NASCAR is an ever-changing sport. It's no secret that they've made many changes in the past. The points system, the cars, television networks, sponsors. You name it and they've probably changed it, not all changes have been bad, but there are some things that you don't see in NASCAR anymore that I miss. The other day I was watching a show on NFL Network called "Top 10 Things We Miss About Football", so that got me thinking. Here are the "Top Ten Things I Miss About NASCAR".
NOTE-I refused to include the old points system or Dale Earnhardt. Those are too basic and I like the playoff system. The old system was boring
#10 TANDEM DRAFTING
Tandem drafting was basically a fad in NASCAR at Daytona and Talladega. It was really only prominent for 2010 & 2011, but for those of you who don't remember what it is ill explain. Tandem drafting is basically what it sounds like. Two drivers hook up to each other and draft. It made the restrictor places even more interesting because you could occasionally get a guy like David Gilliland, Dave Blaney or Landon Cassill, who probably had no business finishing in the top ten, but they were good at restrictor plate tracks and helped push many of the sports best through the field. It was neat seeing guys have to team up and then having to find a new partner if there's got taken out. Tandem drafting was at its best in 2011. The restrictor plate winners that year were Trevor Bayne, Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan and Clint Bowyer. That's pretty awesome to me.
#9 BUDWEISER SPONSORED CARS
Okay, so this one has only been missing since 2015, and even though it's a really disgusting beer, Budweiser is synonymous with NASCAR so it's on this list. Budweiser sponsored stars like Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt. Jr and Kevin Harvick. It seems weird to not have Budweiser sponsoring a car. To be fair, Anheuser-Busch still is, as they insisted that Busch Light replaced Budweiser as Kevin Harvick's sponsor in 2016.
#8 ROAD COURSE RINGERS
It's probably a good thing that these aren't really a part of NASCAR, but man do I miss them. The road course ringers normally didn't do much at Sonoma or Watkins Glen other than get in the way, but it was a change of pace. I always openly pulled for road ringers Boris Said, Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett. None of these guys ever won a Cup race, but Ron Fellows came really close at Watkins Glen in 2004 and Scott Pruett had a couple of top three finishes.
#7 WINSTON MILLION/NO BULL 5
To be fair, The Dash for Cash in the Xfinity Series is fairly similar to the Winston Million or No Bull 5, but it's not the same. For those of you who are unfamiliar with either one of these, I'll explain. From 1985 to 1997, NASCAR offered $1 Million to any driver who could win three of the four races (Daytona 500, Aarons 499, Coca Cola 600, Southern 500). Many drivers came close to pulling off the feat, but only two did. Bill Elliott in 1985 and Jeff Gordon in 1997. Then NASCAR changed to the No-Bull 5 in 1998, which was pretty similar. NASCAR selected four races that were "No-Bull 5" races. If you finished in the top five in a No-Bull 5 race, you became eligible for the next one, if an eligible driver won the race, he won $1 million along with the fan he was paired up with. How cool is that?
#6 THE CARS ACTUALLY LOOKING LIKE STOCK CARS
You can't possibly tell me that the current cars even somewhat resemble a "stock car" and if you think they do, you're an idiot. The cars in NASCAR have changed drastically in the past 15 or 20 years. And while I will never criticize NASCAR for enhancing the safety features in these cars, there's a part of me that misses the days when the cars looked like something you or I could drive. But, I guess going back to that would probably mean sacrificing some of the safety features, and that can't happen.
#5 ALLEN BESTWICK
Ken Squier might be the greatest voice in the history of NASCAR, but Allen Bestwick is my favorite. Bestwick was the lead voice of NBC's NASCAR coverage from 2001 to 2004 and then for ESPN from 2011 until 2014. Bestwick also serves as the voice of the Indy 500 (which makes that event even better). As a young announcer, Allen Bestwick is the one guy I really look up to. He started out at announcing at a Connecticut short track that his father raced at, didn't even go to college and worked his way up to where he is now. Bestwick always had a knack for capturing the moment with some intelligence and a strong delivery. I like Rick Allen and can tolerate Mike Joy, but I'd rather have Allen Bestwick.
#4 MARK MARTIN
#3 ROCKINGHAM
I am not old enough to remember North Wilkesboro, but I would have probably put it on the list if I was because it sounds like a track I would have loved. Rockingham was one of my favorites on the schedule. The track always brought excitement and sometimes brought surprise winners like Steve Park and Johnny Benson. The track used to run two races a year, and then it lost it's fall race. Then it eventually lost both races because some crybaby shareholder sued NASCAR because he thought Texas deserved a second race (Read about Ferko vs. NASCAR). Well boo-freakin-hoo. Texas is boring compared to Rockingham. The Rock should be back on the schedule and it was in 2012 for a truck series race, but it was taken off the some schedule for some reason. Maybe I should just sue NASCAR to bring back Rockingham.
#2 THE PERSONALITIES
Remember the old good ole days when the drivers actually had personalities? I don't, but I've watch enough Youtube videos, read enough and heard enough stories to still include it on my list. NASCAR has became so corporatized, its almost like drivers have been neutered because they are afraid of stepping out of line because they may face discipline from either NASCAR of their sponsors. The only guy that doesn't seem to be fake is Kyle Busch, and even though he's authentic, he still comes across as a crybaby. Give me the old days with guys like Tim Richmond and Dick Trickle.
#1 RACING BACK TO THE YELLOW
Even though this is the thing I miss the most, I do understand why this is no longer a part of NASCAR. This is probably smart as far as safety goes, but it always made it interesting. Definitely in the waning stages of a race if a driver felt like they wouldn't get a chance of a restart. The two biggest problems with racing back to the caution were; sometimes it led to the creation of more accidents or drivers had to try to avoid the accident while racing back to the caution, and second sometimes guys got their feelings hurt when they got passed under yellow. I remember a race at Sonoma in 2003 where Robby Gordon passed Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon under caution and went on to win the race. Gordon and Harvick complained that it was unfair, but it was racing. It was within the rules. All of these "gentlemen's agreements" in sports are stupid. To be fair, I like the green-white-checkered setup and have no problem with giving the first car a lap down their lap back. What NASCAR should do is keep things the way they are, except get rid of the wave around and race back to the caution like they used to. It would be cool if they did this, but I know they never will.
