Daytona Weekend - Issues.

NASCAR.  This weekend provides excitement of going to Daytona. It's the first weekend of the NASCAR schedule. It's also the biggest race on the schedule. The Daytona 500 kicks off the NASCAR schedule each year, and other than the name, to me there is very little good that comes out of this weekend. I have lots of issues with NASCAR in general right now, but the opening weekend especially just really, for lack of a better phrase, grinds my gears.

First, start with the Nationwide Series race. This series irritates me throughout the entire series, but becomes even more of an irritant for me to start the year. The Nationwide Series is a developmental series for drivers to prove their worth and make it to the big leagues of the Sprint Cup Series. So why is it that there are more seasoned Sprint Cup racers in the Nationwide Series this week than developmental drivers? Why is Tony Stewart, a 15 year NASCAR veteran and defending Sprint Cup champion, still racing in the Nationwide Series? He has an unfair advantage of experience in a series that is designed for development, and he has won four straight Nationwide season openers at Daytona. He's not alone in racing where he doesn't belong. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and the Busch brothers also join in the Nationwide race. That'd be like the entire New York Yankees starting lineup going down to play in the minors for a week while still playing at Yankee Stadium. How can you develop new and better drivers when they some don't even get the chance to make the field due to seasoned veterans taking up spots?

Continuing with the Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick won the pole for today's race in Daytona. All throughout the qualifying process, the announcers did not make one mention of her skills behind the wheel. They kept making excuses as to why she ended up the fastest. Okay, I do admit that it is possible a small gust of wind could have helped her, but at least make some mention of the quality of racer that she is? Announcers and most fans are expecting her to get "run over" to start the race today. I hope she smokes 'em.

Now, on to the Daytona 500. For such a prestigious race, the most important on the schedule, I find it very disappointing that it is a race that cannot be won on driving skill any more. These restrictor plate races do nothing for me, as the result is two cars pushing each other around the track. You need somebody to push you to go fast. At the end of the race last year, the winner of the race (rookie Trevor Bayne, making his second career start) was announced as the winner by announcers with still well over a half mile to go because there was no way for somebody to pass him. "It's over" they said, with still a huge amount of track left. Others were less than a car length behind him, but because of the aerodynamically unsound properties of a stock car, there was no competition to the finish line. ...At least he wasn't intentionally wrecked, which is seen all too often. But still, just disappointing finish when cars run so close together for 500 miles but are unable to pass each other on their own.

With no-names like Bayne winning the most prestigious race on the schedule, only due to the fact that he was pushed to the front and nobody can pass him back on their own, to me there is nothing prestigious about this race anymore. It's about finding a buddy and hoping he (or she) will push you to the end. I don't agree with this style of racing. But maybe that's just me.

I tried watching this dual-drafting junk last year, and I lasted about five laps before turning it off. To me, I see no skill being demonstrated by being pushed to the finish line. Luckily, restrictor plates only exist for a couple of races each year. Even as such, lack of aerodynamics means it's nearly impossible to pass the car in front of you. That means racers like Tony Stewart will "wreck my mother" to win a race, to win a championship. That's not racing. It's high-speed bumper cars. Just not my cup of tea.