Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Taken for a Ride in Austin

Austin's attempt to regulate ride-sharing services has - as always happens when government interferes in the market - blown up in its face.


On May 29, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a law creating a statewide regulatory framework governing ridesharing services. The impetus for the law was clear—overriding the city of Austin’s onerous ordinances that prompted the sector’s leaders, Uber and Lyft, to stop operating in the state capital last year.
In the few weeks since Uber and Lyft returned to Austin, the results speak for themselves. RideAustin, one of the more popular local ridesharing services that popped up when the big guns left, saw its ridership plummet 62 percent. “One element that we routinely hear, of course, is that we are more expensive than Uber/Lyft and this is the No. 1 criteria for many riders,” RideAustin noted in a Facebook post. “As a result, we are now going to match Uber/Lyft mile/minute pricing.” Another service, Fare, announced it was abandoning Austin altogether rather than try to compete.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Inhumanity Thy Name Is Social Just Us

The young man held over a year in the hellhole that is North Korea has died, yet Otto Warmbier is treated with disgusting scorn by leftists - yet another showcase of the inhumanity that is Leftism.  Another shows in the kid gloves treatment of Leftist and killer James Hodgkinson, who shot at US politicians during practice for a celebrity softball game - and did so in the name of Bernie Sanders - and may have actually been enabled directly.

Democratic Party Regime Change Deja Vu

The Democratic Party and the Media Culture it works with wants to delgitimize the 2016 election - sound familiar?  That's because it strove to delegitimize Richard Nixon's 1968 election, and for the same reason - their cherished conceit was exposed and shown up. Adding to the irony is indication the absurd prosecution of Trump about Soviet Russia is actually the Democratic Party playing Cover Your Ass with regard to its own covert dealings with Soviet Russia.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Lightning McQueen As Bullitt

The Michigan 400 arrived and the weekend once again provided some surprising competition.





The Cars 3 film was released before the Michigan 400 weekend and the series' central character is a racecar named Lightning McQueen.   Though the creators say the character was not named after actor and racing enthusiast Steve McQueen it's hard not to make the connection anyway.   To commemorate the film Kyle Larson drove a Lighting McQueen color scheme and promptly won the Michigan 400 pole.







Lighting McQueen was fast as a Bullitt, even though Martin Truex Jr. played the role of Bill Hickman's hitman in leading a great deal of the 400.

Larson also offered a striking lesson in sidedraft passing - he got the lead late from Kyle Busch by sucking the air off his left rear, then pinched Denny Hamlin to the low groove - which was nonexistent basically from jump street - by not letting him get to his left rear.







Michigan International Speedway has never been known for high incidence of crashes for its stock car events, so 2017's June weekend was rather surprising with regard to crashes.








Restarts saw a striking incidence of loose racecars and the amazing part was more cars weren't torn up as a result.





For the second week in a row the Xfinity Series was decided by an exciting last-lap three-car showdown, this one won by Denny Hamlin over rising youngster William Byron.





Byron earned great respect for his Michigan finish, but his reputation first began with his first career Truck win at Kansas in 2016 in one of the wildest finishes in years.






Speaking of wild Truck finishes, John Hunter Nemechek challenged Johnny Sauter at the end at Gateway; the lead changed some three times between them before Nemechek grabbed the lead and legged it for the win.    Controversial due to several incidents, John Nemechek's career has shown recklessness and undoubted competitive fight.  


Other Notes -


If you needed anymore reason why Tony Stewart needs to shut up, his idiotic epistle about the late yellow and how it "ruined" the race for many just shows anew why the sport can nicely do without his participation.   Cautions don't ruin anything; people like Stewart are what ruin things.

Just when it looked like Ryan Blaney would do a David Pearson at Michigan International Speedway, he got crossed up and ultimately beaten on.    Call it classic hero-to-zero for one week; we doubt it will affect him down the road.

Darrell Wallace had a better day than last week at Pocono, but had to be irked he restarted 11th and slid to 19th.  

Dale Junior's penultimate Michigan race must leave him encouraged after a solid top-10.

I apologize for being unenthused by Joey Logano's weekend announcement - it is nonetheless appropriate for Fathers Day.


