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Column: NASCAR’s revamped penalty structure is an improvement

NASCAR is on a roll lately with making good decisions.

Yes, I’m serious. No, I’m not feeling sick. So far, 2017 has been positive for NASCAR’s leaders (although the season hasn’t started yet).

The latest changes, revealed in a rules bulletin Thursday afternoon, completely revamp the penalty structure. You know those P3 penalties and all that mess? Gone.

NASCAR is appearing to try and move away from midweek penalty announcements (which generated poor publicity for officials, drivers, teams and sponsors alike) by implementing a system which will address bad behavior (also known as cheating) immediately.

For example: Something that might have been a Tuesday or Wednesday penalty in the past will now be dealt with through one of several “deterrents” during the actual race weekend.

Here are my three favorite deterrents, ranked:

1. The loss of hard cards

This one is so delicious. Hard cards — or season credentials — are a huge deal in the NASCAR garage. Those who work at the track either have a hard card — which makes life so much easier, as you can cruise in and out of the garage with minimal scrutiny — or a paper credential, which is a headache.

Paper credentials suck because:

— You have to stand in line to get them, one person at a time, often while waiting for the credential trailer to open. It’s a major inconvenience if you are going to the track every week.

— You either have to wear them around your neck in one of those oversized credential holders (which would be totally embarrassing for a crew guy) or try to stuff it into your pocket and pull it out (with ID!) every time you go into the garage or out to pit road. Security has an eagle eye for paper credentials.

So if an entire team loses hard cards because of a failed inspection or something, it’s going to be like wearing a dunce cap for goofing off in school. Crew guys are going to catch total crap from other teams for this, and this humiliation might feel worse than their car starting at the rear of the field (which is also still on the list of potential penalties).

2. Inspection go-around

In the past, teams could fail one station during pre-qualifying or pre-race inspection, pull out of line, tweak the car a bit and try again.

Welp, not anymore.

This year, if a car doesn’t pass one of the inspection stations, the team will have to take it back to the garage, fix the problem and start inspection all over again! That is going to be a massive time loss, and it will undoubtedly cause some cars to completely miss qualifying and possibly even the start of some races.

You do NOT want that to happen to your team, which is exactly why NASCAR is making the rule in the first place. It’s not going to be unfair or the fault of an unpredictable laser station or anything like that, so don’t pay attention if teams cry foul when this happens.

Want your car to pass inspection? Cool, then just make sure it’s legal. If pushing the limits causes it to fail a station, then deal with the consequences.

3. Stop and go under green

As I mentioned earlier, the changes appear to be about dealing with infractions immediately. So let’s say a car had an illegal part or something and it was discovered in pre-race inspection. Previously, it might not be public at the time and the team could get a 10-point penalty a few days later.

But now NASCAR is going to try to deal with it right then. One of the options is a stop-and-go penalty under the green flag (which means coming to pit road, stopping in the pit box and leaving again) and depending on the track, it could cause a car to go down multiple laps.

Now, is this going to totally eliminate all of the midweek penalty announcements and headlines? Of course not, and NASCAR surely knows teams aren’t going to just stop trying to sneak by with tricks to get an advantage. But this is a smart change overall, and it should be interesting to see if Penalty Wednesdays are a little quieter this season.

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Questions for Chef Gordon Ramsay about Daytona Day

I have so many questions for chef Gordon Ramsay after spending six minutes and 41 seconds watching him whip up some Daytona Day recipes in a video released Tuesday by FOX Sports. (EDIT: I took the video out of the post because it kept auto-playing and annoying everyone. If you want to watch it, the link is here.)

The video is part of a wide-scale effort to turn the 500 into a Daytona Day celebration, which I addressed last week here.

But FOX is going way further than the 2016 Daytona Day concept. This time, there’s The Simpsons’ Daytona Day ad airing during The Simpsons episodes, heavy promotion during the Westminster Dog Show and the organizing of 250 Daytona Day viewing parties across the country (which will have official Daytona Day party kits).

As for the video, which appears on a post with all of the chef’s Daytona Day recipes, Ramsay is quite calm — not at all like the madman who screams on TV. But I worry he won’t understand my questions unless I yell, so pardon the volume here while I ask the chef a few things.

