NASCAR's all in at Vegas
There's an old saying I've been told many times. "You know what you don't know." Perhaps that is a fitting theme for NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series this weekend as the series rolls out their new rules package at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
IS SLOWER BETTER
Make no mistake. This is not a little tweak by NASCAR. This is a huge swing and is so drastically different to how most of us think of racing. The reduced horsepower and the aero package is designed to slow the cars down and create more of a pack at many venues such as the track at Vegas. Yesterdays qualifying was the first time this package has been used and it was met by mixed reactions from the drivers.
Las Vegas native, Kyle Busch when asked about the new package, "Whatever the fans like. That's what it's all about."
Chase Elliott who qualified in the 12th position seemed to like it. "I think it's fun. Hey, if its more entertaining than us running around there by ourselves, then so be it."
Pole winner admitted after qualifying that the fastest car might not be on the pole telling the media afterwards, "It may not be the fastest car that gets the pole today. It's going to come down to timing."
Harvick may have been referring to the Hendrick Motorsport cars of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman whose times were disallowed by NASCAR when it was determined that their runs had begun after time in the qualifying session had expired.
For what its worth, the general feeling in the media center was positive. Likewise,for most of the fans I ran into afterwards. It certainly was different and added plenty of excitement that isn’t often seen during qualifying.
NOT ALL REVIEWS POSITIVE
The grades were far from unanimous especially among the drivers. Ryan Newman being one of the more vocal. “I am not a fan personally”, Newman said of the qualifying format. “I always loved qualifying, single-car going out, doing your own thing, racing the racetrack and that was qualifying."
Perhaps Kyle Busch said it best when he spoke to the media before qualifying when asked about the new package in general. “If it puts more people in the stands and in front of their TV’s than that’s great.”
Isn’t that what sports should always be about? Entertaining? The juries still out but so far, NASCAR’s big bet for Vegas is on a roll.
Thanks for reading. You can catch me WTBQ (1110am, 93.5fm, wtbq.com) Monday and Fridays at 8:45am during the Frank Truatt Morning Show for The NASCAR Report. Follow me on twitter @Jimlaplante.
