I miss the Speed Channel

Speed (TV channel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There could not have been a better illustration of what was lost to fans of motor sports when Fox Sports 1 took over the SPEED channel, than the race at Chicagoland that was postponed because of rain.

If it wasn't for Twitter, it would have been impossible to have known if or when the race would restart or where it would be broadcast. The too many ESPN channels, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 were void of updates on the restart of the race. I'm sure plenty of race fans missed out because they had no information about when the race would restart or where it would be broadcast.

Eventually there were comments on Twitter claiming the race would restart and be telecast on ESPN2, but that was of little consequence when funny cars and rails sped down the quarter mile. There was no hint of NASCAR either on the television screen or in the programming guide.

Gone are the days when events related to a race were shown on SPEED. It was nice to have a place to go for information. Now, that is completely up in the air.

There were jokes on Twitter about the jet dryer 400, but I can't tell you how many times the progress of drying the track and monitoring the chatter among race analysts provided a helpful backdrop while cooking dinner or other household chores. When a race is pending due to rain, life may go on, but it doesn't go on far from the television. It is difficult to admit, but just being able to check in on progress being made was oddly comforting.

While I understand a desire to portray NASCAR as a sport on a par with football, baseball, etc., it is not the same thing. For anyone that follows NASCAR but has no interest in college basketball or national football, we seem to be out of luck.

It is very frustrating to watch Race Day and then experience a complete void for an hour or more before the race starts. I assume the whole idea behind Race Day was to get fans pumped up for the race. Now it simply leaves us hanging.

Specifically this weekend showed the frustration in trying to stay on top of NASCAR news. This had to be very frustrating to fans that are not users of social media or subscribers to Sirius XM radio. If it wasn't for Twitter, I would not have known how to watch the end of the race.

If you are not a Twitter user now would be a good time to start.

My take on NASCAR drama

Chicagoland Speedway, Wikipedia

The dust has settled, even after the long rainy spell that turned it all into mud.

The first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is now behind us--finally! It was a long road to hoe, but the championship battle has commenced.

My observations to follow this long week of racing news is as follows:

Adding Jeff Gordon to the chase:

As much as I recognize that Jeff Gordon seemingly got robbed by the events during the race at Richmond that affected the final race of the regular 2013 season, I'm not sure it made sense to simply add his name to the roster. When that was done to add Ryan Newman to the Chase, NASCAR went out of its way to justify it. Newman wasn't simply given a chase berth because he would likely have won the race that was stolen from him when Clint Bowyer spun out his car, Newman was added because the points dictated it. He was tied with Martin Truex, Jr. who as a Michael Waltrip Racing driver was penalized 50 points. The same wasn't true for Gordon, which once again shows NASCAR's inconsistency, a problem they never quite seem to grapple with.

Michael Waltrip Racing penalties:

If it was possible to simply add Gordon to the chase, why wasn't the same action accorded Martin Truex, Jr.? He too was a victim of the overall incident at Richmond. Clearly he had no knowledge of the team orders for which he was an innocent beneficiary. Truex was the one victim in this whole story and he was the only one given no consideration. That was patently unfair. I believe Gordon was added because NASCAR tends to favor him. There have been countless other incidents, like when NASCAR calls a race for rain at just the right moment, or when caution is called for debris that no one sees.

Clint Bowyer points penalties

Clint Bowyer's spin, which started the events that changed the face of the championship field, was intentional, by all accounts except that of Bowyer himself. I believe it to be as well, based on the video of his in-car camera as well as so much feedback from drivers and former drivers turned analysts. NASCAR could have gone back to the technology available to them to prove the spin was intentional, but they didn't. Rather than make it right they would have had to admit they were wrong. The decision-makers are the same ones that initially said there was no problem with the spin. NASCAR doesn't often admit when they are wrong. But I think they were wrong! They should have investigated this further.

For Bowyer to receive a points penalty in the regular season points standings was ineffectual. The penalty should have been after the reseeding for the chase. This was totally wrong on NASCAR's part. The result of their action was moot. Bowyer should not have been allowed to run for the championship in the same manner than the rest of the field of drivers. By comparison, what happened to Bowyer and Truex--well--there is no comparison. Bowyer, who caused this mess came out smelling like a rose while Truex paid the price. That is wrong!

