If I were King.....

I love stock car racing. I like NASCAR and enjoy watching it. But there is room for improvement. As the season rolls on I'll add to my list of things that I'd change in the NASCAR world if I had the power to change things.

This weeks beef has to do with the late start times that we now have to contend with. Aside from the Earnhardt, Jr. incident (.....has he accepted some degree of blame yet?) this is the big topic of debate among NASCAR fans following last Sunday's Daytona 500. It could be argued either way whether (weather?) NASCAR made the decision to declare the race official too soon or just right or even if they should have done so at all. What can't be argued, and I'm far from the first to write this, is that, at the very least, had the race been started at 1:00 Eastern as it has been up until recently, there would have been a much better chance of us all seeing the event go the scheduled distance.

David Poole, so many NASCAR fans columnist whipping boy, had it right in a recent piece. Earlier on this week it looked like Mr. Poole was throwing his hands up and declaring the chances of NASCAR returning race start times to the traditional time to be nonexistent. Today it looks like he's taken up the charge to revert back to the way it was in the good old days.

I'm not a fan of that phrase. I'm not a fan of the song either but it does represent what I believe. These are the good old days. Without getting too deep I mean that the latest is the greatest. ...or should be. Classic races are fun to re-watch but tomorrow's exciting finish is all that more exciting. But obviously I don't discount the past. There is so much from the racing past I'd love to have exist these days. More on that as the blog continues.

Plain and simple, return the start times to the old time 1:00 Eastern start time. I know the big push has been on in the past decade or so with NASCAR to mine the California hills for new fans. But at what expense? Long time fans are cheesed off that they don't see complete races or that there are tortuously long pre-race shows to endure. And what is the logic behind starting the race in California at 6:00 Eastern? Someone, please.

There are my permitted exceptions to the early start rule. The Coke 600, fine as is. And Daytona in July, also permitted. The Firecracker 400 becomes the Fireworks 400. Bristol at night is cool but hasn't it always been so. Even if it did rain, both the July Daytona race and the August Bristol race fall on Saturdays so the Sunday is there as a just-in-case.

If I were king......