One of the latest rumors floating around the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage is that NASCAR is considering shaving a few races off the 2010 schedule, reducing it from 25 to 21 or 22 events.
But 25 have worked well for years and is where I think the series should remain.
The sanctioning body’s line of thinking is that three or four fewer races will save teams money during these tough economic times. But fewer weekends would give Truck Series teams reduced opportunities to sell sponsorships on their trucks, which would generate less money. Plus, a minimized schedule will add even more off-weekends, hampering the consistency and exposure of the series.
We’ve got far too many consecutive off-weekends as it is, so many that some people completely forget about Truck racing after three or four weeks of down time. If we throttle back to 21 dates, there will be upwards of five or six weekends off here and there because the season will still kick off in February and conclude in November. A season that spread out will sap momentum and hurt the series’ fan base.
There are already a few dates on the hot seat for next year. The Milwaukee race date is a big question mark because the promoters haven’t paid NASCAR money they owe for the 2009 events already run. I’m expecting to see Milwaukee disappear from both the Nationwide and the Truck Series schedules next season.
Nashville, Memphis, Dover and Gateway are owned by Dover Motorsports and there is a deal in the works for an outside company to purchase Memphis Motorsports Park. So, I am not certain it will even remain on the schedule next year.
But if it does, Memphis definitely would benefit from a companion weekend with the Nationwide and Truck Series. I continue to be amazed that NASCAR hasn’t paired up the two more often. Memphis draws midsized crowds for both series but they’d have a great opportunity to sell out the place with a doubleheader. The move would save the promoters money, as well, by requiring them to hire workers for only one weekend instead of two. Plus, they would be able to offer better ticket packages to the fans. Gateway should also be a doubleheader.
Kentucky Speedway is another example. The facility sold out the Nationwide Series race but then the Trucks competed there three weeks later.It’s not feasible for many ticket buyers who drive their motor homes down from other states to return three weeks later. Make it a companion event and you’ll have great crowds for both events.
Since NASCAR is considering dropping a few dates from the Camping World Truck Series schedule, they need to start with Auto Club Speedway in February. We’ve never drawn a crowd there and it is too costly for Truck teams to load up and make the cross-country trek. I’d also move the Atlanta race in March.
In order to streamline the schedule and accomplish the goal of tightening it up, it would make the most sense to just kick off the season at Martinsville in late March, but we can’t drop Daytona during Speedweeks because not only is it a great race, it’s a highly-rated event. Perhaps we run Daytona and then take six weeks off before Martinsville, and then shuffle a few other dates around so we don’t have three and four-week gaps in the schedule during the summer.
The schedule is one of our biggest roadblocks to the continuous popularity and awareness of the series because it is so spread out. There are too many periods of two, three or four weeks without a race. Additionally, we alternate between racing on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening and even a Wednesday night at Bristol. We need an appointed viewing time so the fans, sponsors and marketers know where to find us every week.
Everyone says the Truck Series is the best racing out there. However, people sometimes miss it because of the schedule, whether it’s guessing which day of the week to tune in or how many weeks until the next race. A little streamlining and schedule tweaking will go a long way toward helping bolster the Truck Series to the level it deserves.
NASCAR’s primary goal each week is putting on a spectacular show for the fans, but Goodyear’s practice of utilizing the same tire for its top three series is hurting the show.
The tire problems that surfaced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race last weekend at Dover may have been avoided if Goodyear had in place a specific tire for the Truck Series instead of a general design that services Trucks, NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series cars.
Goodyear often runs the exact same tire compound in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions, as was the case at Dover. However, the vehicles in these three series are polar opposites these days and, therefore, should have equally diversified tire designs.
I think that competition is sacrificed across the board because tires are not created explicitly for each series, but none suffers more than the third-tier Truck Series. If Goodyear would develop a Truck Series-specific tire, they could zero in much more effectively on the Nationwide and Cup Series and, in turn, improve the product there, as well.
Dover was evidence that the tire cannot hold up and perform well for all three types of vehicles at the same time. Since the Truck Series and Nationwide Series teams are restricted in the number of tires they can purchase every weekend, teams were forced to try to squeeze 55 laps out of a set of tires instead of the 35 laps the Cup guys ran, giving the Trucks too long a run on a tire that was more suited for their Cup counterparts and their infinite opportunities for fresh rubber.
Veteran Truck Series driver Mike Skinner may have put it best when he said, “If anybody thinks they can build a tire that will fit all three of these divisions at the same race track, they’re crazy. The trucks have a great tire one weekend, the COT has another great tire another weekend, but there’s no way that you can do both at the same time for the two vastly different divisions.”
Make no mistake – Goodyear faces one of the toughest challenges imaginable and does a superior job of putting a competitive and safe product on the track every week. If their lone charge was overseeing tire development for the Cup Series, Goodyear’s plate would be full with the responsibility of designing the right tire for assorted tracks amidst intelligent and crafty crew chiefs and engineers who are constantly massaging their cars and creating additional challenges.