Penske Racing and Furniture Row Racing

Probation for Penske Racing--again--and Furniture Row Racing was meaningless, yet the video transmission about dealmaking was alarming. How many times have these deals altered the results of a race in the past? Will it happen again in the future? This did result in NASCAR cracking down on having only one spotter per team with no digital radios and cell phones allowed.

Restart rules

I applaud NASCAR for loosening the restart rules that were never followed anyway. This is the closest thing to an admission that they were wrong in trying to police restarts, for which they failed miserably.

Painfully long rain delay

NASCAR did the right thing by re-starting the race after the rain. It was a good race overall and certainly worth the wait.

Thank goodness for Twitter

Thanks to Twitter, I was able to follow all the nuances of the painfully long week of news related to what was deemed "spingate." I feel as though I was as informed as I wanted to be, limited only by my own curiosity. NASCAR news men and women did a Yeoman's job reporting all of the events surrounding this bizarre week that began at Richmond Saturday night and continued until the conclusion of the rain-delayed first race of the Chase Sunday night at Chicagoland. Heck, it was almost Monday morning by the time the race ended.

Kudos to the news media

A special shout out to all of them for keeping race fans apprised of what was happening during all the drama unfolding throughout the previous week. They did a fine job, interviewing drivers, staying on top of NASCAR officials, asking all the right questions, and coming up with excellent analysis. 

Final thoughts on Richmond; Fix points racing; Go for legitimate win!

Clint Bowyer

As much as everyone would like to put last week's Richmond race behind them, that may not be possible. NASCAR can choose to simply move on or they can make the necessary changes to ensure it doesn't happen again.
This has been a really busy week! What has been deemed "Spingate," has kept everyone on their toes, including those of us who have watched intently as the news began to unfold.

Reporters and commentators have been busy, not just filing stories about the upcoming Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, but posing questions associated with Spingate, when Clint Bowyer spun out in the closing laps of Saturday's Richmond race. It was the final race to determine the championship contenders, and a lot was on the line. Bowyer refuses to admit he spun out on purpose, changing the entire complexion of the race, but he may be the only one who won't admit it. Drivers and past drivers have all but accused the action as being intentional. NASCAR stepped in and assigned harsh penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing. The only person really affected by them was Martin Truex, Jr., the most innocent one of the MWR stable, but who was the beneficiary of his teammates' actions. Personally, I think he was completely innocent and had no idea what was happening. All he knew, is he was driving for his life, and with a busted wrist, no less. The result of the penalties took Truex out of contention for the chase and replaced him with Ryan Newman who was running in the lead when the spin occurred. In essence, the win was stolen from him. NASCAR made it right by him to assign penalties to MWR. the result was that he replaced Truex in the points standing, as he would have had the race reached its natural conclusion.

A shout out must be given to the reporters staying on top of this story. I know how hard they are working. When they aren't doing interviews, or filing stories, they are tweeting about their observations. They have been living this story just about 24-7. Kudos to them for a job well done, keeping us all informed.

While NASCAR officials have made monumental changes, with the alteration of the chase field, they continue to review radio communications between the teams of David Gilliland and Joey Logano to see if additional action should be taken. It seems Jeff Gordon feels he was robbed of the opportunity to compete for the championship because of team orders in the Ford camps of the #38 and #22 cars. While I don't anticipate another change in the chase field, it remains that Jeff Gordon is a very popular driver. I would never be surprised to see NASCAR help him out, possibly by adding a 13th car into the Chase.

From where I sit, NASCAR caused this perfect storm of controversy with their emphasis on points racing. They have the ability to change what they created.

While NASCAR's Chase for the Championship is a playoff of sorts, much like football has its super bowl and baseball has its pennant race and world series, NASCAR needs to change its structure. With so much on the line, cheating is practically inevitable and rarely discouraged. NASCAR may have looked the other way for many, many years, but with the open communication available today and social media where fans can talk to one another readily, NASCAR can no longer get away with business as usual. Besides, a little cheating to help yourself is one thing, but cheating to manipulate an entire race that determines the season is quite another. NASCAR has in essence been caught, doing what they have always done. Fans have long suspected cheating to manipulate races and favor certain drivers over others, but now it is out in the open.

NASCAR has to change before there are no fans.

One way to do that is to simplify the process. It has gotten way too complicated. Rules are made but not enforced consistently. Perhaps there are too many rules that contain gray areas.

