NASCAR HOFer and longtime Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip believes that drivers' dislike of the current rules package is what "led to the creation of a driver's council," according to Jenna Fryer of the AP. Waltrip: "We've never had what we'd call a 'council' before ... NASCAR was never too open to meeting with a group of people, but had been willing to meet one-on-one." Waltrip "is certain that a push for better racing is behind the drivers' decision to present a unified front to NASCAR." He said, "There is a lot of unrest in the sport currently, and I think that's why NASCAR is listening. Hopefully, they'll take drivers' input and make some better decisions. What we all want ... is good racing and action on the track" (AP, 6/3).
I NEED A VACATION: In Charlotte, Jim Utter writes NASCAR's "unwieldy" Sprint Cup Series schedule "needs a vast restructuring, if for no other reason than to allow downtime to work on the product." The schedule "runs from mid-February to mid-November, with at best two true off weekends. In a "perfect situation, a significant offseason would provide NASCAR time to conduct extensive testing, on the track and off." That testing "needs to include a full field." Utter: "Does anyone believe tests of eight to 10 cars on the track effectively simulate races that include 43 cars?" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/4).
