NASCAR Changes the Rules

NASCAR in it's infinite wisdom has made a few
changes going into the 2010 season,..BUT some do
not take effect until the fourth race of the season.
Now that alone is worth a moment of thought. Why
would you change anything and have it implemented
during the course of the event. Big Bill France, the original
founder of NASCAR ruled the sport for forty years with
very little changes to the rules. Big Bill's grandson, Brian,
is now calling the shots since 2005 and his leadership has
seen the sport lose attendance and TV ratings for the
first time in history.
Brian France has announced a couple of changes this
season. The big one is the much debated 'wing' on the
rear of the cars. The 'wing' replaced the 'spoiler' in
2005 in an effort to slow down the cars and make it a
more equal race. The dreaded 'restrictor plate' between
the carburetor and the intake manifold has been enlarged
to give the drivers a little more response in the gas pedal.
Fast forward to 2010 and the 'spoiler'
will return to the rear of the cars to help stabilize the
vehicle,...but the first four races of 2010 will have the
'wing' on the car until race engineers can make the change.
Another rule change this year is the art of bump drafting.
This entails pushing the car in front of you down the track in
an effort to increase the speed of both cars. The problem comes
when a car gets out of the groove and air circulates under the
car sending it airborne and out of control. The big two and a
half mile tracks of Daytona and Talladega are the main concerns
since the cars run in excess of 190 miles per hour on these venues.
NASCAR has ruled in the past that 'bump drafting' would not
be allowed... then they changed it to 'bump drafting' only on
the straightaway and not in the curves...and now this year they
have done away with the restrictions. Drivers will return to the
old school way of racing.
While the teams bicker and debate these changes... they should
be worrying about dethroning reining NASCAR Champion Jimmy
Johnson. Team 48 has won the Championship for four (4) straight
years and seem to be on the verge of making it look easy.