A Brief Opinion on NASCAR's New Format

With a new logo comes a whole new
era of racing.

Yes, this is a bit overdue, but there is a good reason for that.

I had a knee-jerk reaction when I first heard the news that NASCAR would be overhauling its race format and dividing each race into segments: I thought it was a terrible idea. That being said, I wanted to wait to write this opinion post until today because I wanted to give it a week or so to sink in.

Now, I'm not inherently opposed to the Chase, but I will admit, the traditionalist in me prefers the pre-Chase era. If NASCAR had had some form of the Chase since 1949, I would have no problem with it at all. But Jimmie Johnson's seven titles are virtually impossible to compare with Richard Petty's, since they were won under different points formats.

With these changes, it's now going to be impossible to compare a new driver's entire career to that of a driver from an earlier era. Chase Elliott will make a name for himself in NASCAR, but he'll do so with a different driving style, using different strategies, etc, than his father Bill used in his career. Not only will the Chase races and Championships look different, but every race will look different, as Cup Series veteran Regan Smith noted.

Based on what I've seen on social media, fan reaction has been mixed. Some find this change refreshing; others are traditionalists like me who are disappointed with such a major, sweeping change to all three series.

My main problem is not the format itself. My problem is that it's being used by an established series that has been around for nearly 70 years.

To borrow an example from open-wheel racing, Formula E is far different than Formula One when it comes to rules and regulations, and I have no problem with that. If NASCAR wanted to create some sort of electric or "green" racing series with Chevy Volts, Nissan Leafs and Toyota Priuses, I'd be happy with them using any format they want. It's a new series, why not try something different?

The three national NASCAR series, however, have already established themselves in tradition. I see no need to mix things up. Sure, the middle 100 laps can get boring sometimes, but to be honest, so can the second and third quarters of an NBA game.

In conclusion, I don't have a great feeling about this, but I also won't judge a book by its cover. The drivers all seem on board with this, so that's a positive sign. We'll know more after the first couple of races this season.

On a related note, my fellow Wikipedian, Justin Nguyen (or User:ZappaOMati), also gave his thoughts on the new format on his blog, which can be found here.

On an unrelated note, congrats to Jeff Gordon and his team on their Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona win today. It was well-deserved and only further cements Gordon's legacy as one of the greatest drivers of all time.

Update: Manor Finally Closes Down

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

All of 2010's three new Formula One entries are officially dead.

Manor Racing announced yesterday that the team will almost certainly not race in 2017 after failing to find an investor, making their shutdown imminent.

To be honest, I thought this would not happen. Manor were in a very similar situation after the 2014 season and were able to make it through the administration process. ESPN F1's Kate Walker argues that Manor's demise was perhaps "inevitable" given the way prize money is structured in F1 these days. Walker does note that there is still (very) slim hope that an eleventh team will be on the grid next year, though it's very unlikely at this point.

"While the likelihood is remote, it remains possible that Manor could once again be saved at the eleventh hour. The team's entry in the F1 World Championship was held by a separate entity which has yet to enter administration or be declared insolvent. Should an interested party wish to pick up an F1 slot at a rock-bottom price, now is the time to do it."

The other big news that I was unable to write about this week (real-life work always comes first) is that Liberty Media have finally completed their F1 takeover. Furthermore, Bernie Ecclestone has stepped down from F1 entirely. One of the first things Liberty needs to do is reform the payout structure. Ferrari were the highest-earning team after 2015 despite finishing second in the championship to Mercedes. Ecclestone claimed: "We pay more money to Ferrari because they've been around a long time. Ferrari is Formula One and they deserve whatever we pay them."

Sorry Bernie, but that's not how it should work. Ferrari cannot get extra money for being Ferrari. As Autosport notes, McLaren received the fifth-highest amount of money in 2015 despite finishing ninth (of ten teams) in the championship. If that's the system in place, it's a miracle Manor survived as long as they did.

A Brand Used Car!

Photo: XPB Images

Manor's administration saga continues.

Assuming the team can find an eleventh-hour savior (and apparently they're "making progress"), the team has stated that they will have to use their 2016 car in the first three races of 2017.

Autoweek notes that: "For what it's worth, the 2016 car would have no chance of making the 107 percent rule in qualifying against the much faster 2017 machines." Yes, the new cars are expected to anywhere from two to five seconds faster per lap depending on the circuit, reckons new Mercedes man Valtteri Bottas.

The so-called "107% rule" states that any car that fails to run a lap time within 107% of the fastest time in the first qualifying session may not be allowed to start the race. Since the rule was reintroduced in 2011, many teams have failed to meet this threshold for various circumstances, though only perennial backmarker HRT was forbidden from racing. Given Manor's reputation as also being a perennial backmarker, chances are they would be slow enough to be forbidden to start the first three races if they did indeed use their old car.

