It should be obvious that some efforts to fill the public's demand for entertainment need redesign. Mass marketing of competitive events has produced little new in improvement of the sports, marginal improvements in durability and quality of gear used in the sports, and a huge failing of safety for both the contestants and onlookers.

The deadly effects of team horseplay were most recently shown by the tragedy at the Daytona speedway (it will serve, IMO, as an example of the "worst ever Daytona 500"). A initial step toward reducing this high speed groupthink would be to establish a separate circuit for family-, or multi-entry team participants.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to devise a parallel playoff scenario for multi-entry teams, so to allow team members to be eliminated separately before they were put into direct competition with one another?

Sincere condolences to the familes and friends of NASCAR.
-- reensure, Feb 20 2001

I regret that the current emphasis on alliance building as the only way to win, or even survive, reduces performance based contests to Pareto efficient coin flips.
-- reensure, Feb 20 2001


This is a new one by me, reensure. Are you saying that Earnhardt was goofing around when he crashed?
-- centauri, Feb 20 2001


Not goofing around; protecting the DEI owned Chevys. Dual use of the word 'spoiler'. This is, in my view, like a jockey blocking a faster horse, a disqualification in that set.
-- reensure, Feb 20 2001


But without the possibility of high-impact flaming death car racing is just a bunch of guys driving around in circles for hours. If I wanted to watch that I'd just go down to the supermarket car park.

Earnhardt should be applauded for his sacrifice to entertainment. More people should follow his example.
-- sirrobin, Feb 21 2001


I really don't see a problem with multiple-car teams. Most of the top drivers are already on two-or-more teams.

Richard Childress, Joe Gibbs, Jack Roush, Felix Sabates, Wood Brothers, Robert Yates, Hendriks all run multiple-car teams. Advantages include more sharing of track info, and the "blocking" advantages that Dale Sr. exhibited.

As for sirrobin's comment, I don't think you'll find more exciting racing anywhere. IMO, F1 and Indy are "driving" circuits, Winston Cup is the epitome of racing. Nothing comes closer (physically and metaphorically) to real competition behind the wheel.
-- Wes, Feb 26 2001



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