Full Throttle

Bruton Smith is well known for many things, but one of his more endearing features is that he has built a speedway empire by always focusing on the fans and their experience. During this week’s activities on the Sprint Media Tour Presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway, the chairman of SMI held court with the heads of all eight of his racing facilities. The focus of the presentation was to announce new initiatives designed to further engage the fans, a set of goals he’s entitled “Fans First.” The program will have several components, but it is designed to further remind fans that they are the most important piece that keeps SMI together.

2012 was not a season to write home to mom about for the folks at Richard Childress Racing. For a three-car team used to competing for the postseason title, simply staying on the lead lap was the primary struggle in what came to be a year to forget. Kevin Harvick won one race, the lone victory for RCR on the Cup level and was the only driver in the stable to make the Chase. Paul Menard wrapped up the year in 16th place, virtually nonexistent at the front of the field while Jeff Burton posted just two top-5 results, both at Daytona en route to 19th in the final standings.

As the 2013 season dawns, the gang from Welcome, NC looks to turn the page and get back to the top of the heap. In the Cup Series, the driver lineup remains unchanged but it’s the mentality that has to be different.

_Attention, NASCAR fans… welcome to Throwback Thursday! Every week, from now until the start of the 2013 season we’ll be giving you, our readers the favorite stories we treasure from our writers over the past few seasons. Today we focus on Mike Neff, a short track guru who shares some NASCAR pieces that have proven meaningful to our fans through the years._

_This article originally ran in June of 2011._

There is no question that NASCAR racing, that racing in general, is much more interesting when there is rivalry and confrontation involved. Seeing drivers turn things up even another notch when they get near a driver they openly dislike gets the fans even further on the edge of their seats than they already are during a race. While drivers getting into fist fights in the garage and on pit road isn’t nearly as common now as it was in the early rough and tumble days of NASCAR, there are still personalities that mix like oil and water.

_Attention, NASCAR fans… welcome to Throwback Thursday! Every week, from now until the start of the 2013 season we’ll be giving you, our readers the favorite stories we treasure from our writers over the past few seasons. Today we focus on Mike Neff, a short track guru who shares some NASCAR pieces that have proven meaningful to our fans through the years._

_This article originally ran in December of 2011._

Almost three weeks ago, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. climbed out of his wrecked race car at Talladega after a late race wreck had ruined his day, ended his faint chances at a series title and apparently scrambled his brain. After suffering a concussion during the tire test at Kansas a few weeks earlier, and then a second one at Talladega, the most popular driver in NASCAR was left with a decision that no race car driver, or athlete for that matter, ever wants to have to face: his mortality. Suddenly, scary health news turned the iron will of a race car driver vulnerable, a future left shaky due to brain trauma that, if left untreated could leave a lifetime risk of permanent damage. So after taking that look in the mirror, Earnhardt decided to take the doctors’ advice and stay out of the car for at least two weeks. It was two of the longest weeks of his life, agony from the couch while having to watch someone else drive the No. 88. But in hindsight it was the right thing to do — for both Earnhardt and for the sport.

Sunday’s race in Kansas was a challenge for all the teams, new pavement and rough tire compounds leading to a 14-caution, 400-miler Survivor of an afternoon. No one knew the roller coaster better, though, than the top two drivers in the point battle who got caught in the crossfire. Brad Keselowski started the race mired in 25th position. Throughout the day, his team plugged along and coaxed a finish out of a car that Keselowski wasn’t supremely confident in after a qualifying run that wasn’t near his best, on the type of track that hasn’t always treated him well. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson had a car that started in the top 10, allowed him to lead the race and then deflated into a self-induced mistake that could have cost the No. 48 team a title chance. Yet as the checkered flag flew over the field, Keselowski beat Johnson to the line by only one position. As a result the drivers are still equally separated in the point standings with one fewer race to go.

Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe have been doing it to perfection all year and they’re sitting in first place in points because of it. Jimmie Johnson has almost never done it successfully, but on Saturday night he did. Denny Hamlin has had mixed results but, like Johnson, it paid off for him on Saturday night.

What is it?

The fuel mileage game.

Keselowski has been schooling the entire garage on stretching fuel all year. They’ve won races because of it and they’ve had better results because of it. That weapon, probably more than any other in their arsenal, has been the difference this season. On Saturday night, it failed them. Yes, the damage was only half a lap, leaving the car able to finish on the lead lap, but it cost this driver half of his lead on Johnson and almost half of it on Hamlin. That misstep by the No. 2 team very well be what costs them the championship when all is said and done in November.

The Cup Series point system was changed last year to make it easier for fans to understand the points earned by each driver during each race. Like many changes that are implemented in sports, there are unintended consequences that can have a lasting impact. NASCAR may or may not have wanted to reward consistency more with the new point system but, in the long run, that is exactly what has happened. Drivers who finish near the front week after week often find it more difficult to overcome the point system than drivers who have sporadic performances. Unlike the old system, top of the standings results do not carry any more weight than ones in the middle of the pack. Because of that, gaining many points on a driver who does not have a DNF is nearly impossible. As a result, the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title is down to a three horse race — even though there’s still six weeks to go.

The Chase may be a manufactured contest to try and generate additional interest in the late season races of a long NASCAR season, but one thing is for sure: the best teams in any sport will always find their way to the top of the ranks more times than they’ll finish near the bottom. Last week’s race at Chicagoland saw Denny Hamlin run out of gas late and lose a multitude of spots on the final lap while Jeff Gordon’s day was ruined by a stuck throttle. However, week two of the playoffs finds Hamlin standing in Victory Lane with a Gatorade-soaked driver suit while Gordon, sans mustache, was the third driver to cross the finish line. The reason the 12 teams who made the Chase are in contention for the title is because they were the 12 best teams in the first 26 races of the season.