And the summation - NASCAR's debut season with Monster Energy and the resultant points changes keep making for an interesting season.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Divided America

Victor Davis Hanson looks at division within the US, noting leftism exists in just ten percent of the country yet imposes itself on the other 90 percent, and with some 40 million immigrants - many illegally in the country - yet with widespread refusal to integrate into the country - the creation of tribal cliques.

Premature NFL Predictions 2017






With the varied prediction magazines for the NFL now out and camps proceeding, the prediction game for the NFL never really stops, so we'll take our own premature crack at the prediction game.


* - win-loss predictions carry this caveat - there will be overlap, thus over-unders are added


AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE


East


New England Patriots (14-2), take the over


One can't remember the last time a defending Superbowl champion was so heavily favored entering the ensuing season, but that's what the New England Patriots have been, to where rivals are now trash-talking that the league "has a Patriots problem."   Of course the league has a general AFC problem - the last twenty-two Lamar Hunt Trophies (and twelve Lombardi Trophies)  have gone to the Patriots, Steelers, Broncos, Titans, Ravens, Raiders, and Colts.   No matter how rivals change their schemes or personnel, the Patriots thwart the best-laid plans of mice and men.    The player to watch is Brandin Cooks, who appears to have already established rapport with Tom Brady in minicamp.   Keith Butler of the Steelers thinks sacking Brady a few times will ruin his game - ignoring teams have done this and Brady still comes back and wins.


Miami Dolphins (10-6)
Buffalo Bills (10-6), take the under
New York Jets (4-12), take the under


The Miami Dolphins have strikingly improved under first-year coach Adam Gase; with Ryan Tannehill healed up he needs to take the next step - something where there remains doubt with Buffalo's Tyrod Taylor, the key here being ex-Eagles and Panthers coordinator Sean McDermott bringing accountability and structure to a team that had little of either under freelancing players coach Rex Ryan.   Accountability and structure seemed to disappear with the NY Jets last season, and Todd Bowles is proving yet another coaching bust for a team that some railbirds think will tank the season a la the Colts in 2011 in order to grab expected blue-chip picks for 2018.   It seems clear quarterbacks Luke McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg (by all scuttlebutt a failure with no drive) will be gone by the end of 2018.....if they even make it that far; Eric Decker (now with the Titans) and linebacker David Harris (now with the Patriots, who've lusted after him for ten years) got out while the getting was good.






Just how bad are the NY Jets? Their own fans want them to tank the season.





South

Tennessee Titans (11-5), take the over
Indianapolis Colts (10-6), take the under
Houston Texans (9-7), take the under
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)


The culture shift in the Tennessee Titans by now is obvious, and it's also clear Mike Mularkey is a real coach; it became obvious right away Marcus Mariota is the real deal at quarterback, and beating five playoff teams plus the defending champion Broncos in 2016 showcased that.   This is a program, not just a slapped-together assemblage, and it is showing it will be strong for quite some time.

Beating the Colts - something they shockingly haven't done since 2011 - remains the key for the Titans; the Colts fired Ryan Grigson and new GM Chris Ballard overhauled the roster; Andrew Luck is certainly very good, but one wonders if he really is as good as the Colts thought he was.   One also wonders if Chuck Pagano was the right choice over Bruce Arians.

The Texans have won the division twice under Bill O'Brien but he was supposed to help develop a quarterback and has failed to do so; the Brock Osweiler fiasco perhaps best illustrates the weaknesses of the Texans in general - the story is Osweiler was signed with zero input from O'Brien - and O'Brien in particular; Osweiler got exposed as a surly, perhaps self-entitled punk who couldn't handle more than two reads on the field, and yet he may have been the best quarterback O'Brien has had as Texans coach.   If O'Brien isn't in trouble by now, he should be; he'll presumably start Tom Savage early in 2017, but Clemson hero Deshaun Watson is the guy everyone will be watching. 

The Jaguars meanwhile needed to get former coach Tom Coughlin to take over their front office and discipline returned after the failure of another players coach in Gus Bradley.  One wonders if they now can get better play out of Blake Bortles after his sloppy regression in 2016; Bortles seems to know he needs help as he went to ex-MLB pitcher and present QB guru Tom House to fix mechanics that stunk, but early camp indication after a five-INT session is disturbing for Bortles' future.  


