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New for 1999


I've seen several pictures of the new Monte Carlo race car.  It's kind of a foxy looking, more stylish type of racer.  The news I get states that it is only a matter of weeks away from being sanctioned by NASCAR.  They still have to do some more wind tunnel and track tests.  Jeff Gordon says he hasn't seen it yet, but is excited about it.  The model he'll be driving is the restrictor plate version, and restrictor plate race cars don't really excite anyone, in my opinion.  As far as I'm concerned, the big races coming up this month in Daytona have nothing to do with racing.  How can you race a car that you can't pull away from the field with?   Actually, race track politics and luck will produce the winner, along with some restrictor plate racing savvy.  This brings me to another point involving what's new for 99.

Restrictor plate racing savvy will be sorely inadequate among this years rookie crop.  Two of the proposed WC rookies don't even have much Busch experience, let alone experience handling the heavier 750+ horsepower WC cars.  In my opinion, a couple of the Busch drivers that have been elevated to WC status, are really questionable, as to their mature ability to handle a race car.  So, put these guys in a restrictor plate race and watch the sheet metal fly.  There's always the chance that some of the rookies won't qualify, I'm sure the veterans will be watching this very closely.  I look forward to the Bud Shootout being a much better race than the 500.  At least all of the drivers will be pole winners from the 1998 season, except for one of course.

Then there's the new track on the WC schedule, I've already covered this in previous articles.  All I can say, is that Homestead is not a "fan friendly venue," but I assume they will be sold out, regardless of the way they treat the fans.  There was some grumbling in the Winston Cup Scene about seating changes at Watkins Glen this year.  It seems that some grandstands were moved to another location, and new seats were sold for the new location, leaving regular seat holders with the dirty end of the stick, or no stick at all.  What a stupid move.  Why didn't they leave the grandstands where they were, and build new ones at the new location?  It seems that the almighty dollar is much more important to track owners, than the fans that put the dollars in their pockets.  Why worry about keeping your old standbys, the long time fans, happy, when there's new ones coming into the picture every year?
The copyright of the article New for 1999 in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish New for 1999 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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