Felix Sabates calls Bruton Smith's comments 'irresponsible'

   Felix Sabates, a minority owner in Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, did not take too kindly to the comments made over the weekend by Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith. Smith has repeatedly said he doesn't think the Sprint Cup Series should end its season in Homestead, Fla., and this weekend repeatedly referred to the track as "North Cuba." You can read about Smith's comments here.

   Sabates sent the following open letter to the Observer and ThatsRacin.com today in response to Smith's comments:

   I am a very proud American that happened to be born in Cuba. America has been my home for over 50 years and America is the greatest country in the world - not even the politicians in Washington can screw that up. I love both countries and when I see irresponsible comments such as the ones made by my good friend of over 40 years, Bruton Smith (AKA Money Bags), it saddens me. He knows better than to take a swipe at a whole country (believe me I learned the hard way). He must be mad because he will never get the last race of the Chase. In fact, he used to have the last race of the season in Atlanta but lost it because he could not draw anything close to a full field.


   Perhaps he is afraid that if the political unrest ever came to and end and Cuba was free again, then some of us Cuban born Americans might build a proper world class road course in Havana. A track specifically built for stock cars with all the amenities Las Vegas has to offer, plus white sand beaches and the cool trade winds of the Caribbean Sea. All of a sudden there will be no need for NASCAR to take our premier series to such far-away places like Sonoma. NASCAR teams will take just a short ride to a new Paradise with a track built specifically for NASCAR and where passing would be routine rather that the exception.

   Anyway, Bruton be nice to your Cuban neighbors and friends. You are a great promoter and a great American success story. We might let you buy in for a little piece of our new race track in Havana. It won't hurt as much when you lose a date.

   Your buddy.
   Felix

   PS, Cuban coffee is good for the soul.

Remember when races were "special"?

   I was having a debate with some race fans before Sunday's race at Atlanta about proposed changes to the Chase and one common denominator kept resurfacing.

   Ever since the advent of the Chase format, there has been something missing from every race weekend - that's the idea that each race was a special event in and of itself. Yes, race fans care about who wins the championship and certainly that's a focus in other sports as well. But in NASCAR more than other sports, each race weekend always seemed to be looked on as a special event in itself.

   Today, races like Richmond next week are branded as "the 26-race cut-off" and New Hampshire, the weekend after, as "the first Chase race" as if those titles in and of themselves should more greatly entice fans to attend in person. Long before race No. 26 was "the cutoff to make the Chase" fans still filled in the grandstands at Richmond to see who won that weekend.

   You've heard the sayings: "I would never miss Talladega." "I love restrictor-plate racing at Daytona." They are numerous and repetitive and they have nothing to do with what system is used to determine the champion or whether there is a champion at all. I know one family who just loves the "experience" of a race weekend and uses it as family vacation each year. What they take out of their weekend together doesn't change based on who wins that race or that season's title.

  This is the challenge tracks face today. You can sit at home with your computers and gadgets and FanViews and listen to radio communications and see 12 different angles of the race and all 43 pit stops. You can even DVR the race and skip the commercials. Everything is at your fingertips to enjoy NASCAR in the comfort of your own home. Except one thing - the experience of being there in person.

   There is still value in that. And that value is what each track promoter must try to collect and advertise and improve upon each event. As someone who has attended too many races to count since 1998, I can emphatically tell you watching a race on TV is NOTHING like watching one in person.

   You may not have as good a view of all the action. I may not know what the points are "as they run now" (like that ever matters). But being in the thick of the experience is still the foundation on which millions of NASCAR fans were created.

   There was - believe it or not - people going to races long before they were on TV. And for good reason. It's past time NASCAR and all its partners focused on why that was.

Traditionally speaking, Darlington is doing just fine these days

Woody Allen once said, “Tradition is the illusion of permanence.”

That’s certainly true as to how many NASCAR fans feel about racing anywhere else but Darlington, S.C., on Labor Day weekend.

Almost seven years removed from the last Southern 500 at Darlington in 2003, fans still cringe when reminded NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series is running 500 miles this weekend somewhere else.

Why is that?

It certainly can’t be because the Cup race was so much more successful on Labor Day weekend than its current date on Mother’s Day weekend. Darlington has never had bigger crowds since it moved to a Saturday night race in May.

It can’t be because of weather. While races in March and even the one tried in November didn’t exactly bring out the best from Mother Nature, if one thing was constant about the Labor Day weekend race is was the weather – hot and humid.