North

Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5), take the under
Cincinnati Bengals (9-7), take the under
Baltimore Ravens (9-7), take the under
Cleveland Browns (2-14)


The Steelers are the ones chirping loudest about the league's "Patriots problem," but their vow they have to get home field advantage rings hollow; the had home field advantage in 2001 and 2004 with nothing to show for it and three straight playoff runs have produced three wins, one of them a shaky escape job against AJ McCarron of the Bengals.   Good, undoubtedly - great, though, still seems beyond the Steelers.

Great is well beyond the Bengals, and one wonders who will finally replace Marvin Lewis; one remains surprised McCarron has not replaced Andy Dalton after McCarron proved capable of handling playoff football in 2015, something Dalton has proven he has zero ability to handle.   Talent-wise the Bengals seemed to dip in 2016; a damning anecdote is that left tackle Andrew Whitworth signed with the Rams because he saw his teammates were not committed to winning.   The player to watch is new receiver John Ross.

The Ravens have sunk into a non-contending .500 club with just thirteen wins the last two seasons.   Ozzie Newsome committed to defense in the draft, but the real issue is Joe Flacco has been in regression the last two seasons, ranking near the bottom last year despite improving from five to eight wins; his poor handling of reading defenses has become an issue as well as his pocket presence - not to mention a back issue that hit as camp started.

Forget it with the Browns; more and more it appears they made a complete mistake embracing analytics; no matter what the Browns touch, it turns to poison.



West 

Oakland Raiders (12-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
Denver Broncos (8-8)
San Diego Chargers (5-11)


No, the mistaken city name for the Chargers is not an accident - it is merely reminder that they made a mistake going to Los Angeles and one should not buy they will stay there.   Philip Rivers' play is still good; his game has been largely irrelevant since losing to the NY Jets in the 2009 playoffs.  Anthony Lynn comes from a dismal one-game tryout with the Bills and inherits the inept Ken Whisenhunt as offensive coordinator; one also right now is weary of the new defensive coordinator, Jacksonville washout Gus Bradley. 

The Broncos won five straight AFC West titles but have sunk to a .500 club with two mediocre or worse quarterbacks in Trevor "Don't call me Trevor Langan" Siemian and Paxton Lynch; Siemian did earn respect as he showed improvement as the season went on, but teams seemed to figure him out as they got film on him, and early camp scuttlebutt is no one in the Broncos hierarchy is happy with either of them.    The defense actually played better in 2016 (there were a whopping fifty three-and-outs and the Broncos were fourth in fewest points allowed) than the previous two to three seasons yet could not stop opponents from winning five of the last eight 2016 games, and only a Derek Carr-less Raiders prevented the Broncos from falling to 8-8 in the final game.   The coaching staff is new, led by Vance Joseph, and a subplot will be the phaseout of zone blocking in favor of power schemes.

The Broncos won just two division games, and Kansas City is on a three-game streak in that rivalry.   The key remains Alex Smith, now with a presumptive successor on the roster in draft pick Pat Mahomes II; the wildcard is what looks like an All-Everything back in Tyreek Hill and his 1,836 all-purpose yards and twelve touchdowns - not quite Mack Herron-esque but surprisingly close.   On defense the Chiefs get gouged on yardage but prevent scores (seventh in fewest points allowed) and this should continue.   Andy Reid's extension is a no-brainer, but the firing of GM John Dorsey was a surprise.

The Chiefs beat the Raiders twice in 2016 and Oakland, now a lameduck in its present city with Las Vegas now an absurd fait accompli will have a hard time usurping that rampart.   There's no question the Raiders have the tools to do it now and the big extension to Derek Carr was the ultimate no-brainer, though coaching issues are popping up - the new offensive coordinator is Todd Downing, who is a rookie at that position, while ex-Seahawks assistant coach Ken Norton Jr. lost some of his power with the signing of John Pagano, recently of the Chargers, as Jack Del Rio's assistant head coach on defense.  One also wonders why the Raiders signed Marshawn Lynch, who'd regressed before taking 2016 off.   Keeping Derek Carr healthy is priority.



NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE


East  

Dallas Cowboys (12-4)
New York Giants (10-6)
Philadelphia Eagles (8-8)
Washington Redskins (8-8)


The fear is Dakota Prescott and Zeke Elliott will hit a sophomore slump with the Cowboys; they might but they look good enough to still win twelve games.    Beating the NY Giants is the priority; the Giants spent $200 million to rebuild their defense a year ago and now have Brandon Marshall as a receiver.  The O-line, though, has been mediocre, Eli Manning played better but his game didn't score enough points in the end, and the Giants' star player is Odell Beckham Jr., a guy who hasn't shown commitment or focus; he wastes time practicing one-handed catches instead of more important nuances, and promoting his brand has become more prominent than perfecting his game - his awful effort in the Green Bay playoff loss showcased that Beckham is the kind of guy who isn't going to get it. 

The rest of the division is stuck in mediocrity - Carson Wentz played well for the Eagles and needs to improve; so do his receivers; the Dorial Green-Beckham experiment failed with the Titans and shows no hope with the Eagles, and the hope is being pinned on ex-Bear Alshon Jeffrey; tight end Zach Ertz hasn't made enough plays when it matters.

For the Redskins the Kirk Cousins soap opera is baffling and just one subplot of larger team dysfunction with the front office being in essence blown up.   Jay Gruden will now call plays and has Terrell Pryor as one new weapon; it remains to be seen if the Redskins can actually become a real team after flirting with legitimacy for most of the last five seasons.



South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (11-5), take the under
Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
Carolina Panthers (9-7)
New Orleans Saints (7-9)


Surprisingly, people are overlooking an improved Bucs team, a team that won six of its last eight games, including against playoff contenders Kansas City and Seattle.   Jameis Winston is looking better, though over forty turnovers in two seasons remains disconcerting; the other offensive player to watch is rookie tight end OJ Howard. 

The Superbowl collapse by the Falcons presents Atlanta with the longtime jinx where Superbowl losers don't make the game the next year.   The talent is obvious but weaknesses got exposed and Matt Ryan's long-term playoff liability is a question again. 

The Panthers no longer look like the playoff power they were two years ago, and between Cam Newton's regression and how much the defense surprisingly missed Josh Norman, the path back to the playoffs is a lot longer than expected.   Likewise the Saints have become irrelevant as far as the playoffs go; four 7-9 seasons in the last five indicate an organization that doesn't know how to elevate to the next level anymore; Sean Payton may now be done.



North 

Green Bay Packers (10-6), take the under
Minnesota Vikings (9-7), take the under
Detroit Lions (9-7), take the over
Chicago Bears (3-13)


The experts are gaga over Aaron Rodgers' play and harp on his eight-game winning streak before getting crushed in the NFC Championship game.   Nowhere in that string, or in the entirety of the season, did Rodgers win a single game where he had to stage a comeback, and he had a paltry two game-winning drives; that he won the Cowboys game after blowing a two-touchdown lead is mystifying.   Reading Jason Wilde's piece on Aaron Rodgers in ATHLON SPORTS 2017 NFL PREVIEW, it becomes more clear how much Rodgers relies on freelancing and athleticism with his legs as well as arm strength - a formula for spectacular play but which has never proven to be a championship winning formula.

This is what makes Matthew Stafford's game all the more interesting - there is no case to be made that Stafford is in any way better than Rodgers, yet Stafford the last year-and-a-half has changed his game - said one unnamed scout in ATHLON SPORTS, "(Stafford) is finally 'playing' the position" - where he is now truly playing small-ball offense, aka "a controlled short passing attack."   It is small ball that is the championship winning formula, proven year after year after year.   But the biggest problems remain beating quality opponents - Stafford's only wins over quality opponents last year were against the Colts and Redskins, both just eight-win clubs; in contrast the Titans team that beat him in Week Two had six wins against quality foes - and also stopping opponents.

The collapse of the Vikings after a 5-0 start indicated a team nowhere near ready for prime time; having an offseason to get used to new coordinator Pat Shurmer's version of the West Coast should help.   With Teddy Bridgewater's career perhaps over, Sam Bradford has to lead the offense; this time it won't be as a last-minute trade acquisition.   If the defense - deceptively good last year - plays better the Vikings may beat the odds this time.

It is unrealistic by now to have much hope for the Bears, especially with Mike Glennon as quarterback; one wonders when Mitchell Trubisky will take over in 2017.  It is surprising given John Fox's success developing quarterbacks in his two previous jobs.



