NASCAR Post Ahead ...
And I promise, this is my last word on Sunday's Debacle at the Brickyard.
And, yes, debacle is the right word. Especially when it looks more and more like the fallout from NASCAR's re-enactment of the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix is just getting started.
For a taste of it, check out this guy's blog here.
Note especially the e-mail from the lady who said her family burned up $1,500 and three days of vacation only to get farce in return. Her comment that next year they'll go to the beach instead ought to send chills down the spine of Brian France and every other NASCAR honcho.
That's the worst part of all this for NASCAR: The timing. Maybe if the economy was flush and NASCAR was still cresting, a catastrophe like Sunday would only be a blip on the radar. But with the economy tanking and attendance down as a result -- and the sport already in something of a flat-line trajectory -- what happened Sunday couldn't have come at a worse time. And never mind that it happened in one of the sport's two biggest events, at the most storied venue in all of motor racing.
"The track won't change next year," a clearly steamed Tony George told the Indianapolis Star Monday, in a quote picked up by Terry Blount of ESPN.com. "So if (NASCAR) wants to come back, they better figure it out because I don't think the fans want to come back and see that.
"Figuring it out will only come with getting the car and tire combination right, and that requires actually spending the time and effort to do something about it."
In other words: Get your act together, boys. And as the blogger suggests, maybe reconsidering the tire manufacturer would be a good start. Or at the very least, bring in a second tire-maker so there's actual competition instead of the monopoly there is now.
-- Ben Smith
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