Photo by ASP, Inc.

2012 surprises, tips for the track and listening to NASCAR on SiriusXM Radio

by Dustin Long

A weekend without racing didn’t mean that the Backseat Drivers Fan Council had a break. While offering opinions throughout the season, the Backseat Drivers Fan Council also is here to help fans with tips this week on how to make your experience at the track better.

And oh yes, the Fan Council also is weighing in on a few subjects, including the biggest surprise this season.

TIPS TO MAKE THE RACE MORE ENJOYABLE
With many of the Backseat Drivers Fan Council veterans of numerous races, I asked them what they would tell someone going to the track that they should do to make that event more enjoyable. 

Here’s what Fan Council members said:

• Camp... pretty much any track. Camp at least once and walk around; meet and get to know other campers/NASCAR fans. Will meet some of the best people and greatest fans around camping at a NASCAR track. Have met folks over the years that will be lifelong friends and my first time was on a whim at the invite of another friend.

• I would tell any fan going to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to go to the infield and visit the museum along with sitting in turn one during practice or qualifying. The speed is amazing and the sound reverberates off the stands. It's like sitting at the old Yankee Stadium or other places similar.

• 1. The museum at Darlington. 2. Go to a Tweetup! 3. Hit a local short track on Friday night and see where these guys got their starts!

• Pit passes at least once in your life.

• Experience a night race, day races are great but night races have a whole different vibe to them.

• Going to the Driver introductions. It costs extra at most tracks but it is well worth it! Being on the track so close to the drivers, the national anthem and the flyover is incredible from right on the track. 

• Go to Jeff Gluck Tweetup. Jeff enjoys meeting the fans & he usually has a surprise.

• When at RIR take an extra day to visit the places of historical interest around the central VA region, the museum of the Confederacy, The Wilderness battlefield, Seven Pines, Tredegar, the state Capitol, St. John's Church, Monticello.

• Eating at Ridgewood BBQ about a mile from Bristol Motor Speedway is a must, if you don’t mind the wait obviously. 

• Get a scanner to listen to the drivers. Very entertaining.

• Be prepared to have a long wait after the race to leave the parking area. Just pull out the grill, cook some food and enjoy some cool drinks. After an hour or so you will be able to leave and so you will be behind the cars that left as soon as the race was over. A lot less stress this way & saves gas.

• You have to do the No Limits celebration at Texas. Eddie Gossage knows how to throw a party and entertain people. He always has drivers there and the music and food is awesome. 

• Stand with your face on the fence in Turn Four at Daytona when the cars are coming by. Absolutely amazing. 

• At Dover, be sure to go a little south and east to see the Delaware Bay and some of the beach communities like Rehoboth and Lewes which are less than hour away. Also some of the best birding in the country is within 15 minutes of the track at Bombay Wildlife and other Wildlife Preserves nearby.

• Since I'm a “people watcher,” I think the hidden gem is studying the fans. Big, small, skinny, fat, half-dressed, over-dressed, beer-swilling, pretzel-stuffing, you name it. It's a study in Americana at the best _ and sometimes the worst. Yet, when standing for the invocation, they take off their hats, they sing along (thankfully at times) with the musical artist struggling with the national anthem, and they erupt in joyous shouts as the jets roar overhead.

Photo by ASP, Inc.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THIS SEASON?

26.3 percent said Michael Waltrip Racing having all three cars in the top 10 in owners points
22.2 percent said Kasey Kahne 31st in the driver point standings
13.7 percent said Jimmie Johnson and his team having most of their Daytona penalties overturned on appeal
11.3 percent said Hendrick Motorsports winless in the first six races
7.8 percent said Jeff Gordon 21st in the driver point standings
7.5 percent said Dale Earnhardt Jr. second in the driver point standings
4.1 percent said Greg Biffle leading the driver point standings
4.1 percent said Other
2.4 percent said five different winners in the first six races
0.7 percent said no major feuds so far this season

What Fan Council members said:

• This was a tough question to pick just one answer. Dale Jr. 2nd in points, MWR having all three cars in the top 10, Biffle leading points and the 48’s penalties being overturned are all kind of neck in neck.