West 

Seahawks (10-6)
Cardinals (9-7)
Rams (6-10)
49ers (5-11)

There's little to say about the NFC West.   The biggest weakness for the Seahawks is they've regressed back to the bad road team - six losses and the tie came on the road last season - they became under Mike Holmgren; the Richard Sherman soap opera became a surprise, but also a suggestion Pete Carroll is making some of the same mistakes made in New England.    Everyone else in the division is struggling to better .500; aging Carson Palmer remains Cardinals quarterback despite the complete loss of any useful mobility.   The 49ers and Rams are in long-term rebuild mode.



So it goes as we await training camps.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Leftism Kills Again

An unemployed home inspector and former Bernie Sanders campaign worker named James Hodgkinson fired on Steve Scalise and other Congressmen during practice for a charity ballgame; Hodgkinson was then shot down by two Capitol policemen. The crime showcases the moral relativism of the Left in action.

Monday, June 12, 2017

The Pocono-Texas Double Whammy

The shocker that has been the 2017 motorsports season just got more bizarre - and more amazing - with early June's double whammy at Texas Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway.




For the 99th time in their history Wood Brothers Racing won - for the first time since the 2011 Daytona 500 and for the first time at Pocono since Neil Bonnett fought off a last-lap challenge from Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough.









Blaney's win brought back memories of both the 1980 race and also the Wood Brothers' first Pocono win, at the 1975 Purolator 500.






The day before the Busch/Xfinity Series squared off at Pocono and the old NASCAR vinegar there resurfaced when Elliott Sadler swerved Brad Keselowski out of the lead, Kyle Larson seized the lead himself, then Keselowski stormed back to the last-lap pass.  






On Friday Night the Trucks squared off at Texas in the WinStar 400k and a huge crash by Timothy Peters - driving Matthew Miller's #99 after Tom DeLoach had to shut down the Red Horse #17 - flew viciously across the quad-oval grass amid a huge battle for the win that caused controversy after Christopher Bell (driving Kyle Busch's quasi-throwback Toyota #4 - the numerical script honoring Morgan-McClure Motorsports)  was declared winner over Chase Briscoe (driving Brad Keselowski's #29 Ford) based on scoring loops and the timing of the race-ending yellow.






At Pocono Jimmie Johnson's crash came with brake failure, not unlike the cause of the crash that injured Aric Almirola.  Combined with the Texas Indycar race the issue of the speeds of these cars becomes pertinent to motorsports; noted repeatedly at Pocono was the trap speed of 208 and higher achieved - it ought to cause concern whether racing really needs 200 MPH speed, which is threatening to neutralize the effectiveness of safety equipment, something such speeds have done before.








Speeds for Indycars at Texas have been an issue before and may be becoming one again with so many crashes this time around.   The racing itself remains awesome, supremely competitive, exactly what Indycars and NASCAR should be.

The show-stealer of the Rainguard Indy 600k at Texas was Tristian Vautier, out of an Indycar since 2015, signed to drive Dale Coyne's #18 and whipping into the lead almost right away










NASCAR and Indycar crashes in the weekend






One of the stories entering the weekend was Darrell Wallace Jr's Winston Cup debut, driving Richard Petty's #43, a driver change from Regan Smith after Smith showed good form at Dover.   The change came with the shuttering of Roush Racing's Xfinity #6, the Roush organization aligned into Petty's team via supply of their racecars and engines.    After an eye-opening qualifying effort, back-to-back pit penalties in the first thirty laps killed Wallace's day; with nothing to race for all he could do was pass whoever he could, and he actually made up a lap on race leader Brad Keselowski.   


With rumor now circulating of a merger of Petty's #43 with another team to form a multi-car team again, one hopes Almirola, Wallace, and Regan Smith can make Petty's organization great again the way Ryan Blaney has made arch-rival the Wood Brothers #21 great again.


While Wallace showed accountability in his post-race presser, Danica Patrick - who ran surprisingly well - continues melting into Ryan Leaf level of petulant immaturity when a fan was turned away from her on pit road and fans booed; she whined in response "I'm a f***ing person" - except she's not, she's a fraud.



