IS IT TIME FOR THE "NASCAR NATION" TO STOP COMPLAINING?

[GET THE LATEST "TRUTH WITH SPEEDZZTER" HERE]

Yesterday, Yahoo Sports blogger Jay Busbee picked up Speedzzter's "The Day NASCAR Died" entry on the "From the Marbles" blog.

The resulting explosion of blog traffic was much greater than from Speedzzter's political fare or posts about Ford Motor Company issues.

Thanks Jay and "From the Marbles."

Of course, the well-placed NASCAR paid propagandists are trying to pacify the natives of the so-called "NASCAR NATION," claiming that all's well or even better than ever.

For example, Turner's Joe Menzer, over at the NASCAR-restricted NASCAR.com website sings the praises of Toyota's sudden dominance in an attack piece clearly aimed at Jack Roush and Roush-Fenway Racing:

But to all those who say that this long-predicted and much-feared emergence of Toyota means the end to all that is sacred and good about NASCAR, it's time to say this: Grow up.

Menzer's screed (which could have been drafted either by Brian France's public relations rep or Toyota's TRD) is entitled "To deal with Toyota, stop complaining, go compete."

Of course, Menzer claims that Toyota's [not so] "long way to the top" is simply the product of good, old-fashioned 'Merican hard work.

But Menzer ignores virtually all of the legitimate criticisms about how the Brian France regime has stage-managed and bootstrapped Toyota's NASCAR trajectory. Because Jack Roush has been the most vocal critic among the elite and insular club of Sprint Cup owners, Roush is, unfairly, Menzer's villain.

However, Menzer's myopic "all is wonderful" view of the Toyota Cup . . . oops . . . Sprint Cup and the bush-league Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series ignores that the status quo in NASCAR is wholly unsatisfactory to millions of "fully grown up" consumers who used to be in the stands or watching on TV.

Moreover, The obvious problem with the "go compete" canard is that unless one is willing to spend 100+ million dollars to snag a "factory deal" field a huge superteam (and then be prepared for NASCAR to give away, restrict or outlaw any non-production technology you might spend millions and millions to develop) there is "no competing" with Toyota's buy-out of NASCAR.

NASCAR didn't make Toyota build and sell to the general public what they wanted to race.

Instead NASCAR let Toyota (and Dodge) crib the best from Ford and GM's 40+ year investment in NASCAR as a baseline. And NASCAR gave Toyota (and Dodge) essentially the same aerodynamics with the hideous COT. Thus we have a freakish "common-template" non-production rear-wheel-drive pushrod/carbureted V8-powered "Toyota Camry" funnycars dominating in laps led, if not yet wins.

And Toyota's capture of Joe Gibbs Racing is disloyal, "checkbook racing" at its most shameful (not that Speedzzter would be complaining if Gibbs moved to Ford . . . .)

You could likely put all of the production-based parts on the NASCAR "Toyota Camry" in a large suitcase and still have plenty of room for a case of whatever Brian France must have been drinking when he concocted this disaster plan.

And all of the overpaid NASCAR shills are pushing this mess as some sort of Second Coming for the sport of "stock car" racing.

So should the "NASCAR NATION" just "grow up?" Just give up and go along with the path the France Family has dictated for us to follow?

No sale!

Sorry, but NASCAR's "gimme" to Toyota is another huge step down the road to the extinction of OEM production-car-based AMERICAN stock car racing.

At least there are still V8 Supercars racing in the Land of OZ, so there's a little something left for us old-fashioned "Walter Mitty" OEM production stock car fans to identify with.

And that indicates how disappointed and disgruntled NASCAR fans could "go compete:" By watching more relevant racing elsewhere. Or spending their time and money engaged in other motorsports activities. Such "starving of the Brian France Beast" is the sort of competition that would get NASCAR's attention.

Hopefully, some dangerous fans with paving equipment and other promoters that NASCAR has left behind will someday develop a production-based alternative to the Brian France COT circus -- an alternative which returns to real, OEM production "stock car racing" (with suitable safety systems added, of course)

Now that would be a real way to "go compete."

. . . An alternative which does not require 100-person teams or a million dollars per race to compete. An alternative that equalizes the "playing field" with production parts sold in the showroom, and not fabricated in the secret labs of superteams. . . .


Yahoo Sports NASCAR blog's Daily Dose column by Bob Margolis, asserted a different defense of the 2008 NASCAR season. He claims that the season in which NASCAR DIED has "shown all the signs of . . . being a classic year . . . ."

Margolis then gives ten reasons why and threw down a dare for NASCAR critics to proffer ten reasons why not. (Possibly Bob was standing down wind from where Goodyear was burning all of those "junk" tires that didn't get the Tony-Stewart-Stamp-of-Approval at Atlanta).

Several NASCAR traditionalists have responded. Of course "Truth With Speedzzter" is more than happy to pick up the gauntlet of a challenge . . . .

2008 is shaping up to be a dismal year for "NASCOT" because:

1. Too much "single file" riding instead of racing.

2. Too many "fans disguised as empty seats."

3. No "renewal" of the Southern 500 (again).

4. Too many "cookie cutter" 1.5 mile ovals on the schedule.

5. More overhyped Indy 500 winners riding around laps down at the back than at the Indy 500.

6. Tony's [Stewart's] brain and razor aren't working (Maybe ol' Smoke could stuff that Old Spice towel into his mouth).

7. The Wood Brothers keep missing the show. ]

8. Impending sell-out of Petty Enterprises.

9. Toyota dominance in an ugly "common-template," freakish "NASCAR" which has nothing to do with anything sold anywhere, in any showroom, to anybody, anywhere.

(not that any consumer would pay for something that looks like Bob-the-Builder mocked it up out of cardboard, plopped on a "tuner wing" and "splitter" from the Pep Boys, and slathered it with fake-looking "brand identification" decals).

10. No competitive single car teams.

11. Yates Racing #28 (Travis Kvapil) struggling on the pick-up-sponsor-of-the-week program.

12. "Rowdy" Busch is a wreck waiting to happen on nearly every lap.

13. The "24 hours of California."

14. Backmarker Dale Jarrett still hasn't retired.

15. Dale Jr.-- New team, new number, new driving suit . . . and same old losing streak.

16. Mark "Viagra" Martin -- still stroking around, but in a Chevy.

17. Jeff Gordon -- still hated as a gutless turncoat by Ford Racing fans, but still running better than he should be.

18. Still too much of shameless Toyota pitchmen the Waltrip Brothers on television.

19. Fox Gopher cam.

20. New Hampshire is still a boring death trap with two dates (thanks oldcorps116).

Bonus: BRIAN FRANCE . . . .

How's that list, Bob?