1. NASCAR Mandating Baseline Concussion Tests in 2014; Good or Bad?
A good bit of rule changes came out during the week before one of the roughest races of the season. NASCAR announced that the sport would introduce baseline concussion tests starting in 2014. This means that drivers will have to have concussion tests in the infield care center after they have wrecks. These tests have been a major topic of discussion in the last few years for major sports. One reason is due to the health problems that result and the amount of athletes who get hurt from these. I believe that this is a good move for NASCAR. One reason is the amount of violent wrecks recently. Take a look at Austin Dillon's wreck just one week ago. Wrecks like those jar drivers around a lot and could lead to concussions. This means that NASCAR needs to make driver safety a major concern and this rule change will lead to driver safety becoming a major aspect of the sport. A second and final reason is the amount of high profile drivers suffering concussions recently. Think about Dale Earnhardt Jr. last year in the Chase. He missed the last few races of the season after Talladega because of a concussion, but it was almost bad for him. He had actually had a concussion in a practice crash in a test session in the early part of the Chase. Without anybody knowing about the concussion, he continued to race even with the possibility of another concussion looming. With the institution of this rule, NASCAR will be able to make sure drivers are safe and prevent terrible injuries from occurring. I applaud NASCAR for this rule change and hope it works for the future.
2. NASCAR Possibly Changing Qualifying Rules in 2014; Good or Bad?
Another rule change came out during the week by NASCAR. It was announced that the sport would possibly undergo changes to its qualifying setup in 2014. At the moment, every track other than road courses has a qualifying session where every car goes out by itself for one or two laps depending on what the driver wants to do. At road courses, NASCAR assigns each driver a group and they go out together, but they are spread out. According to the proposed new rule in 2014, every track except for Daytona and Talladega would have group qualifying procedures. Daytona and Talladega would have a drafting session to determine the pole. I have mixed feelings about this. First, we will start off with the one bad thing I feel. I feel the aspect of qualifying will go away with this new rule change. Think about it for a second. If you have a group of cars at say Bristol or Martinsville, you have cars pretty much bumper to bumper. With this, you could have slow guys at the front of the field and faster guys at the back who can't get around them. Because of this, their lap times fall off and they end up deep in the field. This causes drivers who have great cars to get involved in wrecks or be unable to make it to the front. I just feel like this would be a huge disadvantage, but I also feel there are some good things with this rule change. The first is the amount of craziness that could happen in qualifying. Think about it again. What if you have seven or eight cars bumper to bumper at Martinsville or Bristol? That could lead to wrecks, bumps, and spins in qualifying. Yes, qualifying. I mean, could you imagine Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch throwing down in the garage because they wrecked each other in qualifying? That would be more talked about than the race. A second reason is that drivers would have racing experience before the actual race. One thing that is talked about in the garage before a race is a lack of race practice before the race. The cars typically run by themselves and away from a possible wreck. With the institution of this rule, teams would have to practice around other drivers because they would be qualifying around other drivers. It adds this completely new wrinkle that would make the sport a whole lot more prominent and one that could be interesting to see unfold.
3. Todd Parrott Fired From Richard Petty Motorsports After Violating Substance Abuse Policy; Will He Gain Respect Back?
A bit of expected news came out during the week from the Richard Petty Motorsports camp. It was announced that Todd Parrott, former crew chief for Aric Almirola who was suspended indefinitely for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy, was released from Richard Petty Motorsports. Parrott, who was a championship winning crew chief with Dale Jarrett, was signed by the team to help up and coming drivers like Almirola and Marcos Ambrose. Now, he is without a job and a little bit of respect has been lost. This leads me into my question. Will Parrott gain his respect back? To me, I think he will. For one, Parrott is a winning and able crew chief in the sport. It isn't like drivers today where there is a decent or better replacement waiting. In terms of crew chiefs, not many able ones are around the sport. Because of this, a decorated crew chief like Parrott could easily find a team in need of his services. Now, I'm not saying it would be a quick thing for him. It could take weeks, months, and potentially a year to get back up the highest rank of the sport, but he will do it. A second and final reason is the great stories that can come out of this. Think about A.J. Allmendinger. He was suspended after failing a drug test last year and look at him now. He is a two time winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a top 10 finisher in the Indianapolis 500, and a full time driver next year in the highest rank of the sport. Teams love the story of a driver knocked down by penalties and then brought back to the point of unending fame. Todd Parrott could be another one of those great stories and it will be interesting to see when he does make it back to the top.
4. Aric Almirola Honoring Maurice Petty at Martinsville By Racing the Number 41
A bit of pretty cool and very memorable news came out during the week. It was announced that Aric Almirola would jump in the number 41 for Richard Petty at Martinsville to honor Petty's brother, Maurice Petty, getting into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Petty, who was an engine builder with Petty Enterprises for a long time, also drove in a few races in his career and maned the number 41 in a few of those starts. I think this news is very touching. For one, Richard Petty risked a lot to honor his brother. Believe it or not, a number change in the middle of a season could cost a lot of money. Even though this is a one off thing, it is pretty difficult still. I applaud Richard for risking that to make sure his brother is honored and remembered. Another reason it is touching is just the number change in general. Can you imagine somebody changing a car number from 43 to 41? I mean, that is unprecedented. The number 43 is so famous for being a symbol of a legendary man in “The King”. But the number 41 just isn't as memorable. I think this took a lot for Petty to do this, but once again I applaud Petty for honoring his brother. I think it is a very touching moment for the Petty family and one that I will remember for a while.
5. My Pick to Win
Last week, Jamie McMurray took the win at Talladega after a last lap wreck erupted on the backstretch. Last time at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson took the win easily as he cruised to the finish line. Martinsville has also been the subject of a lot of fights in the past. Just last year, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon had an incident in April that led to Gordon wrecking and losing a chance for a win. In the Chase last year, Jeff Gordon wrecked Clint Bowyer at Phoenix because of the Martinsville incident. This led to a fight and Bowyer losing a chance for a title. This could happen in this edition at Martinsville and it should be fun to watch. I think Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kevin Harvick are good picks to win at Martinsville.
I thank you guys once again for reading through my thoughts. I hope you guys enjoyed and if you have differing opinions on the topics I talked about, let me know in the comments below. I will continue to write for you guys and I hope to write about the race tomorrow. As always, I hope you continue to enjoy my writing and until we meet again.
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