  1. HOW DID THEY ROPE YOU INTO THIS? DID YOU GET A CALL FROM YOUR AGENT AND HE WAS LIKE, “HEY CHEF, FOX NEEDS YOU TO CREATE SOME DAYTONA DAY RECIPES” AND YOU WERE LIKE “WHAT IS DAYTONA DAY?” IT’S OK IF SO, I UNDERSTAND.
  2. YOUR RACE DAY RECIPES INCLUDE THINGS LIKE MAC AND BEER CHEESE, CAKE WITH BOURBON IN IT AND A “DAYTONA DESTROYER” DRINK WITH SOUTHERN COMFORT AND JAGERMEISTER. ARE YOU SUGGESTING NASCAR FANS LIKE BOOZE?? (YOU ARE RIGHT IF SO, BUT I AM JUST WONDERING.)
  3. YOU SAID THE PORK BUTT NEEDS TO COOK FOR AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS BEFORE MAKING THE SLIDERS. EIGHT HOURS??? YOU REALIZE THIS IS A DAY RACE, RIGHT?
  4. YOUR “DAYTONA DESTROYER” DRINK RECIPE CONTAINS MONSTER ENERGY. IS THAT BECAUSE WE WILL NEED ENERGY AFTER GETTING UP SO EARLY TO COOK THE PORK BUTT?
  5. DID YOU TELL THE CAMERA CREW TO COME BACK LATER AFTER THE PORK BUTT COOKED, OR DID THEY GET TO STAY?
  6. ARE YOU REALLY HAVING A DAYTONA DAY PARTY? IF NOT, CAN YOU SEND OVER SOME OF THOSE SLIDERS? I’M HUNGRY.
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News analysis: Danica Patrick gets Aspen Dental sponsorship

What happened: Aspen Dental will increase its primary sponsorship of Danica Patrick this season, Stewart-Haas Racing announced via Facebook Live on Tuesday. The company will be Patrick’s “lead sponsor” for at least 10 races, an increase from four last season.

What it means: The sudden departure of Nature’s Bakery had left a 25-race gap for SHR to fill, so this softens the blow a bit. It also shows at least one of Patrick’s remaining sponsors wanted to double down on supporting her, which could help SHR in selling the other races. In addition, it might ease the minds of some who worried whether Gene Haas would have to pay for Patrick’s races out of his own pocket.

News value (scale of 1-10): Four. It’s basically a sponsor adding six races, but which isn’t huge, but it’s still important that one of Patrick’s backers increased its commitment and began to fill the giant void left by Nature’s Bakery.

Questions: How many races will Aspen Dental actually end up doing, since only a vague “double digit” number was cited? Can SHR continue to sell other races for Patrick once the season starts, or is this it? If Patrick has a below average season again this year, will that hurt her in terms of sponsorship for 2018?

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Fan Profile: Scott and Teri Wilfong

This is the first in a series of 12 Questions-style profiles of NASCAR fans. All of the people featured here are $25 or higher patrons on my Patreon page, which comes with this profile as a reward. To learn more about the benefits of becoming a patron, visit my Patreon page here.

Names: Scott and Teri Wilfong (formerly known as “Carl’s Crew”)
Location: Merritt Island, Fla.
Twitter names: @ScottWilfong and @TeriWilfong
Ages: Old

1. How long have you been NASCAR fans?

Since 2004.

2. How many races have you attended?

At least 50; we’ve never actually counted.

3. Who is your No. 1 favorite driver?

Carl Edwards.

4. What made you a fan of Carl?

Over the years, he got to know us pretty well. He always took the time to stop and say hello to us, would always wave to us from the car during practice and, above all, he truly valued us as fans. He had been that way from the first day we met him.

5. Who is your most disliked driver? 

Tony Stewart .

6. Why don’t you like Tony? 

This is one example of many. Before qualifying in Vegas several years ago, there were seven people in our group sitting on pit wall watching the drivers walking to their cars. Some drivers would wave, some would smile or say hello, while others actually walked over for photos and or autographs.

Scott’s sister was a Stewart fan at the time, but when he walked by — alone, not more than 10 feet from us — his response to her calls of, “Hi Tony, good luck!” was a cold, expressionless, straight-ahead stare. We had been to several races and seen this lack of acknowledgment from him before, unless there were cameras around. Scott’s sister, at that point, was a fan no more.

7. What is your favorite track?

Las Vegas.

8. What is one thing you would change if you were in charge of NASCAR? 

Our pet peeve is the accessibility of hot/cold passes. There isn’t a single, true NASCAR fan that wouldn’t want to be able to walk the garage. But unless you’re an owner, family, boyfriend, girlfriend, pet, celebrity, media (hi, Jeff) or any number of other things we’re not, we have no chance.

9. What is one thing you would keep the same if you were in charge of NASCAR?

The playoffs. It’s been pretty entertaining the past couple of years. Let’s see how this year goes with the changes to how a team can receive points.

10. How often do you yell at the TV during a race?

During the FOX portion of the season, every time D.W. opens his mouth. No joke.

11. Do you have any advice for other fans?

At Las Vegas, the Neon Garage is an absolute must. Also, one thing we do that really adds to our race weekend is we like to stand where the cars go onto the track from the garage during practice. Some tracks let you stand fairly close, so you really get the feeling of power these cars have. Again, Vegas is our favorite for this. I hope they never change that.