Hopefully Manor will find an investor and survive. The first three races, however, already look rather bleak.

"Estou de Volta!"

Photo: @MassaFelipe19 (Instagram)

Valtteri Bottas' move to Mercedes is now imminent.

Felipe Massa and Williams have announced that the 35-year-old Brazilian will indeed put his retirement on hold to race for one more season, in a move that now all but confirms Bottas will join Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Massa posted a picture on Instagram breaking the news to his fans, saying, "I want to thank all of you who supported and cried with me. Thank you for all the messages of support and affection for me to return. Thanks Williams Martini Racing for the opportunity and confidence in my work! I'm back!"

Originally, it appeared there would be no room for Massa at Williams in 2017, which forced the Brazilian into retirement after originally stating he wanted to stay in Formula One for a couple more years. My more detailed thoughts on Massa's u-turn can be found here.

I'll have another post up when Bottas is announced at Mercedes.

Photo: Motorsport.com

UPDATE: Couldn't even finish Massa's post before it was confirmed: Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton are now teammates at Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Bottas made his debut for Williams in 2013 and has scored nine podium finishes for the Grove-based team, including a third-place drive in Canada last season. The 27-year-old Finn is still looking for his first career F1 win and pole position, though both of those are probably imminent given the power in the car Bottas will be driving next season.

Bottas becomes the third driver to have his ride confirmed today, with Massa and Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber) having confirmed their deals earlier this morning (or afternoon for my European readers) as well. Only Manor still need to confirm their drivers, though that's of course secondary right now given their priority is coming out of administration.

An Offer to Buy a Team

Photo: Motorsport.com

As I noted earlier, Manor are back in administration. Their hopes of staying on the grid, however, just got a bit of a boost.

Motorsport.com is reporting that an offer has been made to purchase the team; however, the deal needs to be completed by Friday.

Not much else is known yet. We don't know who this potential buyer is but chances are we will in the coming days. Time is of the essence for Manor right now, which means the team will be working hard to get something done before the deadline passes.

The new season starts in a little more than two months, on March 26 in Australia.

Two Veterans to Attempt Daytona 500

Photo: Las Vegas Review-Journal

It looks like Tommy Baldwin Racing still exists as a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series organization after all, as the team just announced plans to field XFINITY Series regular Elliott Sadler in the Daytona 500. The team will use their familiar No. 7 Chevy with sponsorship from Golden Corral, and yes, if Sadler finishes in the top ten, kids eat free at Golden Corral the Monday after the race.

The second announcement came as a bit of a surprise, however. Brendan Gaughan (pictured) will also attempt to make the race, driving for Mark Beard.

If you don't know who Beard is, you're not alone. His team, Beard Motorsports, competed part-time in 2014 but failed to qualify in every event they entered. There's no word on Gaughan's car number; Beard used No. 75 in 2014 though Gaughan almost always uses No. 62 with his South Point sponsorship.

Good luck to both veteran drivers. Both Sadler and Gaughan never really got a chance to show what they were capable of in Cup. Hopefully they'll both make the race and enjoy a strong outing.

Bye-bye Carl?

Photo: Fox Sports

As if one shocking retirement weren't enough this offseason...

Carl Edwards, a 13-year NASCAR veteran who drove for Joe Gibbs Racing this past season, nearly winning the championship, is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. Reigning XFINITY series champion Daniel Suárez is expected to replace him.

I agree with Fox Sports analyst and former NASCAR crew chief Jeff Hammond: there must be a monumental reason behind this. Edwards is only 37, not quite as young as Nico Rosberg (31) but certainly younger than several active drivers, including reigning champion Jimmie Johnson (41). He still has at least two or three years left in his prime and he drives for one of NASCAR's strongest teams, making this decision even more puzzling.

Rosberg admitted he would have stayed in Formula One had he not won the World Championship. But he did, and gets to go out on top. Edwards came within ten laps of winning the championship but ultimately fell short. My hope is that, like Rosberg, Edwards simply believes it's time to hang up the helmet.

I certainly hope there's not a more serious issue going on that would force him to step away. We'll find out after a JGR press conference tomorrow.

Another One Bites the Dust

Photo: Motorsport.com

Even if Manor do survive this offseason, Esteban Gutiérrez won't be one of their drivers.

In fact, he won't be anyone's driver, at least not in Formula One. Numerous reports surfaced today that Gutiérrez is instead finalizing a Formula E deal for the remainder of 2016-17 and beyond.

While there's no word on when the deal will be announced, Gutiérrez already seems committed to running the Mexico ePrix in April. As a native Mexican, Gutiérrez should be able to bring nothing but added interest to that race.

