Is The NASCAR Schedule Too Grueling?

Is the NASCAR Cup schedule too grueling? A simple and loud NO is the answer. I have been a NASCAR fan since 1964. I have seen a few changes over the years. The NASCAR schedule had more races in the 1950's. NASCAR would sometimes be racing three or four times a week. Now only at Daytona do they race more than once a week. The current schedule is really too short. There should be between 40 and 50 races a year.

 

I have been an auto racing crew member on short tracks and the ARCA series. In Wisconsin during the summer months in the 1960's and into the 1980's the short track racers competed up to 7 times a week racing from April until October. Then some would head south and race the rest of October and into November. Others would start down south and race for a month or two before coming back to Wisconsin. All for a lot less money than the big boys were getting in NASCAR.

 

A person is not forced into racing. He or she chooses it as a career. At the top of your profession if a driver cannot practice, qualify and then race 40 or 50 times a year, they should look for another way to make money. Yes they have sponsor commitments, but they still have more time off than the people paying their wage, the race fans. And they make a ton of money more than most race fans.

 

Maybe the NASCAR championship has caused some of the problems. In the early years of NASCAR racing the emphasis was on winning and not the championship, some drivers and/or teams would only race the races they wanted to race, not the full schedule. As the emphasis switched from winning races to winning the championship, only than has the schedule been an issue.

 

The schedule is probably more grueling for the crew members than the drivers. The schedule can be more grueling for the smaller teams. The larger teams have crew members for the shop and another set for race weekend. Some even have another set for testing (now laid off due to the no testing rule). Again, few are forced into racing. They choose it because they like racing. Along with racing comes long hours, many days away from family and hard work. All of that is known up front.

 

More of a problem than the grueling schedule is the economy. Will the current economy support the current schedule or will lack of sponsorship force a cutback in the schedule? That is going to be a far larger issue in the next few years.

 

I do know one thing. If any driver thinks their schedule is too grueling, step aside. There are plenty of drivers out there that would gladly take their place. I would even jump at the chance to take their place. They just need to suck it up and race or find another way to make a living.

ARCA Racing

I have been semi-involved in an ARCA racing team for the last several years. In case you have not heard of ARCA, they are a stepping stone to NASCAR. They are also a racing series that uses the same cars as NASCAR Cup series used up until 2008. The car pictured with this post is my friend Tom Berte's race car. He has raced in ARCA over the last several years. Being on a race team at the ARCA level has given me insight on how a race team operates and what it takes to put a car on a track in race ready condition. It takes just the same amount of work to get an ARCA car ready as it does in any of the three NASCAR series. 

ARCA racing is very competitive racing. It is by far more relaxed than NASCAR. They have fewer races and travel less, but it is still intense racing. Take a look on Speed TV sometime as most of the races are broadcast. Or better yet, show up at an ARCA event. It will cost far less than NASCAR and you may see some of the future stars of NASCAR before they get a really big head.

About Me

My interest in racing began a very long time ago, not in a Galaxy far, far away, but right here in the good old USA. I have been a race fan since I moved off the Wisconsin farm, almost 50 years ago. My first stock car race I saw was at a local quarter mile dirt track in 1961, that is now paved, but still running every Saturday night during the summer in Wisconsin. I was hooked on the sounds, the close racing, the fans in the stands and V-8 rumble. Shortly after that great experience, I saw my first professional race, a USAC Indy car race at the legendary Milwaukee Mile. I wanted to see every race, but since I did not drive and my parents worked weekends, I had to depend on friends of my parents to take me to the races.

It was the summer of 1964 that I found a copy of Stock Car Racing in a hobby store and could not put it down. I purchased it and took it home to read cover to cover. I thought Fireball Roberts was the most fascinating man I had ever read about in my few years on this earth. I was hooked on NASCAR. My little HO slot car track road course was turned into an oval with 100, 200 and 400 lap races with one of the neighborhood kids. I have been a fan ever since.

Living in Wisconsin and being a race fan, you could not ignore Road America at Elkart Lake. When I finally could drive, I had to journey to the other Wisconsin legendary race track. Watching the early TransAM cars thunder down the hill into turn five was just plain spine chilling. I am not that old to have been to Road America in the early fifties to watch NASCAR race there, but I wish I could have been.

Being able to drive allowed me to travel to some of the most famous Wisconsin short tracks and others in the Midwest. There was; Wisconsin Dells, Columbus, La Crosse, Madison International, Slinger, Plover, Kaukuna, Angle Park, Rockford Speedway, just to name a few. In the Seventies and into the early eighties, you could find a stock car race 5-7 nights a week at a paved oval track someplace in Wisconsin. Drivers like Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner, Larry Detjens, and others were making a name for themselves not only in Wisconsin, but around the Midwest. The best drivers in the nation would travel to Wisconsin to race. Bobby Allison, Mark Martin, Ed Howel, and many others would make the trek to Wisconsin to race against our best. It was the golden era of short track racing.

My first NASCAR race was at Michigan International Speedway. I still can hear and feel the first time they took the green flag and 43 cars thundered down the back straight into turn three. It sill gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. Bobby Allison and Larry Peterson were my favorite drivers. The first year we did not camp and stayed at a Holiday Inn, the Wood Brothers crew (and maybe Larry Peterson too) were staying there too.

I have seen all types of racing, but over the years, stock car racing has been my favorite. I do still enjoy Road America and it's beautiful rolling hills, the great track and great track food. I still try to get to local tracks although not as often as the seventies when gas was far cheaper.

I am not just a fan that sits in front of the television. I have worked on local short track cars besides sitting in the stands. I have worked on my friend's ARCA car and have been over the wall a few times pitting his ARCA car. I have attended three stock car driving schools on the Milwaukee Mile and the FastTrack three day school at Charlotte. It took months to wipe the smile off my face after the Charlotte school.

I am not telling you all of this to brag or show off, just to give you my background to my blog and writing. I am not a resent race fan who may move on to something else when that becomes popular. I have been and will be a race fan until they close the lid on the casket.

I do have other interests other than racing. Maybe too many, but that is another story. I am married to Ann and live with two cats. I am a photographer and sell some of my prints. After the farm, I grew up in a restaurant that my parents owned, so do enjoy cooking.

Welcome To The Racing Curmudgeon

Welcome to the Racing Curmudgeon blog. I have been a racing fan for over 45 years and have just a few opinions on all types of racing. I will be posting as I have time, mostly at least weekly. I also write travel articles and am a photographer. You can see some of my photographs on my Photography Web Site: www.markbuehl.com

Thanks for stopping by and reading my racing blog.