12. What else do you want the NASCAR world to know about you?

We don’t feel we’re very interesting, so we can’t think of anything.

A Carl Edwards selfie with Teri and Scott Wilfong from the NASCAR banquet in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of the Wilfongs)
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Regan Smith lands 12-race deal with Ricky Benton Racing truck team

If you thought Regan Smith might not find a ride in any of NASCAR’s national series this year, think again.

The journeyman driver has landed a 12-race deal with Ricky Benton Racing in the Camping World Truck Series, which puts him on the track while also helps keep his options open to drive in the Cup Series should something come along.

“I wasn’t done racing — don’t count me out yet,” Smith said Wednesday by phone. “It’s just nothing was playing out to be in a good situation in Cup this year.”

That opened the door for Smith to finally team up with Benton, who has known Smith since both were involved in the Pro Cup Series nearly two decades ago. The friends had spoken for years about Smith getting into one of Benton’s trucks, but the timing never worked out until now.

Smith will run Daytona for Benton’s team, then do the next five races after that. The team has sponsorship from Benton’s companies — BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors and Black’s Tire Service, as well as Advance Auto Parts, Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Network and Valvoline.

“When you’re helping build something and grow something, the expectations come from within,” Smith said. “We’re going to expect a lot and work with that mentality — that we need to do whatever we can. I’ve been a part of building teams before, and I’m looking forward to at least still being at the racetrack.”

At this point in his career, Smith is a survivor. Without funding, it has become increasingly difficult even for experienced drivers to find a competitive ride.

But Smith, 33, has been able to stick around. He’s raced for eight different Cup Series teams, 12 different Xfinity teams and five different Truck teams (Benton will be his sixth), with several of those opportunities coming when teams turned to Smith as a substitute driver.

The way Smith’s career has gone, he knows another unexpected chance to drive could come any day. But for now, he’ll concentrate on being competitive in the No. 92 truck.

Parker Kligerman had a fast start with Benton’s truck last year, posting three top-10 finishes to open the season. But the team’s performance tailed off after that, and there wasn’t enough sponsorship to continue.

“If we could duplicate the start we had last year, that would be an ideal situation,” Smith said. “Then we could aim for top-10s and try to stay up there. We have to work to get consistency a little bit, but I think the sky’s the limit. There’s some really good people down there.”

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Grading the latest NASCAR tweaks

NASCAR used its annual rules briefing with media members Wednesday to unveil several intriguing changes to existing policies or procedures.

Here’s a quick reaction to three of the announcements, which were made at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. (I was not in attendance, so this information was gathered through written materials.)

Damaged cars are out of the race

The details: If a car gets damaged in a crash, the team has five minutes to repair it in its pit box. If the clock expires or the car goes to the garage, it’s out of the race and cannot return. Non-crash mechanical problems can still be fixed in the garage.

Why NASCAR did this: If a car goes to the garage, it’s going to be many laps down anyway and only be on the track to pick up another point or two. Repaired cars are often slow, sometimes drop debris and look amateurish. Also, this will save the teams money because they will need less crew members and won’t need crash carts with expensive parts. Plus, the new point structure gives only one point to the last five spots in the running order anyway, so it might not even matter in some cases.

Grade: A+. What’s the downside to this? I don’t see it.

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NASCAR will have a traveling safety team

The details: NASCAR took a step toward what has been proven to be a life-saver in IndyCar by implementing a traveling medical staff. Local doctors will still be used in the infield medical centers, but there will now be a traveling doctor and paramedic on the scene of each crash.

Why NASCAR did this: Obviously, it will enhance safety for the drivers. Other series have traveling safety teams, where NASCAR historically held firm their system of local doctors was best. Plus, NASCAR is getting money from ambulance company AMR as part of a partnership to provide doctors and brand the ambulances.

Grade: B-. It’s definitely a positive development, but it’s still not at IndyCar/NHRA level where the same doctors are there every week. Bob Pockrass reported NASCAR may have four different doctors who rotate through the races.

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Dash 4 Cash is back in Xfinity Series

The details: Xfinity’s promotion will live on for four events in the Xfinity Series — the spring races at Phoenix, Bristol, Richmond and Dover — but essentially follow the new stages format which will be used in all series. Two Xfinity regulars from each stage will qualify for the four-driver Dash 4 Cash in Stage 3; two D4C wins equals a playoff berth.

Why NASCAR is doing this: It’s important to Comcast to have something special to promote for the series it sponsors. And it provides something else to talk about on TV.

Grade: C. I’m glad the “heat races” are gone, because those didn’t work last year. At the same time, I’ve always had a hard time getting hyped for the Dash 4 Cash (dating back to Nationwide days), so this is just an “eh” for me.

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Also: The stage lengths for the Daytona 500 were announced during the seminar. Stage 1 is 60 laps, Stage 2 is 60 laps and Stage 3 is 80 laps.