As an American, I'm obviously a big Haas F1 fan. I must say, Gutiérrez didn't impress me much this year. He always seemed a step behind teammate Romain Grosjean and didn't always have a very good attitude either. Hopefully the former Ferrari development driver can find more success in Formula E.

Manor into Administration...again

Photo: Associated Press

It's official: Manor have entered administration (bankruptcy) for the second time in three offseasons, casting the team's future into further uncertainty.

The team's predecessor, Marussia F1 Team, also entered administration after the 2014 season before being rebranded at the eleventh hour, starting 2015 as Manor Marussia F1 Team. In 2016, the constructor became known as Manor Racing MRT.

Manor were poised to finish tenth in the Constructors' Championship this season after Pascal Wehrlein's top-ten finish in Austria. However, Felipe Nasr's ninth-place run in Brazil for Sauber bumped Manor into eleventh and cost the team millions of pounds in prize money.

At this point, I'm confident Manor can still find an investor to save their place on the grid next season. They've done it before, after all, and considering they've been working on their 2017 car since last January, it would really be a shame if they weren't a part of F1 next year.

Yes, Drivers are Athletes

Photo: Motorsport.com

Checked in to Motorsport.com this evening to see if anything new had turned up. It had, in the form of further confirmation of a claim that somehow gets refuted time after time (cough...Donavan McNabb...cough).

Formula One's 2017 cars will be stronger and faster than ever, which has led Renault's Jolyon Palmer to believe physical fitness will be more important to drivers than ever next season: "If it is what we think, then I think it will show early on who has been in the gym over the winter and who hasn't. If drivers aren't in the gym this winter they will be found out."

Drivers need to go to the gym because they need to be fit to do their job well. To me, it sounds like something Captain Obvious would say in a Hotels.com commercial. I don't think it's any coincidence that Jimmie Johnson and Michael Schumacher, two of the fittest drivers ever in their respective racing divisions, both have seven championships. If you try to argue auto racing isn't a sport (I mean, it is called motorsport, but what the hey), I'll usually let it slide. Take it out on the drivers by saying they're not athletes and I'll destroy all your arguments and bury you into the ground.

So there you have it. For the umpteenth time, racing drivers are athletes. If you're still unconvinced, click here for further scientific confirmation.

Repaves

Photo: Atlanta Motor Speedway

It's January, which means it's arguably the slowest month in terms of motorsport news. All the major series are off and most of the silly season pieces have fallen into place.

There was, however, some news in the NASCAR world today: Atlanta Motor Speedway is getting a repave. That's not too surprising, given that the last repave was in 1997, making it the second-oldest racing surface in NASCAR. What may be surprising to some folks is that AMS is actually one of NASCAR's fastest tracks, and has been ever since the 1997 reconfiguration and repave.

With this news, the track is almost sure to see increased speeds in 2018 (the project will begin after the March 2017 NASCAR races take place). Still, it's in great shape considering the pavement turns twenty this year. The linked article in the above paragraph notes that the mild winters in Georgia and a high-maintinence program certainly don't hurt.

On a side note, school has started back up for me. So don't be surprised if the blog goes a couple of days without being updated here or there, or if the entries are mostly on the shorter side (like this one).

From One Backmarker to Another

Photo: Motorsport.com

There are now only three (but really only two) available spots on the grid for 2017.

Sauber, who finished tenth in the Constructors' standings in 2016, just announced plans to sign Pascal Wehrlein to pair with Marcus Ericsson for 2017. Wehrlein moves to Sauber from Manor Racing, who finished eleventh in the Constructors' thanks to Wehrlein's solitary point scored in Austria (Felipe Nasr scored two points for Sauber in Brazil). Wehrlein was also in the running for Nico Rosberg's Mercedes seat and was actually my pick to get it.

This also should all but confirm Valtteri Bottas' move to Mercedes, which in turn would confirm Felipe Massa's return to Williams. Motorsport.com notes all three announcements may coincide with each other once terms are completed and the deals are official.

With this announcement, while Mercedes are still yet to confirm Bottas, it's looking more and more like he's the guy. So just like last year, Manor are the only team yet to confirm their driver lineup for the upcoming season. In fact, neither of those seats are filled. I'm going to refrain from giving any predictions this time. Manor probably need at least one pay driver of some sort, but given the team's history, the driver lineup probably won't be announced until February.

And no, sorry my fellow Americans. Alexander Rossi won't be one of them. He's staying in IndyCar with Andretti. That's a good move; why on earth would you drive for a backmarker and fight for P14 just to put an American on the grid when you could drive for a top IndyCar team and defend your Indianapolis 500 crown?