• I still can’t believe they gave the points back...

• None of the listed options... it was Kevin Harvick announcing DeLana’s pregnancy.

• Poor Kasey, if he didn't have bad luck he wouldn't have any luck at all. I believe he can pull out of his slump, but not sure he will make it in the Chase unless he finds himself in Victory Lane a few times.

• I thought the sport as a whole was going to build on the momentum from a great 2011 season, but to me the opposite has happened and it just feels kind of flat now.

• Tony Stewart picking up 2 wins before the thermometer hits triple digits, If you called that one, then I need you to tell me this week’s winning lottery numbers.

• I think it’s great what MWR has accomplished, their drivers are getting to be 'must' picks instead of risky picks in the weekly fantasy pools. I'm happy for Mikey to begin to see some success. I think they'll soon be somewhat regular visitors to Victory Lane.

• Lack of phantom debris cautions. I was shocked NASCAR has let them go on so many long green runs.

• My biggest surprise is Bristol and Burton Smith announcing that he will change the track.

• Truly, it could be any of these, but for the Hendrick cars to be so incredibly fast and not have the results because of wrecks, blown engines and others’ bad driving just seals it for me.

• Five different winners in the first six races seals the deal as the biggest surprise of the season and we will see more.

ARE YOU LISTENING?
Recently, SiriusXM announced that its NASCAR Channel was being made available to listen to online. Fan Council members were asked if they were listening more to the channel since that announcement.

51.4 percent said they don’t have SiriusXM
32.2 percent said No
16.4 percent said Yes

What Fan Council members said:

• They charge extra $$$ to listen online. Not worth it!!

• Have SiriusXM in my car and at home. Can’t listen to it work or I would be fired.

• I had my SiriusXM subscription before, but am thrilled I won’t miss any of the action at work. I can listen to it on my phone even. I'm so excited to have full time access!!!

• Love it!! Now I don't have to sit in my car in the morning to keep up with Bagley and Pistone.

• Haven’t reactivated yet. Need $.

• THANK HEAVEN & it’s about time!!! Love listening anywhere!!!

• I listen every day now. I spend 75% of my time at home on computer working and have it running in background. Used to only listen when I was in one of my cars.

• A little irritated that I had to purchase a radio and Premium plan but I just have some kind of feeling about this year and I have increased my NASCAR spending to include more races and SiriusXM, etc.

• I bought the service with great expectations but the callers who persist in contacting every show and spewing the exact same monologue have made listening often tedious. I'm not interested in any more of that.

• Still refuse to pay for radio

• I’ve been asking for this for years. I can’t get reception at home or at work so I'm relegated to listening only in my car. Good thing I have a horribly long commute!

Fans can join the Backseat Drivers Fan Council by sending Dustin an email at dustinlong002@gmail.com.

Please include the following information:
Name, city, state, Twitter name, e-mail address and favorite driver.
 

Bristol Motor Speedway (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

by Dustin Long

Everybody is waiting.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Bruton Smith said that he would order changes to Bristol Motor Speedway’s track surface after a sharp decline in attendance for the spring race and an increase in fan complaints about the racing. Yet Smith has yet to announce what those changes will be made before NASCAR returns to the half-mile track in a little more than four months.

“I think it would be incredible if they paved the track asphalt,’‘ Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I am not sure if that would work out but it would be awesome to try it.’’

Any changes to Bristol’s surface before the August race will mean the Cup Series will race at four tracks that have been changed since last season. Kansas Speedway is set to be repaved after its race later this month. Michigan has been repaved and drivers nearly topped 215 mph at a recent Goodyear tire test there. Pocono Raceway also has been repaved and has Goodyear tire test scheduled for April 24-25.

While some drivers are thrilled that Smith will change Bristol — count Kevin Harvick among that group who says, “It’s about time,’’ — Denny Hamlin wonders if the tires should be changed for Bristol instead of the track.

“If you look at Bristol, it had the least amount of fall off of any tire that we had during this year,’’ Hamlin said. “I think you start off around 16.40 fast time (seconds per lap) and you ended 100 laps later running 16.90s. That's just not enough fall off.

