By A.C. Guillermo
I missed Montreal in favor of a trip to Vegas, where I spent a good part of my three-day junket at the craps table. I’m still trying to recoup from the Zogaib debacle, and I thought Vegas could provide some financial relief. Well, it didn’t.
And this whole racing thing has become a crap shoot. Six months ago I thought the Grand-Am Rolex Series was on the verge of dominating the road racing world … I could envision spec DPs racing at Sebring and Le Mans … and now I wonder if the series will even be around in 2011?
Why the pessimism? It seems some NASCAR people are pretty upset with the whole road racing thing, and they think NASCAR should go back to what it does best, going in circles. The old guard on International Speedway Boulevard believes this Grand-Am thing has been a folly. In today’s economy, you can’t keep throwing money at something. Just ask Tony George.
Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe in the concept of Grand-Am: Beautiful low-tech spec-cars subsidized by the sanctioning body; contrived and manipulated finishes; scales with a margin of error of 25 pounds, constant rules changes, and fun racing without the hassle of crowds. None of that mega-money ALMS madness.
As Jim “Catfish” Hunter, former Oakland A’s legendary pitcher recently wrote, the ALMS is only driving up costs even more with their restructuring of classes. (Editor’s note – A.C. seems to be confused, Jim Hunter works for NASCAR, Jim “Catfish” Hunter is deceased.)
But for some reason, the Rolex Series just isn’t catching on. Sometimes I think Roger and Jim rolled snake eyes for NASCAR. The fields are now smaller than the ALMS, no more free salad bar at Ruby Tuesday, and if the rumors I hear are true, the car count could be worse next year. With one car owner in a big lawsuit, and another about to ditch the whole thing to concentrate on wine-making and synchronized swimming, I have to wonder if maybe there is no future for sports cars in North America. And that’s what is causing the internal strife at International Speedway Blvd. As the Sprint Cup sputters, some are wondering why NASCAR is dabbling in sporty cars anyway? One ISC old-timer told me while standing in line at the SunTrust ATM in the NASCAR gift shop: “Wayne is a good guy, but he IS a foreigner, you know.”
But then I remember NASCAR is running the show, and they ALWAYS know what is best. Just ask Jeremy Mayfield’s stepmom.
So all you ALMS supporters are probably saying “I told you so” right now. Well, the ALMS isn’t exactly a model of success. So what if Sebring and Road Atlanta will be packed with elitist fans? NASCAR has low-cost, low-tech racing for the masses. One day, fans will return to the Rolex 24. We don’t care about technology, or green racing, or Le Mans … Braselton will never defeat Daytona. That is a sure bet.
AC
Tags: ALMS, Catfish Hunter, Grand Am, Henri Zogaib, ISC, Jim Hunter, NASCAR, Rolex, Sprint Cup, Sun Trust
The Bear got this email from a friend. He just had to share it:
Murphy,
Dang, I was all hot under the collar after reading Catfish Hunter’s NA$CAR screed (I thought he was DEAD) but ol’ A.C. Guillermo has clarified what the Catfish was trying to get across and now I “get” what a stable rules package Prep 1 and Prep 2 GT really is, just like the fabulous Daytona Prototype “Porsche Transmission of the Month Club.” It’s always good to see somebody other than Ganassi, SunTrust, and Gainsco at the top of the DP rankings and I don’t know what Porsche has to complain about since their little Cup cars keep spanking the pure race cars in GT (at least when driven by Leh Keen and Dirk Werner). Now that wine-and-cheese (we know what that’s code for…) series wants to siphon them off. How wrong can that be? Fools.
(Withheld)
A.C. – you are no BiF.
Try harder.