Six quick fixes NASCAR needs to make
Since NASCAR is soliciting ideas, I've got a few to place in the hopper.
NASCAR officials had a bull session with drivers and teams Tuesday to discuss the state of the sport. What's wrong, and how can it get better?
Well, where shall we begin? My apologies to the memory of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but allow me to tweak her poetic brilliance:
How do I help thee? Let me count the ways.
Here are half a dozen ideas worth considering:
1. More emphasis on winning
The Sprint All-Star Race proved how wild things can get up front when drivers don't have to worry about points. If winning is all that matters, they go for it.
I'm not suggesting NASCAR do away with its points system, but drivers need a bigger bonus for winning a race -- at least 50 more points for the guy who goes to Victory Lane.
And give more of the purse to the winner. If that means the rest of the field gets less, so be it.
Also, add a "win and you're in" component to making the Chase. Any driver who wins a Cup event in the first 26 races automatically makes the Chase if he stays in the top 20 in the standings.
You would have to add the top-20 addendum to make it fair. Otherwise, a driver could win the season-opening Daytona 500 and skip the rest of the regular season before the 10-race playoff begins.
NASCAR took a step in the right direction by seeding the Chase drivers based on race wins, but it isn't enough. And it wouldn't be needed if these ideas were added.
2. Allow adjustments to the new car
NASCAR has stubbornly refused to listen to the teams about things the new car needs to make it a better racing machine.
The car is virtually the same body across all makes. A generic design was implemented to try to keep the competition even. NASCAR wanted to eliminate team complaints about one model having an advantage over another.
The new car has fewer areas in which team adjustments are allowed. In other words: It is what it is; deal with it.
The idea was that racing would improve as the teams learned more about the car. But if you can't change it, how can it get significantly better?
The car still produces some snoozers on intermediate tracks, especially up front among the leaders. Minor changes are needed to increases downforce and make it easier to race side by side at some high-speed tracks.
3. Shorter races, shorter weekends
In the era of Twittering and other instantaneous messages, in which people can exchange information and change entertainment options in the blink of an eye, NASCAR greatly overestimates the attention span of the average American.
The majority of Cup events are just too darned long. Keep most races to three hours or less. Aside from the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, no race needs to go 500 miles.
Shorter races mean increased action on the track because teams feel more urgency to get to the front and stay there. And if NASCAR is serious about going green, using less fuel would send the right message.
NASCAR also should go to more two-day shows, Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday. Qualify and practice one day, race the next.
This would save teams money and lower the cost for fans who want to camp out and attend the entire weekend of activities.
4. Make qualifying meaningful
For the protected top 35 drivers each week, qualifying is a waste of time at most tracks. If it doesn't mean anything for the teams, why should it mean anything to the few fans who show up to see it?
The entire format needs changing, starting with the top-35 rule. Make your qualifying laps and take your chances. The 43 fastest cars start the race.
NASCAR is too concerned with protecting sponsors and drivers instead of trying to make qualifying interesting. Yes, you will be upset if your favorite driver fails to qualify.
If we must have some protections, give drivers ranked in the top 30 two mulligans a season in case they hit the wall or blow a tire on a qualifying lap. This rarely happens, so that's plenty.
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon uses up his two freebies and fails to qualify, too bad. But the added drama would put people in the seats to watch.
If NASCAR really wants to make it interesting, give the top three qualifiers championship points -- three for the pole, two for second and one for third.
But do something, because the way it is now isn't working.
5. Double-file restarts for lead-lap cars
After a caution, all cars on the lead lap should restart in front of the cars a lap down. The Sprint All-Star Race proved this adds excitement.
It isn't fair for a driver running 10th to restart the race behind 10 lapped cars on the inside line.
Stop allowing the lapped cars to restart up front on the inside. As long as NASCAR uses the Lucky Dog rule for a free pass back to the lead lap, lapped cars can restart in the back and still get back on the lead lap.
Allow the race leader to pick which line he wants and have the other lead-lap cars fall in place.
Cup director John Darby said last week that NASCAR is considering going to this plan.
6. Don't allow Cup drivers to compete for the Nationwide title
Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing, has a reasonable suggestion.
"Any driver who competes in the Cup race that weekend cannot earn points in the Nationwide race," Cindric said. "I think that's a fair way to do it."
NASCAR isn't building stars for the future as well as it should because current Cup stars are dominating the Nationwide Series. The series has no true identity.
Allow only non-Cup regulars to race for the Nationwide title, which would build name recognition for up-and-comers and give them a fan following before they reach the Cup level.
Better yet, add a Chase format for the Nationwide guys to race for the title down the stretch.
If NASCAR implements a few of these ideas, there will be immediate improvement.
Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. His book, "The Blount Report: NASCAR's Most Overrated and Underrated Drivers, Cars, Teams, and Tracks," was published by Triumph Books and is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy. Blount can be reached at terry@blountspeak.com.