Please don’t underestimate the disparities between the Trucks and the Cup cars. Goodyear’s job is all the more intensified because constructing one tire to accommodate all three series, each with its own needs, is a monumental task. The scientific data of down-force, drag, side-force and corner speeds are incredibly divergent across the trio of divisions and those discrepancies are magnified by them sharing the same tire. For example, the Trucks were probably running 20 mph faster in the center of the corner at Dover than the Cup cars. That alone indicates the need for a separate tire.
Goodyear’s policy worked well a couple of years ago when the Trucks looked and drove totally differently and before the COT came into the picture in the Sprint Cup Series. Throw in the fact that the Cup guys are now running a completely different race car (which single-handedly has outdated the practice of all Cup teams running the Nationwide races as a prep course for Sunday), and the policy of running the same tire for all three series is absolutely antiquated.
Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager of worldwide racing said: “Our goal is to provide the right tire for each and every series at each and every track. As the cars and trucks in the three different series continue to evolve the tire requirements are becoming more and more unique. We recognize that and work hard to provide the right set for each car or truck, even if it means bringing several different tires to the same race track to handle each series properly. We have done more and more of that over the last several years and will most likely expand that in the future. We remain committed to designing and manufacturing the right tire for each series.”
Even with a Truck Series tire, Goodyear still must overcome the different needs of the various drivers and the manner in which they prefer their vehicles to drive and feel. At Dover, Kyle Busch’s truck probably was an ‘8’ on a scale of 1-10 in “looseness,” while Mike Skinner’s was a ‘3.’ That’s a broad spectrum for one tire in one series alone.
Crew chiefs and engineers are constantly clamoring for data and tires are no exception. With the testing ban, teams can no longer gather tire data at the track prior to an event, with the exception of a few Goodyear tire tests, so they obtain their information through their manufacturer in the form of 20-page reports from a company called Cal-Span. These reports contain an obscene amount of data for each individual tire. This data comes as fixed numbers but all three divisions interpret and use the data in their own unique way pertinent to their highly differing vehicles. So, to give all three series an equitable shot at having a terrific race, Goodyear must give them a tire specific to their needs.
Unfortunately for the tire manufacturer, they make headlines only when a problem arises or when a driver goes on a crusade to smear their name in the media. The blood, sweat and tears they put into NASCAR goes virtually unnoticed until something goes awry. I am a big fan of Goodyear and purchase their product for my personal vehicles.
No one puts more effort into NASCAR than Goodyear but I believe they’re operating under the wrong policy. A Truck Series-specific tire would go a long way toward improving the competition in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions.
NASCAR SPEED-TV, ANALYST SET FOR CRASH-A-RAMA
Indianapolis has the Indy 500 and Charlotte, NC the Coca-Cola 600 but for race fans in central-Ohio those events don’t hold a candle to Crash-A-Rama. And if the wrecking, crashing and Monster Trucks weren’t enough, hang onto your seats Columbus; Here comes Ray Dunlap.
The popular Speed TV - NASCAR analyst cut his broadcasting teeth at Columbus Motor Speedway back in the early ’90’s and he is looking forward to his appearance at the suburban Obetz facility this Saturday. Not only will the Carrollton, OH NASCAR expert be meeting and greeting local motorsports devote’s, he’ll strap himself into a school bus for a 15-lap figure eight extravaganza.
‘I started my broadcasting career at CMS back in the early ninety’s and I am really looking forward to all the action this weekend. I won a School Bus figure-8 race last season at Flat Rock Speedway in Michigan, so I guess the pressure is on.’ stated the Carrollton Ohio native. ‘I love the layout of the track in Columbus and have many-many fond memories of races there over the last twenty years!’
For the past seven seasons Ray Dunlap has served as a pit road reporter on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Speed Channel. In addition to his live event race broadcasts, he contributes to the ‘NASCAR Performance’ and ‘Wind Tunnel’ programs.
Dunlap previously worked at ESPN from 1997- 2001 working play-by-play and pit reporter assignments in a variety of racing series including Winston Cup, Busch Series, Goody’s Dash, ARCA ReMax and Hooters Pro Cup. After just one year with ESPN, Dunlap was honored by the Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club as the 1997 Motorsports Electronic Media Personality of the Year.
He continues to operate a video production company, RedLine Productions in Mooresville , NC . The company was founded in Columbus , Ohio in 1987, shooting commercials and local auto races at Columbus Motor Speedway. Dunlap also hosted and produced his own Public Access television show ‘At the Speedway’ showcasing auto racing in central Ohio .
A native of Carrollton , Ohio , Dunlap graduated from Bowling Green State Universityin 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio/TV/Film. Born in December 1964, Dunlap and his wife Bobbie, reside on Lake Norman just north of Charlotte , NC .
* Germain Ford has a radio remote scheduled at the Ford store on Sawmill rd. from 2-4pm on Saturday before the race.
* Ray Dunlap will be at the Ford store for an appearance from 2-4pm during the remote.