There was one other item that appears to have gone overlooked - the Firestone sign prominently displayed on the Tunnel Turn scoreboard, signage that would be displayed for Indycar's 500 in August - that it is being displayed during one of NASCAR's weekends seems odd.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Solar Power Market Is Under Threat‐‐From One of Its Own

A bankrupt company asks for tariffs - which is what the solar industry survives on



In April, the American solar manufacturer Suniva filed a petition under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, asking the U.S. International Trade Commission for new tariffs on solar cells and the establishment of a minimum price for solar modules imported into the United States. Last month, the commission announced it was proceeding with an investigation into the issue. But if the Trump administration grants these tariffs and minimum prices, it will have created an irony: an extraordinary intervention into the marketplace that could devastate, not protect, a thriving domestic industry.
The market for solar power in the United States is growing smartly these days: rapid advances in the efficacy of solar panels have led to a market where solar power can potentially be cost-effective for tens of millions of homeowners. As a result, there is now a robust industry for installing solar panels on houses, apartment buildings, and businesses, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans. Today, in fact, over half of the quarter-million workers employed in the solar industry in some way install solar panels. That's more people than are employed in the coal industry these days.

Sex Slavery Apologists And The Community Foundation

The country's wealthiest community foundation has become a front for Islamo-Arab sex trafficking.

Monday, June 05, 2017

Dover Bends The Cale Scale






Jimmie Johnson joins Cale Yarborough in NASCAR history - and did so in rather Cale-esque fashion - as Dover bent a lot of cars and NASCAR saw its most spirited non-Daytona-Talladega race in quite some time, fitting after last year's Mason-Dixon 400 proved to be a dramatic affair.

Johnson had to start shotgun, but given he'd already won 82 Winston Cup Grand National races - an unprecedented ten of them at Dover - this prospect fazed no one.    And sure enough Johnson wound up spoiling a spirited victory bid by both Kyle Larson - who'd been the pre-race speed demon in practice - and Martin Truex, and in that process Johnson raced like Cale as he reached 83 wins, tying Cale's record, and doing so forty years after Cale made up multiple laps to win the 1977 Mason-Dixon 500. 

The Truex-Larson duel was one of the stories of the race, as they raced side by side for the better part of five straight laps during the first segment before Truex nerfed Larson aside.   But the big story of the race was Dover's propensity for crashes erupted again, to go with several tire failures - bringing to mind yet again past such fiascos, this even with the tire helping with good racing.

The 400 also spoiled a strong fleet-wide effort by Toyota, which opened with dominance in qualifying before the depth it seemed to have this time around faded away into more struggle for Kyle Busch - finishing 16th; the botched pitstop early on makes the season follies reel - and the rest of JGR even as the race-ending melee boosted Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin to top-ten finishes.   Speaking of this, the head-shaker of the race was Danica Patrick finishing tenth amid growing speculation she will be fired from SHR after 2017 - one of several driver changes (Ryan Blaney to Penske's reborn #12? Who will drive the Hendrick #88?) circulating within Rumor Control Central.

The darkhorse who erupted to the best showing and worst heartbreak was Ty Dillon, who found himself in the lead late and was able to hang onto third until it all blew up on the backstretch.   Amid that another darkhorse - rookie Ross Chastain - impressed people finishing 20th.  

Coming after a week where the biggest discussions centered on the Truck Series schedule and costs - an issue that is part of the larger issue of costs - Dover managed to make the racing the big story even amid all the crashes.    And a number of drivers who ran stout or showed real promise will try to regain that momentum next week.

Friday, June 02, 2017

NASCAR Miscellenia - Trucks Schedule Etc.

With NASCAR entering the summer portion of the 2017 schedule there has been plenty of talk on numerous subjects.


Austin Dillon's surprise World 600 win stirred a surprising controversy involving Adam Graves of Toyota and others regarding Kyle Busch's reaction, but that isn't even the most interesting issue going into Dover Downs' first NASCAR weekend of the season.   The big issue has been Kevin Harvick's interview on Dave Moody's radio show where he criticized the Truck Series schedule and advocated putting the races on more short tracks and also make them stand-alone events instead of Cup support races.

A little history lesson is in order - the Truck Series began in 1995 as a Winston Cup team testing program - RCR, Hendrick, Roush, and DEI (then a Busch Series team with Winston Cup aspirations) plunged full-tilt into the series and in effect monopolized it.    The series began as a short track series, but when it ran at Homestead in 1995 - the track then a 1.5-mile clone of Ontario Motor Speedway - the racing was superior to anything the short tracks produced, then or now.   The writing was on the wall and as with the Grand National Series and the Late Model Sportsman division, the Trucks quickly and steadily outgrew the short tracks and grew onto the superspeedways.  In other words the Trucks began on the short tracks but they could not stay there.