I saw many a driver crawl gingerly out of their cars after 500 miles in the baking sun at Darlington. Surely, running on a Saturday night in May has to be better conditions.

It can’t be because it’s gotten any easier to win the Southern 500. In the past five years, the 500 has been won by some of the best the Cup series has to offer –Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin.

So what is it? Why after seven years does it still smart for many in NASCAR to travel someplace other than Darlington on Labor Day weekend?

Maybe it’s just because that’s what so many people did in this sport for more than 50 years. It was comfortable. It was close to home for many. It’s just the way they always did it.

That’s doesn’t mean it should always be that way.

It may well be an awesome tradition to play baseball in the cozy confines of a 10,000-seat stadium but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do in 2010.

In all reality, tradition does indeed provide an illusion of permanence. After doing something the same way for so long, it seems wrong to do it any other way.

Yet sometimes – not always – the new way is the better way.

Former Observer writer Tom Higgins to be inducted in NMPA Hall of Fame

Former NASCAR champion driver Dale Jarrett, crew chief and engine builder Waddell Wilson and former Observer motorsports writer Tom Higgins will be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame in January.

All three were selected on more than 65 percent of the ballots cast by NMPA members to earn induction into the Hall of Fame. Wilson was selected on 70 percent of the ballots. Higgins was selected on 68 percent of the ballots, and Jarrett was selected on 66 percent of the ballots.

“These three men have impacted the sport on the track, in the garage and in the media center. Their contributions are significant," said NMPA President Dustin Long.

Higgins covered NASCAR and other motorsports in a 40-year journalism career, including 34 years at The Observer. He was one of the first reporters to cover NASCAR full time. He received NASCAR’s Award of Excellence in 1996. He also won the NMPA’s George Cunningham Award in 1987.

As a crew chief, Wilson won the Daytona 500 in 1980, ’83 and ’84. His engines powered teams to 109 wins, 123 poles and three Cup championships. Wilson built the first engine to exceed 200 mph with Benny Parsons behind the wheel.

Jarrett, now an ESPN analyst, won the 1999 Cup championship. Among his 32 Cup victories were three Daytona 500s (1993, ’96 and 2000). He and father Ned are the second father-son combination to have each won at least one series title behind only Lee and Richard Petty. Dale Jarrett follows Ned into the NMPA Hall of Fame. Ned Jarrett was inducted in 1973.

Still waiting on some NASCAR moves

   The announcement on Monday that Ramsey Poston would step down later this season from his role as manager of corporate communications for NASCAR brought a flashback of another personnel move that got a lot of attention in the sport.

   The difference, though, is that move - the departure of Sprint Cup Series director John Darby into a managerial role - has yet to take place. There was never a timetable put on the move but it was announced on Jan. 19 and that was a mere seven months ago.

   In the days following Darby's announcement, which took place during the annual media tour, stories popped up for days with speculation on his replacement and what his new role would entail. Now seven months later, most people in the sport have likely forgotten he was even supposed to leave.

   What's taking so long? If it takes more than seven months to find a suitable replacement for Darby as Cup series director, I hasten to think how long it will take NASCAR to find its new Chief Information Officer. This was not to be a quick move, either. Part of the announcement in January was Darby would work alongside the new director while he was in training. We haven't even gotten to the selection part, yet.

   I'd hold off on all the pronouncements of Poston's departure given NASCAR's recent track record. However, I will say this: If the new CIO position is filled before Darby's replacement is announced, you will get a good idea where NASCAR's priorities lie these days.

Welcome to the Lucky Dog

   In roughly 13 seasons covering NASCAR for The Observer and its racing Web site, ThatsRacin.com, I have had more conversations than I can remember about the sport.

   But I'm going to start another one. This one is with you.

   My only previous experience with blogging until now was the creation of The Gold Mine blog on CharlotteObserver.com, which focused entirely on UNC Charlotte athletics. Over the course of several years covering the 49ers I was able to develop a strong following, inspire some debate (sometimes heated) and provide some insights and news items of interest to fans in addition to what they found in the Observer.

   My goal with The Lucky Dog blog is the same: Provide insight, opinion, news and occasionally a surprise or too that will help NASCAR and racing fans gain a better and broader perspective of the sport and the issues that surround it and the players in it.

   I have included on this blog some links and pictures of other areas that interest me besides NASCAR. At any time feel free to drop me an email to share your own experiences or places I should visit.