The fact that NASCAR fans are still "engaged with two of 36 races still remaining" in the Sprint Cup Series season "shows NASCAR’s new Chase format has done just as intended," according to Jim Utter of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. As the Chase "winds to a close, there are more drivers with a chance to win the championship this late in the season than ever before." That also means there are "more drivers’ fan bases engaged and following a title hunt at this point in the season than ever before." Utter: "Sure, the system was designed with the intent to create such a result. Rarely, though, do things work as intended. ... Think about the last time so many people were discussing racing this late in the NASCAR season" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/6). In Las Vegas, Ed Graney wrote under the header, "Fisticuffs Might Be Perfect Solution To NASCAR's Dwindling Popularity." The "dust-up at Texas Motor Speedway certainly created the sort of attention for NASCAR that the first Sunday in November rarely produces" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/5). ESPN.com conducted a roundtable discussion, posing the question if Sunday's pit road fight is good for the sport long term. ESPN's Ricky Craven said, "It's healthy short-term, because it's authentic and the sport depends heavily on pure, authentic rivalries between championship-worthy drivers. Long term, its survival depends on the ability to entertain, as well as intrigue." ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee: "For the first time in forever, racing is stealing headlines and TV time from football as we hit November. After a decade of decay, they will take whatever they can get, bloody noses and all." ESPN.com's John Oreovicz: "In the short term, NASCAR can make the most of the old axiom that 'any publicity is good publicity,' but this toxic atmosphere is harmful in the long haul." ESPN.com's Brant James: "It's a sideshow and it detracts from the real essence of the sport" (ESPN.com, 11/4).
LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE: USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes in a "blatant attempt to boost ratings and keep the blood-thirsty portion of its fan base happy, NASCAR is in the process of losing its mind." It is "fight night seemingly every few weeks now in the tense final days" of the Chase. Brennan: "What we have here, unfortunately, is a sport trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator among us. And for what? For TV ratings." In a "desperate attempt to keep its audience and stay relevant in an always challenging sports marketplace, NASCAR has decided to return to its duking-it-out, Yarborough-Allison, run-to-the-TV-to-see-who-is-hitting-whom roots." It is a "gamble that this won't turn off sponsors," and it is "hard to imagine a mainstream company flocking to NASCAR to sponsor a donnybrook, but perhaps NASCAR knows something we don't" (USA TODAY, 11/6). In Richmond, Paul Woody wrote NASCAR "wanted drama, melodrama, tension and publicity when it went to the new Chase format." It is "getting all that," and it also is "getting something just short of professional wrestling." If "angry face-offs, scrums and brawls are necessary to hold the public’s interest, that’s not racin.’" Woody: "That’s just a bad deal" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 11/5).
FINE WITH NO FINES: Neither Jeff Gordon nor Brad Keselowski were penalized for their roles in Sunday's brawl, and ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez said he was fine with that because the fight was the "most entertained I’ve been by NASCAR for a few years now." But he did say there "should be some sort of token fine or something for the drivers." L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said, “I’m stunned that nothing happened to the drivers. It just shows that NASCAR is trying to be more like pro wrestling at this point." N.Y. Daily News’ Frank Isola said they both should have been fined, adding, "Thank God this isn't the NBA because we’d have to have a panel discussion for two weeks about the players being out of control” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 11/5).
