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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
SPENCER: Fine-Tuning
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is very competitive but not to the degree we saw last year...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted September 16, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
We witnessed a heck of a battle last week among teams vying to get into the 2009 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, but a little fine-tuning on the race cars would go a long way toward a more competitive season overall.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is very competitive but not to the degree we saw last year and I attribute a portion of that to the new car. Sure, teams raced it fulltime last year but for some reason, powerhouse teams such as Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing have struggled with their setups this year.

Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch all recently said that they can’t get any front grip in their cars. Why are they complaining about the lack of front-end grip? NASCAR needs to sit down with drivers and teams to discuss why and what they can do about it, something I don’t think the sanctioning body does nearly often enough.

We need some adjustability put back into these race cars because when some teams miss the setup, they never are able to correct it during the race, which I find disturbing. I’m not talking about 30th-place teams but top-tier organizations such as Kenseth’s. Teams need a little more room to work on and dial in their cars, but NASCAR has put them in such a tight box with this car that there is only so much they can do.

The alterations wouldn’t need to be significant ones but if NASCAR met with some of these guys one-on-one, I think they could devise a quick and easy solution. It’s incumbent on NASCAR to explore small amendments such as these to make the sport more competitive. Bill France certainly would have done so. Take the competitors’ suggestions on a monthly or quarterly basis, try them out and go from there.

A top NASCAR executive told me owners and crew chiefs are pleased with the testing ban, and rightfully so. But NASCAR could take three or four teams to any given track for a day and evaluate how to tweak the car. The testing ban could remain in effect but be adjusted for these NASCAR-guided test sessions to improve the overall landscape of the sport.

While I doubt increased adjustability would level the playing field (specifically against Hendrick Motorsports), it would produce better racing. But something is wrong when the Roush Fenway, RCR and Gibbs groups struggle periodically, if not consistently, throughout the year.

Roush Fenway had the most wins of any organization (11) last year and placed three of five teams in the Chase. Now they’ve got only two drivers in the playoffs and neither has a win. It’s incredible that Roush’s only two victories this season came in the first two races with Kenseth. That just goes to show how quickly the tide can turn in our sport and how hard NASCAR must work to keep up.

RCR qualified three teams for the Chase in 2008 but none this season. As a NASCAR fan, I’d love to see all teams represented. I learned from Bill France that domination by one team isn’t good for the sport and Hendrick currently is in somewhat of a superior position with three cars and both affiliated Stewart Haas Racing teams in the Chase.

It’s time for NASCAR to evaluate what they can do to the race cars to help some of these guys compete with this mega-team and enhance the overall on-track product. And a little adjustability in the race cars would go a long way toward this goal.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it as an analyst on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
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