How NASCAR has Ruined Itself

For all those who are excited that Jimmie Johnson won four NASCAR championships, I am hear to burst your bubble. Jimmie Johnson winning four in a row has totally ruined the sport for me. There is a lot wrong with NASCAR right now and it all begins with the Chase for the Cup. I think the Chase for the Cup is a horrible idea and thought it was going to be bad from the beginning. Mathematically if the drivers would have ran under the old system Jimmie Johnson would only have one championship to his name. The other champions would have been Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. That’s a little more variety that the fans deserve. If Jimmie Johnson somehow gets to 7 Championships that will be a total slap in the face to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who actually sank money into their cars and had to work very hard every week. So with that being said NASCAR needs to go back to the old ways before it completely kills the sport.

The second thing that’s totally wrong is the Car of Tomorrow and brand loyalty. The Car of Tomorrow makes every car equally so no one cares if you’re driving a Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge or Toyota. I remember when it use to be about who ever had the best mechanics working on your car. I also remember like for example when Dale Earnhardt drove a Chevy he stood behind Chevy and was proud to drive their car. It’s not like that anymore. There is no brand loyalty and the drivers don’t have pride in their sponsors anymore.

Next up is all the rule changes like no bump drafting at Talladega and Daytona and no passing below certain lines. It’s bad enough they put re-stricter plates on these cars but now they are making rules that don’t even benefit the use of re-stricter plates. The sport is totally being ruined by all the rules. Let them race it out, let them bump, grind and run into each other. That’s what racing is all about, atleast that’s what it use to be about.

Finally, the last thing is how they have turned everyone into a superstar and how no one cares. I remember back in the 70’s and 80’s when there was only a few stars in the sport. They were Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, and Rusty Wallace. They were the starts of the sport and if you caught them and beat them then you were made into a star. Now all 43 drivers are stars and people get to see the underdog try to chase down the hero, or dominant driver. I am going to say this, that right now there is now good form of racing right now. NASCAR has become to corporate, and not the good old boys club that is use to be. That’s what made people love NASCAR to start with because of the good old boys club mentality. Everyone and their brother is getting into the sport. You can’t even turn to Indy Car racing because Tony George split up CART and IRL another mistake made by racing. Right now racing is on the decline because it’s not the way it use to be. NASCAR and every other form of racing thats well known need make some changes otherwise less and less people are going to watch it. I am hoping someday NASCAR goes back to the old ways. Only time will tell if they actually do. One can only hope.