Mudsummer Classic Proves NASCAR in Desperate Need of More Short Tracks

NASCAR's truckers give fans a traditional Eldora four-wide salute
before the green flag (Google Images)

At a tiny half-mile dirt track in the cornfields of Rossburg, Ohio, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ran the sport's first race on a dirt oval in 43-years. This history making event was dubbed the Mudsummer Classic at the Eldora Speedway and sold out months in advance of its scheduled July 24th date. That same weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series' will be competing at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This track is the synonymous with motorsports greatness, having been conquered by names like Andretti, Foyt, Unser, Mears, Gordon and Earnhardt. So, in a week with two major NASCAR events, it would stand to reason that the sport's top tier series racing at the hallowed Brickyard would garner more attention than it's third tier level racing in a cornfields in Ohio, right?

Wrong.


Despite NASCAR's top two series racing at "the Brickyard," it was the half-mile bullring of Eldora that got fans the most excited. Those in the motorsports industry and those in the grandstands had waited with baited breath for the first NASCAR-sanctioned dirt race in nearly half a century and the Mudsummer Classic did not disappoint.

After qualifying was held, five heat races were run to set the field before the event. These eight lap sprints were followed by a last-chance for those who didn't get in through their heat race, and then the evening culminated with the A-Main feature race. This type of format has been suggested by fans as one that should be adopted as the new norm for NASCAR qualifying because it provides a little extra excitement from the usual format of simply taking the quickest of the two laps that a driver runs. The feature race consisted of 150 laps which were divided into 60, 50 and 40 lap segments. This is a much different structure than the typical practice on Friday, qualify Saturday and race on Sunday. It is quicker and proved very exciting for those in attendance. The race proved to be a duel between youngsters Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon, with Dillon claiming his first truck win since 2011.


Sparks fly as Kyle Larson (30) races teammate Ryan Newman (34)
for second at Eldora (Google Images)

The next day, in Speedway, Indiana, the Nationwide Series drivers took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Until last season, the series had always raced at Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park), the short track down the street from the Brickyard. The half-mile short track was always a fan favorite, selling most, if not all of its 30,000 seats annually, and it also provided some very memorable moments, such as Jason Leffler's final NASCAR win. The attraction was simply the drivers racing door-to-door, beating and banging for every position. Unfortunately, in 2012, the Nationwide Series race was moved to Indy to create what NASCAR has dubbed a "Super Weekend" to help drum up attendance for the Brickyard 400. While evidence of this moves success remains to be seen, one thing remains certain; many fans undoubtedly wish the move had never been made at all.

Instead of watching drivers rough each other up for a victory, fans saw Kyle Busch and his No. 54 team run away from the field to his eighth Nationwide win this season and a chance to kiss the bricks (which should be an honor reserved specifically for racing's top levels, not a second tier, feeder series. But that's another story). After winning the pole for the race, Busch led 92 of the race's 100 circuits en route to what would be his 59th win in the series. There was little to no passing anywhere on the track, but it made no difference since no one could touch Busch, who was in his own zip code for the better part of the afternoon. And Sunday's Brickyard 400 was simply more of the same.

While it was Ryan Newman who got to lock lips with the famous yard of bricks at the end of the race, it was Jimmie Johnson who picked up where Busch left off the day before, proving to be more than the field could handle. Only Newman's No. 39 could keep pace with Johnson and after a pit strategy call, it was Newman who beat a quickly closing Johnson to claim his first Indy win before an estimated crowd of 70,000 fans. That may sound like a decent number, but considering that the speedway can seat 257,000 people and that this race used to fill around 200,000 of those seats, it would appear that NASCAR needs to rethink its "Super Weekend" idea.


Ryan Newman poses with the yard of bricks after
 his Brickyard 400 win (Google Images)

The solution is simple and, thanks to the Mudsummer Classic, it is now right in front of the powers that be; the sport simply needs more short track races. The truck race at Eldora was the tenth most watched truck race in the history of the series and the most watched sporting event on television that night. On the other hand, ratings for the Brickyard 400 were up 9% from last year, earning a 3.6 U.S. household rating, averaging 5,460,351 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. But as far as attendance goes, Eldora sold out months in advance, while the Brickyard sold little more than a quarter of its seats for the Cup Series race. Good television ratings are nice, but if the grandstands are empty, not many people are going to bother to tune in.

Most, if not all of the drivers in Sprint Cup cut their teeth racing on local short tracks on Saturday nights and most would probably like to see the sport make a return to its roots. Stock car racing began with drivers racing on short dirt ovals all around the southeast, and later moving to paved tracks. But the racing was hard, close and exciting. All that mattered was winning and making enough prize money to be able to run the next race. Now, the almighty dollar rules the sport and it has led NASCAR to bigger and more famous venues simply because they can afford to write a big check and host a NASCAR event. While it is a big deal for NASCAR to race at a track as famous as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the place was not designed to host events where drivers run 3,400 lb. stock cars, and the quality of the racing there shows it every year.

Tony Stewart chastised members of the media after the Brickyard 400 who dared criticize the on-track product, saying simply, "This is RACING, not PASSING" and directed them to the highway nearby if they wanted to see cars pass one another. Well Smoke, considering you own the track that hosted the most watched hosted one of the most watched races in NASCAR history, you should know firsthand what competitive, exciting racing looks like. Passing and racing are indeed two different things. Constant passing does not make good racing, but neither does each car running in a circle three seconds behind the one ahead of it because passing is impossible. Fans want close, side by side racing, where their driver can pass and have a shot at the win, and that is just what a short track will provide them.

The ball is now in NASCAR's court. Either the sport will make a return to its roots and run on more half-mile bullrings, or it will continue to run on big, flat two-mile ovals, where passing is almost non-existent and clean air is king. It's easy to maintain the status quo, but in this instance, making changes may be just what the sport needs to do to compete against stick-and-ball sports. Hopefully, NASCAR will make the decision that is best for the sport and, just as importantly, the one that gives the fans what they want to see.