The emphasis of racing should be as it always has--winning. The way it is now, winning is rewarded, but it is not the end all, be all as it should be. How many times do drivers lay back for hundreds of laps only to make a late charge toward the end? Perhaps races are too long. Whatever the case, every driver needs to fight his way to the lead to win the race.

"If you aren't first, you are last." There is something to that. For a driver to race his butt off to earn a point is ridiculous. He should race his butt off to try to win the race. That is what fans want to see. That is what they pay money for. And they don't want to see anything but a legitimate contest.

Related articles about Richmond

• Richmond race controversy, problems, solutions
• Richmond race fallout, virtually meaningless
• More tweaking needed for Chase field
• Confession; I'm a happy Ryan Newman fan

Confession; I'm a happy Ryan Newman fan

Ryan Newman

It is too bad Monday's long-awaited announcement by NASCAR driver Ryan Newman about where he would land in the 2014 season was clouded by controversy stemming from this year's final regular season race at Richmond. Newman's state of mind was evident following that race. Just by the look on his face, the way he walked, his entire demeanor was near despondency.

But, what a difference a day makes.

By Monday afternoon, everything had changed. Newman was finally able to reveal that he had been crafting a deal with Richard Childress to drive the #31 Caterpillar car. Just a week earlier, Jeff Burton said he would not be back to Richard Childress Racing, fueling speculation that Newman would take over the ride. Finally, the speculation ended. Newman and Childress made the official announcement.

The news was met with measured enthusiasm, as a pall still hung over the fact that Newman would not compete for a championship after putting forth a monumental effort over several weeks. But then he received a phone call from NASCAR. He learned the sanctioning body was taking action against Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), the race team that systematically manipulated the results of Saturday's race, stealing a likely win from Newman. It changed everything. Once again, Newman was able to contend for a championship.

Newman's fans were with him, every step of the way. 

There is no doubt what a stressful situation this was for Newman. He admitted as much, stating that losing the coveted spot in the chase was the hardest thing he has endured in his 30 years of racing.

I can only speak for myself when I say my thoughts and feelings mirrored his. For eight years I have watched every race, read every article, and even written a few of my own. I am a devoted Ryan Newman fan.

It was certainly hard to watch what occurred Saturday night, as Ryan's racing future hung in the balance only to be upended by the near fatal kick-in-the-gut conclusion that voided his extraordinary effort.

It wasn't just that race that was affected by the events at Richmond, but as Newman eluded to in interviews following the race, the entire 26 weeks was influenced. There were ups and downs each week, culminating with the news in July that Newman would lose his ride at Stewart-Haas Racing. He turned that around by sheer determination to win the race at Indianapolis.

The tough times are those when we hold our breath because we hear there is a caution and we don't see the #39. When we finally breathe again, we see the #39 limping toward pit road and we hear Matt Borland say over the radio, "bring it to the garage." All hopes are dashed.

These drivers are skilled, but they must dance with Lady Luck. The intense feelings that endure week in, week out on the roller coaster ride that is racing is also an endurance of good luck and bad. During the entire regular racing season, Ryan Newman lived it all, but as a Newman fan, we live it too.

Being a fan is a funny thing. It is almost like when a child has an imaginary friend. It is totally one-sided. Ryan Newman doesn't know who I am, yet, I feel as if I know him well. He is as familiar to me as anyone. If he came to my front door, I'd recognize him instantly, and would feel comfortable inviting him in for a Coke. We'd have no problem finding things to talk about. I love many of the same things he does. All the public information that has been available about Newman, his family, the things he enjoys, it is all out there for public consumption, which adds up to the feeling that I have know him for years. I genuinely like what I've read.

Ryan's racing prowess is laudable, but is enhanced by the other things he and his wife Krissie are all about. These are good, nurturing people with two beautiful daughters to teach about the good work they do with the Ryan Newman Foundation, their love of animals, their conservation work, and their newest project, Rescue Ranch.

I like that Ryan built a log cabin home, restores old barns, and loves the classic cars. He remembers his roots, often talking about happy times fishing with his grandfather or race-related activities he's shared with his dad. I almost felt like part of the family when Greg Newman worked as Ryan's spotter. His voice became so familiar that I can even recognize when he helps out with spotting at huge tracks like Daytona or Talladega. Greg's voice is so familiar. Who can forget hearing him on the radio when Ryan won the Daytona 500. I cry just thinking about what a beautiful moment that was. I would never be a fan if I didn't admire the person.

