor’s logo shown clearly and in focus. That sponsor paid the team $200,000 to run those decals for that event. The network would have charged $100,000 (to keep the numbers easy, though entirely fictional) a minute to buy ads during the broadcast, so three minutes of ads would have cost the sponsor $300,000. The sponsor got a good value for his marketing money spent on racing that weekend. Of course, the next weekend his driver Ralph D. Squirrel might crash out on the first lap and that luckless sponsor could have his logos shown clearly and in focus for only five seconds. At the same ad and sponsorship rate, that’s a disaster.
A driver’s best bet is to run better than expected up toward the front where he becomes an integral part of the story of the unfolding event. Or should be. I forget how many years ago it’s been, but Pepsi was the big sponsor of that year’s Firecracker 400. TNT (remember those guys?) had the broadcast that night. And they weren’t going to show any of the Coca-Cola sponsored drivers even if they took the lead or rolled the length of the front straightaway upside down and in flames. It was equal parts enraging and amusing to watch. (If it helps you to place what year it was, that was the same night KFC debuted their ad featuring granddad and grandson arguing over which side order to get with their chicken: mac and cheese or mashed taters with gravy. And it appeared like the two were seconds away from fists flying, so heated was the debate. Dad, that merry prankster, had gone ahead and picked up both sides but wanted them to fight a while longer before springing the surprise. Bastard. Pepsi, as it turns out, owns KFC and Taco Hell, so they were splurging that race.) That damn KFC ad ran at least a dozen times during that race.
But the most remarkable part of the disappearing drivers mystery involves one James “Jimmie” Johnson. Johnson was made for TV sports. If he hadn’t been born the networks would have had to create him. Young (back then), good-looking and talented, Johnson once won races so routinely another victory barely raised a bushy eyebrow. What was that song George Harrison wrote? “All Those Years Ago” …
After seven titles and 83 wins, Johnson certainly earned his right to be part of the discussion during race broadcasts on various networks. But some broadcasters laid it on a bit thick, all but singing love sonnets to Johnson as the cameras seemed hypnotized by the image of the No. 48 car rolling around lap after lap. It was Jimmie Johnson’s world. The rest of us just lived here.
But apparently even immortality is only fleeting these days. The start of the 2020 season (which now seems a very, very, long time ago) started off with the expected tributes to Johnson, who had announced that this year would be his last full-time season in the Cup Series. But as the winless streak lengthened to once unimaginable lengths, the summer heated up and the West Coast burned down, Johnson was featured less and less during race broadcasts. With the arguable exceptions of Dover and Martinsville, Johnson rarely seemed to have a dog in the hunt at this year’s races. In this “what have you done for me lately?” era it’s always best to accept the “lovely parting gifts” when they’re offered rather than to hang on hoping there will be cake and ice cream later.
And during the Bristol race we’re discussing here, Johnson had to wreck another driver on lap 30 to have his car shown on TV. My how the mighty have fallen. If Johnson can become invisible any other driver can as well. Gather ye rosebuds while you may …
Author’s Note: Since we’re talking about the business side of racing, soda pops and treats, there was some surprising news on the NHRA front this week. Longtime title sponsor Coca-Cola decided they were leaving the sport. Coke has been using drag racing to promote their Mello Yello brand for years. Yet they decided to exit immediately despite a title sponsor contract that runs through 2023. The NHRA alleges Coke stiffed them on a $2.86 million sponsorship check that was due in May. The NHRA sued Coke this week. Over the years I’ve found there’s no situation, personal, professional or corporate, so bad that it can’t be made worse by taking the matter to court.
Into the fray strode one Marcus Lemonis. NASCAR fans know him as the fellow who owns Camping World, the sponsor of the truck series. (Right now it’s marketed under Gander Mountain, but it goes back to Camping World next year). In a highly public Twitter message, Lemonis told the NHRA to contact him personally. He’d be interested in discussing sponsoring their racing series. Presumably in addition to the Truck Series, not instead of it. But you never can tell.
