pandr
07-30-2011, 06:04 PM
NASCAR's media boosters ought to know better
TOM HIGGINS’ SCUFFS
By Tom Higgins - ThatsRacin Contributor
Friday, Jul. 22, 2011
During this lull in the action, with NASCAR's top series taking a rare weekend off, several thoughts occur to me.
Among them:
Comparisons just don't add up
It’s quite obvious that Kyle Busch has immense ability on the track.
But to compare this relative newcomer’s record to those of such NASCAR legends as Richard Petty and David Pearson – as some in the media are doing – is absurd.
Busch recently achieved the 100-victory plateau, an accomplishment that was widely ballyhooed.
A total of 22 of these triumphs have come in events at NASCAR's top level. He has scored 49 wins in the Nationwide Series and 29 on the pickup truck circuit, both lower-tier tours.
So it’s ludicrous to elevate Busch to the level of Petty and Pearson, as a few are attempting to do. Petty lists 200 victories at NASCAR's highest level, Pearson 105.
In terms of big-time victories, there are 27 drivers with more triumphs than Busch.
So the 100-win stuff for Busch would be laughable if it weren't so misleading to some fans, readers and TV viewers.
If all NASCAR wins were added up, a lot of drivers would have well over 100 and be well ahead of Busch. Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dick Trickle, Ned Jarrett, Jack Ingram and Ray Hendrick come immediately to mind.
Seems to me some of the people boosting Busch’s figures don’t know their NASCAR history.
Is equating Busch’s record to those of Petty and Pearson out in left field?
It’s out of the park, and a foul ball at that.
Adding Busch’s Nationwide and Truck series wins to those in Cup and suggesting he has 100 major victories would be like professional baseball tacking on a player's minor league statistics to those they have achieved in the majors.
With his talent and a lot of seasons probably before him, Busch just might reach the 100 victory mark in stock car racing’s big time.
But right now he’s got a long way to go.
How low can they go?
Some Cup promoters are guilty of gross hypocrisy.
They preach driver safety in pious spiels. Then they turn around and air TV commercials hyping ticket sales with the blazing, violent wreck footage.
It’s a blatant appeal to the lowest element of their fan base, those who go to races hoping to see crashes.
These commercials fall only a little bit short of crassly airing hospital reports on injured drivers and even death certificates.
Why not use footage of incredibly close, exciting finishes instead?
Kentucky fiasco and fine print
NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. have a crisis of massive colossal proportions on their hands because of the traffic debacle in Kentucky on July 9.
Thousands of fans were unable to reach the inaugural Cup Series 400-miler at Kentucky Speedway when highways leading to the track became snarled.
There appeared to be combined breakdowns in the state’s traffic management and a lack of parking at the track.
A top SMI official, Marcus Smith, has offered fans who didn’t reach the race complimentary tickets to future Kentucky races or events at other SMI tracks, including Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But what of fans who want their money back, not replacement tickets?
No deal.
Asked why SMI wouldn’t return fans’ money, the organization’s famous founder and billionaire boss man Bruton Smith replied, “Because we don’t want to.”
The Kentucky fiasco is a public relations disaster for NASCAR and SMI. Big-time stock car racing attendance already is down alarmingly. Ditto for TV viewership.
Alienating fans further at this time should be the last thing the sport’s leaders risk.
I’m aware that the fine print on tickets for years has contained all sorts of disclaimers against refunds for tickets. Many of these referred to “Acts of God.”
Far as I know none of them have disclaimers against acts of states or man.
C/P Thats Racin
TOM HIGGINS’ SCUFFS
By Tom Higgins - ThatsRacin Contributor
Friday, Jul. 22, 2011
During this lull in the action, with NASCAR's top series taking a rare weekend off, several thoughts occur to me.
Among them:
Comparisons just don't add up
It’s quite obvious that Kyle Busch has immense ability on the track.
But to compare this relative newcomer’s record to those of such NASCAR legends as Richard Petty and David Pearson – as some in the media are doing – is absurd.
Busch recently achieved the 100-victory plateau, an accomplishment that was widely ballyhooed.
A total of 22 of these triumphs have come in events at NASCAR's top level. He has scored 49 wins in the Nationwide Series and 29 on the pickup truck circuit, both lower-tier tours.
So it’s ludicrous to elevate Busch to the level of Petty and Pearson, as a few are attempting to do. Petty lists 200 victories at NASCAR's highest level, Pearson 105.
In terms of big-time victories, there are 27 drivers with more triumphs than Busch.
So the 100-win stuff for Busch would be laughable if it weren't so misleading to some fans, readers and TV viewers.
If all NASCAR wins were added up, a lot of drivers would have well over 100 and be well ahead of Busch. Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dick Trickle, Ned Jarrett, Jack Ingram and Ray Hendrick come immediately to mind.
Seems to me some of the people boosting Busch’s figures don’t know their NASCAR history.
Is equating Busch’s record to those of Petty and Pearson out in left field?
It’s out of the park, and a foul ball at that.
Adding Busch’s Nationwide and Truck series wins to those in Cup and suggesting he has 100 major victories would be like professional baseball tacking on a player's minor league statistics to those they have achieved in the majors.
With his talent and a lot of seasons probably before him, Busch just might reach the 100 victory mark in stock car racing’s big time.
But right now he’s got a long way to go.
How low can they go?
Some Cup promoters are guilty of gross hypocrisy.
They preach driver safety in pious spiels. Then they turn around and air TV commercials hyping ticket sales with the blazing, violent wreck footage.
It’s a blatant appeal to the lowest element of their fan base, those who go to races hoping to see crashes.
These commercials fall only a little bit short of crassly airing hospital reports on injured drivers and even death certificates.
Why not use footage of incredibly close, exciting finishes instead?
Kentucky fiasco and fine print
NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. have a crisis of massive colossal proportions on their hands because of the traffic debacle in Kentucky on July 9.
Thousands of fans were unable to reach the inaugural Cup Series 400-miler at Kentucky Speedway when highways leading to the track became snarled.
There appeared to be combined breakdowns in the state’s traffic management and a lack of parking at the track.
A top SMI official, Marcus Smith, has offered fans who didn’t reach the race complimentary tickets to future Kentucky races or events at other SMI tracks, including Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But what of fans who want their money back, not replacement tickets?
No deal.
Asked why SMI wouldn’t return fans’ money, the organization’s famous founder and billionaire boss man Bruton Smith replied, “Because we don’t want to.”
The Kentucky fiasco is a public relations disaster for NASCAR and SMI. Big-time stock car racing attendance already is down alarmingly. Ditto for TV viewership.
Alienating fans further at this time should be the last thing the sport’s leaders risk.
I’m aware that the fine print on tickets for years has contained all sorts of disclaimers against refunds for tickets. Many of these referred to “Acts of God.”
Far as I know none of them have disclaimers against acts of states or man.
C/P Thats Racin