I'm so happy things have worked out for Ryan. He deserves it. Now, he can end this season on a high note as he contends for the championship. Now, next year holds great promise as well.

Richmond race fallout, virtually meaningless

Michael Waltrip Racing
received harsh penalties

After all the dust has settled, the learning curve is over and it is now time to assess the damage. Long before I was a Ryan Newman fan, I have been devoted to fairness, truth, honesty, and justice.

For me, while I'm happy Ryan is in the chase, all is not good in the world of NASCAR, never a paragon of virtue.

After what transpired Saturday night at Richmond, with the obvious attempt to manipulate the race results in its favor, Michael Waltrip got what amounts to a slap on the wrist. It may be the biggest penalties NASCAR ever handed out, but it isn't enough. Damage remains. Questions are still unanswered. Justice has not prevailed.

What I believe NASCAR really did, with the aid of MWR, was analyze the best way to justify what happened and to repair the damage the quickest, not necessarily the best or fairest way possible. What resulted was flawed because NASCAR's motives are flawed; its methods are flawed. NASCAR brass did not seek justice or fairness; they simply set out to make a positive statement to the myriad fans that were horrified by the actions on the track Saturday. NASCAR had no choice but to do something. So they did.

While it appears the right thing was done by Ryan Newman, NASCAR didn't do it because it was the right thing to do; they did it because it was the most logical thing to do to made them look good.

Ask angry Jeff Gordon fans if justice was served. They continue petitioning in an effort to have Clint Bowyer removed from the Chase in order for Gordon to compete for the championship. Gordon has lots of fans and none of them are happy to see their driver ripped off the way he was.

Gordon was a victim. He was 10th in points until his position was manipulated when Brian Vickers was called into pit, allowing Joey Logano to assume 10th place. In car audio revealed Ty Norris directing Vickers to pit because one more point was needed--the point that would give Logano a chase position leaving the opening for Truex in the wildcard spot.

I feel bad for Martin Truex, Jr., who thought he raced his way into the Chase, not knowing that he was being manipulated by unfair circumstances. It is ironic that he was supposed to be the benefactor, but ended up being the fall guy for the company he works for. And I don't think he even knew at the time.

The result of the penalties assessed by NASCAR are basically meaningless. 

Points only matter to drivers trying to earn a place in the chase. With the chase field set, points are of no consequence. Without a place in the chase, Truex and Vickers are basically unaffected by a points penalty. In Bowyer's case, he lost nothing, beyond his reputation. He's in the chase and with the points reset, the result, his position too, is unaffected. With millions of dollars on the line, let's face it, a monetary penalty to Michael Waltrip Racing--$300,000--is chump change. It may be the largest penalty NASCAR has ever leveled, but that must be put into perspective. That is about the amount of one driver earns in one race or for one endorsement.

The bottom line is that nothing will change because of this action, except that Newman will be guaranteed the spot he earned by doing his job well Saturday night. NASCAR did make that right.

NASCAR held a news conference yesterday to make its reactions to this situation known to the media, but it was not broadcast live to the public. That tells me there is still a problem. NASCAR isn't unlike a political campaign that wants to control the message. In this day and age, that is just not possible, but they haven't figured that out yet.

There was no mention by NASCAR about Carl Edwards, in second place, beating Paul Menard, the leader, to the line on the final restart allowing him to win the race. That is illegal by NASCAR's own definition, and fines have been leveled for it. It was explained away this time. NASCAR continues making rules and then haphazardly enforcing them.

Did NASCAR's action deter future cheating? I don't think so. All they did was show that if you cheat, just don't get caught, or watch what you say on the radio so you don't put us in this position again. That was evident in the fact that Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers, who allegedly followed team orders to change the outcome of the race, were not fined or parked. It was evident in the fact that Clint Bowyer refused to admit that he spun out on purpose. Nothing has changed for Michael Watrip or for NASCAR, evident in Waltrip's twitter comments that claim Ty Norris made a split-second call. Norris was suspended indefinitely. That translates into Norris simply being the MWR scapegoat.

I suspect the flaws in this over-regulated, highly-manipulated sport will continue with business as usual.