Did NASCAR recently add a new hire from IndyCar to the control tower? You’ll recall that IndyCar got some praise from purists but a lot more flak from fans for letting this year’s Indy 500 end under caution. I’m wondering why the red flag wasn’t thrown at Vegas Sunday night after the final wreck and the race ended with a green/white/checkered. Had the red flag been thrown, drivers who had lost a ton of positions when the caution flew at an awkward time would have had some laps to get some of those spots back. (How many it’s tough to say. NBCSN’s scoring pylon displayed conflicting information, but it would have been four or five laps.) And I’d argue it would have been a safer finish as well. With a GWC finish, a driver is going to go for it. I may not make it by cleanly. I probably won’t make it by without causing a big wreck, but it’s now or never.
Back in the day, some NASCAR races were allowed to end under caution too. Perhaps the most notable case was the 1998 Daytona 500, where the caution flew just as Dale Earnhardt passed Bobby Labonte en route to his first Daytona 500 win after a long series of mis-happenstances for Earnhardt on February afternoons at Daytona. There was no way Earnhardt wasn’t going to get that win in the kickoff to NASCAR’s much ballyhooed 50th Anniversary season.
Matt joined Frontstretch in 2007 after a decade of race-writing, paired with the first generation of racing internet sites like RaceComm and Racing One. Now semi-retired, he submits occasional special features while his retrospectives on drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, and other fallen NASCAR legends pop up every summer on Frontstretch. A motorcycle nut, look for the closest open road near you and you can catch him on the Harley during those bright, summer days in his beloved Pennsylvania.
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Had a 72 Mach One… biggest Mustang I think they ever made. Restored it myself. True but embarrassing story… I was young and poor and stupid and lived in”Famously Hot” Columbia, SC. The Mach One, my only car at the time, had no A/C, so I sold it to a car collector and bought a Ford Tempo. I repeat… a. Ford Tempo. Like I said, I was stupid. To add insult to injury, the teenaged son of the guy I sold the Mustang to snuck off in it one night and totaled it.
To be honest, Johnson would probably rather us not watch him this year. 2020 has been awful for us all, but it’s been a nightmare for Jimmie. My guess is that he can’t wait for his final season to end so that he can walk away and never come back (I call that pulling a Harry Gant). I’m okay with not focusing on the also-rans during a race, but when they manage to make it into the top 15 or so, I’d like to see them get the recognition they deserve. Unfortunately, that rarely happens, and the only time we hear about the non-playoff drivers is when they get in Kyle Busch’s way.
Not focusing on anyone but the playoff drivers are not good for those drivers, their sponsors, or the sport. They are blind if they don’t see that. If NASCAR was smart, an oxymoron if ever there were one, they would make part of their TV contract that they must do a “through the field” type segment every week that includes the entire field at least once during the broadcast (no matter the sponsor), It is in everyone’s best interest to keep a full field and keeping sponsors happy is the first step. This is one of the reasons that the loss of qualifying is not good either. Not only does it take away the only chance most non-chase drivers have to get the spotlight on them for a few seconds while they run their qualifying laps, but it also takes away the only way they have of forcing themselves into the conversation during the race if only for the first couple of laps. Not good for the overall health of the sport.
BTW, when talking about Jimmie Johnson, another GH title comes to my mind, “All Things Must Pass”.
Totally agree…still remember Jimmy Means and the Alka Seltzer car, and how it was mentioned that way during the introductions, racing, and crashing. Also a time of great announcing and camera work that actually showed a race.