“You have to have overtaking and to have overtaking, you have to have cars that are running faster than others. If you look at any point during a Bristol race, everyone's running the same exact speed and you're not going to have any overtaking. You're not going to have any wrecks because no one's running close to each other to wreck.

“Back in the day when people used to lap the whole field and no one complained about the racing, it's because overtaking was happening. Cars were getting passed. You could watch your guy move from 15th to wherever up to the front. Now, it's like he's got to make all the room, all the space up in the first five laps of a restart and then he sits there for the rest of the run. That's because we don't have enough fall-off. 

“It's a tough job to make a tire that does that and will live and ultimately not put our safety at risk of blowing tires. Really, Goodyear has made tires that are idiot proof now. We can't abuse them enough to blow them out. That's why you don't see the passing that we used to have."

Even with Smith’s declaration of change, as Carl Edwards notes, it doesn’t guarantee that things will be better.

“The thing that makes me nervous for Bruton and those guys is to spend all this money to change something and then it may not yield the result that you want,’’ Edwards said. “I think that’s the risk they take, but Bruton Smith seems like he doesn’t mind taking risks and going for it. If it works out like most things he does, it’ll probably work, but I give him a ton of credit for saying he’s gonna change this and make an adjustment.’’

It’s just a matter of what Smith will do.

BACK AT ROCKINGHAM   It’s not often that you see NASCAR return to a venue it left, but the Camping World Truck Series will compete Sunday at Rockingham Speedway. It marks the return of NASCAR since the Cup series last raced there in Feb. 2004.

NASCAR is back because of the work of track owner Andy Hillenburg, a former racer. He’s spent the money to update the facilities and add SAFER barriers to the track.

Now it’s up to the fans to determine if NASCAR returns to Rockingham after this race. If attendance is strong and shows potential, then maybe a Nationwide race can be added at some point. Just don’t expect the Cup Series to return there. With Cup races in Darlington, Charlotte, Martinsville and Bristol, the region has enough Cup events. 

If that’s not good enough, then fans have to ask themselves if they would rather see some NASCAR racing at the track or see as much NASCAR racing as there is at North Wilkesboro?

NASCAR is giving the track and fans a second chance. Will fans take NASCAR up on it and show that the track deserves more races?

Jeff Burton (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

A DRIVER’S TRACK?   There’s often the discussion about what is a driver’s track — or at least why some tracks might be considered a driver’s track. Jeff Burton, though, has his own take on the subject.

“Wherever a driver is good at that is what he thinks is a driver’s race track,’’ Burton said. “He thinks that is where drivers matter. The fact of the matter is that drivers matter everywhere. And the cars matter everywhere. You can’t take apart the car and the driver and say “it’s this or it’s that’.

“The reason why is to get the car to do what it needs to do, the driver has to be part of that. The way he drives the car, how he drives the car, and how he communicates with the team. All those things go into making a good racecar, and all those things go into making a good set up. So that communication with the team along with the driver is vital. You really can’t separate it.’’

PIT STOPS  In his last two races, Jeff Gordon started 21st at Auto Club Speedway and climbed to fourth before pit road issues, including a penalty that led to a 26th-place finish in the rain-shortened event. Then, Gordon led a race-high 329 laps, lost the lead on a restart and ran out of fuel and finished 14th at Bristol. ... Kevin Harvick has an average finish of 9.0 in the first six races. It’s the second-best start of his career. He had an average finish of 7.83 in 2008. ... Kurt Busch will drive for younger brother Kyle’s Nationwide team in Friday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s the first time Kurt has driven for Kyle in NASCAR. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. also is doing double-duty at Texas Motor Speedway. He’ll drive in Friday night’s Nationwide race and Saturday night’s Cup race. It’s the first time he’s run in both events at Texas since 2009.

Follow Dustin on Twitter: @dustinlong
 

The future of Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is uncertain. Although Petrino sports an impressive 34-17 record in four seasons with the Razorbacks, he could be in danger of losing his job, after lying to athletic director Jeff Long about the details of his motorcycle wreck last week.