November 24, 2005
Ricky Rudd on NASCAR
(Filed under: Interviews)Veteran driver Ricky Rudd retired on Sunday, but he didn't go out with the same fanfare as fellow veteran Rusty Wallace. He made his announcement late in the year and didn't plan any festivities. In an interview with Marty Smith on NASCAR.com, Rudd talks about duct taping his eyes open in order to compete in a race and his thoughts on the changes in the sport, including TV coverage and the Chase:
The races are boring. It's not because the drivers don't have ability, either. It's the current rules structure, where the cars depend so much on aero downforce. It's not good for exciting races. And it won't be until it gets fixed. ...[The Chase is] not bad. It's different. All attention and media is put toward that effort after the first 26 races, where the rest of the guys don't exist. If I'm a sponsor spending money for 36 races, I'd feel cheated. ...
The bottom line on the points deal is there's way too much emphasis on watching points accumulate, whereas in the old days TV covered the racing on the racetrack. Fans want to see racing. They don't want to count points.
Posted by kevin at November 24, 2005 11:39 AM
Recent Entries
- Casey Mears Scores First Win on Fumes
- Why Mark Martin is the Nicest Guy in the Garage
- Flat Tire Takes out Kevin Harvick
- Semi-Retired Mark Martin Leading the Pack
- Why NASCAR Doesn't Care About Safety
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.monkeyouttanowhere.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb2.cgi/1662
Comments
Unfortunately, Ricky Rudd just wasn't competitive anymore. Last year he was 21st in the points. It was for the best.
Posted by: Independent 1 at January 28, 2006 10:42 PM
So finishing 21st in points means you're not competitive anymore? What about Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 19th place? Should he think about hanging it up? Or Kasey Kahne in 23rd? Bobby Labonte in 24th? Sterlin Marlin in 30th?
I don't think you can count a guy out because he finished 21st in points. The guy may be getting up there, but he did have 9 top 10 finishes. That's better than some guys ahead of him, and better than everybody behind him.
Posted by: kevin at January 30, 2006 8:38 AM
I found Ricky's view on to much emphasis being put just into the points system interesting and pretty much on target. This sport needs a make over and girl drivers alone are not the juice to push things forward.
Posted by: Racer X at February 10, 2006 10:01 AM
