CUP: Should NASCAR Not Mess With Two-Car Drafts?

Sprint Cup

CUP: Should NASCAR Not Mess With Two-Car Drafts?

Tandem drafting has created some intriguing partnerships and interesting dynamics...

Jeff Owens | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted January 12, 2012 Charlotte, NC

The two-car drafts seen at Daytona and Talladega last year could become a thing of the past. (Photo: Getty Images)

NASCAR officials are keeping their collective fingers crossed as preseason testing begins this week at Daytona.

They desperately hope that new restrictor-plate rules they’ve developed break up the two-car drafts at Daytona and Talladega and help bring back pack racing to the circuit’s two most exciting tracks.

But is that really a wise move – changing the rules for tracks that produced four of the most exciting races of the season last year?

The two-car draft, or tandem racing as it has been called, has become the name of the game at Daytona and Talladega, with multiple two-car groups hooking together like magnets and taking turns pushing each other around the track.

It’s an odd spectacle, with different tandems racing to the front and then falling back as drivers are forced to swap positions. It has created some intriguing partnerships and interesting dynamics, but hasn’t always made for the most scintillating racing.

Until the end.

Then chaos erupts and it’s game on, and it winds up producing a thrilling free-for-all and a dramatic finish.

Here’s what happened in the four restrictor-plate races last year:

• Trevor Bayne produced one of the biggest upsets and best feel-good stories in NASCAR history with his thrilling victory in the Daytona 500. Bayne, just 20, had one of the fastest cars in the two-car draft and used a late push from Bobby Labonte to get to the front. He then held off the tandem of Carl Edwards and David Gilliland in one of the most exciting finishes in Daytona 500 history.

• In perhaps the best argument for the two-car draft, Jimmie Johnson beat Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer by 0.002 of a second at Talladega in the closest finish since NASCAR implemented electronic timing and scoring. All three cars crossed the finish line side by side, with another group of three right on their bumpers and a pack of eight in the lead draft. Johnson got a push from teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to charge to the front in the final turn.

• David Ragan scored another upset at Daytona in July, making up for a crucial mistake that cost him a chance to win the Daytona 500. Ragan worked in a two-car draft with teammate Matt Kenseth, who pushed him to the win, and held off the tandem of Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne as two wrecks erupted around them on the final lap.

• While a big pack of cars jockeyed for position on the final three laps at Talladega in October, teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton pulled away and decided the outcome on their own. Bowyer won it with a classic, old-school slingshot move as the two drivers crossed the finish line side by side.

While some of the racing during the middle portions of those events might not have produced edge-of-your seat action, you can’t argue with the excitement at the end and the thrilling finishes. The Daytona 500 and the April Talladega race featured two of the best finishes in years and the October Talladega race showcased the type of old-school finish that brought back memories of the 1970s and ‘80s.

Most fans seem to prefer the old-style, multicar packs and most of the drivers hate tandem racing, saying they don’t like being at the mercy of a drafting partner and feel vulnerable not being able to see what is taking place in front of them while pushing another car.

The most vocal opponent has been Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has made no secret that he hates the two-car draft. Earnhardt Jr., of course, is the sport’s most popular driver and the star that most everyone would like to see return to victory lane.

While they all have valid complaints, the two-car draft doesn’t seem to leave drivers any more vulnerable or any more dependent on another driver than the old pack racing did.

Drafting was just as crucial in the big packs and drivers were still at the mercy of drafting help. Drivers who chose the wrong line or the wrong partner – or got hung out by their partner – suddenly found themselves shuffled out of the lead draft and falling like a rock through the field.

It’s no different in the two-car draft. Timing, decision-making, good judgment and choosing the right partner are still what wins restrictor-plate races.

And big-pack racing also tends to feature a lull in the middle of races, with the field riding around, logging laps, strategizing and just trying to stay out of trouble until the finish.

And don’t forget that most of the drivers also hated racing in the big packs, with most complaining bitterly about it – especially after being in a big wreck.

While NASCAR officials are right to listen to the drivers and fans, it seems as if they are taking a big risk in trying to break up the two-car drafts.

What if it doesn’t work and the new rules wind up separating the field too much, leaving cars strung out around the track and the restrictor-plate races looking like a follow-the-leader intermediate track race?

It is likely that the new rules won’t work – not entirely.

The drivers and teams figured out the two-car draft on their own, discovering that it was the fastest way around the track after Daytona and Talladega were repaved.

It is likely that they will quickly adapt to the new rules as well, figuring out ways to continue using the two-car draft to their advantage.

The two-car draft is not ideal, but neither were the big packs. The biggest detriment to pack racing was that it produced huge wrecks that often wiped out dozens of cars and marred the finish of races.

While tandem racing might not be perfect, it works under the current circumstances and has produced four exciting and thrilling races.

Why tamper with that?

By trying to change it, NASCAR risks messing up the whole show and producing a Daytona 500 that pales in comparison to what we’ve seen the past two years.

SceneDaily.com • Kasey Kahne to Hendrick, bevy of new crew chiefs highlight list of best offseason moves

DAYTONA PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING: During the Jan. 12-14 test sessions at Daytona International Speedway, fans can submit questions and comments through Twitter @SPEED (http://www.twitter.com/speed) using the #daytonatesting hashtag.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Owens

SceneDaily.com

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