The Goody's Dash race at Homestead took a surprising backseat when the Craftsman Trucks - 2:16:00 into this video - debuted on a big track with a short exhibition race - and set the path where the Truck Series would inevitably go.



The first points race for the Trucks at Homestead saw one of the series' wildest finishes


The issue of reconnecting with grassroots racing is certainly a legitimate one, but putting Truck races onto more short tracks didn't do that then and its short track events haven't done it now.   It is worth noting what short tracks' regular divisions run - I know of no short track anywhere that runs radial tires; only bias-plies.   I'm puzzled why Harvick and others like Todd Bodine, interviewed on Moody's show about this topic a few days later, aren't asked about the disconnect between grassroots racing on bias-plies and the bigger leagues continuing on radials.   It would seem the majors conceivably can switch back to bias-plies, though present-supplier Goodyear doesn't build them.    It would certainly seem the case that switching to bias-plies would help the Trucks et al be able to attract more grassroots racers whose skill set is far better suited to bias-shod racecars than to radials, and also allow them to sustain careers at the next level better.

Bodine mentioned costs in the Truck Series, noting the level of carbon fiber pieces used instead of aluminum - this issue, though, seems more a spending issue.   He mentioned in the Moody interview something along the line that both NASCAR and teams need to make concessions to help the struggling Truck Series - this applies also the Xfinity Series, the Modified Tour, and the K&N touring series, which has suffered very badly with poor car counts.    For NASCAR,  a needed concession is twofold - take a strong percentage of TV money out of Cup and spend it instead on the other touring series, and also take a third or more of the money in the touring series out of the points funds and switch it into the race purses (I believe it was Dave Marcis who made a recommendation along this line many years ago).  

For teams, the concession needed is teams and NASCAR need to work together for a spending cap; it would certainly seem the Race Team Alliance can facilitate team owners policing each other, and it gets back to the issue of bias-plies vs. radials as bias-plies seem substantially less expensive long term than radials.   There is overall certainly that the sport's economics would be far more competitively sustainable if team spending was restricted where $1.5 million Truck sponsorships would be more than enough compared to the present $3.5 million and above, and so forth through all of NASCAR's touring series.   It is also a certainty that the sport and the teams are in no serious position to object to such course of action, they, NASCAR, etc. are in this together.

Further illustrating all of this is Brad Keselowski's take on the Trucks, saying Truck budgets are over $4 million per year and also that his team lost $1 million in 2014.   Keselowski advocates more short tracks by claiming aero would be less important and there would be less development in engines. "You can't cut your way to prosperity" in racing, according to Keselowski, though smarter decision making would certainly work.

Keselowski, though, is foolish if he thinks more short tracks would lessen aero and engine development - there is no such thing as a team that ever got better by regressing on those fronts.   His comments illustrate how the only way to make teams curb spending is to police against spending, by both NASCAR and the teams policing each other.


UPDATE June 3: Adding even more relevance to the issue is the result of the Mason-Dixon 200 at Dover.  Xfinity Series regular Darrell "Bubba" Wallace stated he may not be able to race at Michigan in two weeks.


*****


And there is one overlooked economic issue - it is time to eliminate sponsor exclusivity deals, which do nothing but limit revenue the sport and the teams need.  Let rivals to Monster Energy Drinks sponsor racecars and races - a la Coca-Cola Mercury vs Pepsi Plymouth, Gatorade #88 vs. Mountain Dew #11, the STP Dodge winning the Purolator 500, etc.  

*****
The mania in fan circles for more short tracks at the major league level is of course a venting of frustration over lack of passing on the bigger ovals - yet it is curious how fans have overlooked what short tracks run for their regular series.   As noted I know of no short track that runs radial tires - bias-plies are the universal norm.   Also the norm for the Late Models, Modifieds, etc. is racecars with downforce bodies - the rake put into Late Model bodies compared to Cup bodies requires no elaboration - and large spoilers, made of clear-view material as well.   Horsepower is substantially less than with Cup or Xfinity Series cars.

In other words, perhaps it is the racecars as opposed to the track type that is the issue.