NASCAR releases its 2014 calendar...yawn

Yawn.

NASCAR released its schedule for its top tier series.

All I can say is….wow.

I suppose you don’t fix something unless it is broken, but personally, I think this schedule is broken. But that is just me I guess.

The ONLY changes to the 2014 calendar are four dates. There are ZERO major changes, no new tracks, nothing.

Here are the four changes:

Texas’s race is will be held April 6, one week earlier, and be held on Saturday. Darlington now gets the April 12 slot. Kansas will be held at night now, shifting to May 10. And the paperclip, Martinsvilled has been moved back a wee as well, March 30. Oh, and the duel races at Daytona will be held at night now.

Really NASCAR? That is what you did for us?

I find it hilarious at the way they presented the press release…

“NASCAR Air Titan at every race, Kansas, Daytona Duels go under the lights…”

There you have it fans…now they can shave a half hour off of track drying time, sounds almost exciting as a night race at Kansas.

Maybe I am the only one, but this schedule needs a revamp. There are two key things that need to be done if I was handed the keys of the “just keeping above water” ship that is NASCAR.

1. Shorten the races. Yep. I said it. Sorry. NASCAR was, and is my first love. Stock cars are amazing. It’s grassroots racing. But why can’t I seem to make it halfway through a race…any race, without falling asleep. Sure, my sleep schedule is messed up as it is, but the combined attention span of North American’s cannot be THAT good. It deserves its hallmark events like the Daytona 500, Southern 500, Coke 600…things like that, but I am not opposed to 200 or even 300 mile events at places like Michigan, California, Kansas, Martinsville…need I go on?

2. Diversity in the tracks it visits. Some places do not need two visits and there are way too many cookie cutters on the schedule. I wrote a column a while back talking about how to diversify the schedule a little bit. That fell on deaf ears…but who am I anyways. I think the brass at NASCAR need to move outside of America. They are an American series, sure, but even the Aussie Supercars left their borders.

But they typically put on an amazing show. Here is it. A minimum of two more road courses. Road America has to be one. Maybe something in another country should be the second. Other countries is the next touch. Canada has a big sexy oval being built in Ontario, that even Jeff Gordon got a hand in on designing. There is stop one. Europe…maybe a visit to Silverstone, why not build a hallmark event at Bathurst alongside the brilliant 1000k event. Stock cars the week before? Or a support race.

Lastly, every single cookie cutter 1.5 or 2 mile track that has two dates has just lost one. Charlotte is now ONLY the Coke 600. Don’t get me started on Michigan. Places like Rockingham, Myrtle Beach, ORP, or whatever they are calling it now deserve a big date. Not only to support those tracks, but to branch out to the people who want to see short track racing in different locales. There are even a few great west coast ovals. Irwindale would be fun to watch. Oh, and give Eldora a date. That heat racing deal the truck series ran there was simply amazing. The cars on dirt would be outrageous.

So there you have it NASCAR. Please, consider this my resume. As a fan, I feel I have a better grip of the issues than you all do. While money keeps the ship afloat, maintaining unhappy fans does not equal earnings.

Again, this is just my opinion folks…take it or leave it.