Couldn’t agree more. I hope Nascar at least lets cars qualify next season. frontloading the starting lineup with the op teams tends to make for a boring race. Not covering ALL the cars on the field also makes it difficult to stay invested in the race when you only know what 12 drivers are doing’
I noticed on Sunday that rather than do the traditional style of “Through the Field” they started with Hamlin, who convieniently enough was leading, than moved on not to the next driver in sequence to the next of the 12 drivers still playoff eligible than the next playoff contender, skipping over any non-playoff drivers entirely. Not sure if that will continued this weekend. And don’t even get me started on the “pylon” to the right of the screen divided into three segments. The top part showed the top 10. The bottom part showed “points as they run now focusing on the cut off line and the middle part showed the rest of the field in ten car increments. Only it was tough to read those names because they were in a dull gray text rather than the white letters the top 10 were shown in. And I have a really big TV though I am of course old and my eyesight ain’t what it used to be. A lot of viewers are in the same boat with their eyesight. I just wanted to see how far back into the field KyBu had fallen after his mishap and if he was moving forward through the field or continuing to fall. It took like ten minutes to get that info. I prefer the traditional scroll either at the top of the screen of the bottom.
If anyone is interested in the 1983 ASA 200 at the Milwaukee mile here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3mcBoOP7c4
The lineup includes Jim Sauter, DW, Alan Kulwicki, Dick Trickle, Rusty Wallace, Butch Miller, Mike Eddy, Bobby Allison, Joe Ruttman, David Pearson, Gary Balough, Bob Senneker, Mark Martin, Mike Miller, Jody Ridley, Davey Allison, Don Gregory, andRick Carelli. Guess who wins? And John Potts in in there too.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane… The year was 2006 and it was the third year of NASCAR’s 10-driver Chase format. Besides Jimmie Johnson clinching his first title, two noteworthy things happened. First is the fact that half of the Chase races were won by drivers who weren’t in championship contention (Tony Stewart won 3, with Brian Vickers and Greg Biffle each netting 1 win apiece). The second significant thing was the qualifying grid for the season finale at Homestead Miami, which initially saw 56 cars enter, and according to the broadcast, it was the biggest entry list since Daytona Speedweeks that year. Now there were admittedly many more single-car backmarkers that missed a large portion of the races that they entered (the 2009 recession solved that problem), but also entered were drivers like Scott Wimmer and Juan Pablo Montoya (who had one-race deals with big teams), as well as part-time entries from DEI and Roush Racing (Paul Menard and Todd Kluever).
The Daytona 500 is regarded as “NASCAR’s Superbowl” because it is the biggest race of the season, but the true Superbowl equivalent is NASCAR’s championship race. Even though times were different in the mid-2000s, it does not seem coincidental that part-time teams have slowly but surely decided to avoid the championship race entirely, because ever since the current format was introduced, the only way for a non-Final-Four driver to get noticed at this race is to either lead or crash. Sure bringing an additional entry to this race might be too much of a burden for a small team, but what, for example, stopped Joe Gibbs from bringing a rookie car to Miami in 2016 for Erik Jones? Sponsors are becoming selective, and no charter or TV exposure means that even our championship race has no value to sponsors.
In my mind, unless NASCAR does something about the issue you describe Matt, what’s been happening at Miami (and now, likely at Pheonix) will begin happening at all Playoff races going forward. I’d recommend that NASCAR reverts eliminated playoff drivers’ points back to where they were during the regular season so that the drivers from 17th and back have a reason to compete that’s beyond the proverbial “racing for pride”. Perhaps we may even see more non-Playoff winners this way. If not, I wouldn’t be surprised if small teams are forced to sit out the entire Playoff going forwards, or if the primary sponsors of large teams introduce clauses that will allow them to pay teams less money if the cars they sponsor don’t make or get eliminated from the playoffs. NBC also has to get its act together.
“… or if the primary sponsors of large teams introduce clauses that will allow them to pay teams less money…”,
I’d bet there are already such clauses in some contracts.
I feel NBC has the worst coverage there is!! I agree, there are othere drivers in the field doing good things for themselves and their sponsors but you never hear about them. I wish FOX or someone else had the broadcast. I watch with the volume off.
As I said in the past. NBC HAS THE WORST ANNOUNCERS IN THE HISTORY OF NASCAR BROADCASTS. I cannot watch the telecasts. I assure you, I’m not in the minority. WAKE UP NASCAR GET RID OF THE NBC BUMBS