Fan Commentary

A Nice Story, But Is It Fair and Safe?

by Grandstand Bob

Hideo Fukuyama became the first Japanese driver to qualify for a Winston Cup race, and while we all gush over this triumph, is it really fair or even safe?

For the record, Fukuyama (can’t you just imagine the jokes that name will spawn) seems a nice enough guy, humble and maybe even deserving of a shot. Hell, Earnhardt supposedly told him that he should come to America and race after he did well in three Japanese races. I’m sure that he can drive a car better than most aspiring stock car drivers, but can he drive better than Brett Bodine and Scott Wimmer – two drivers who failed to qualify?

Though Wimmer’s speed was actually faster than Fukuyama’s, Fukuyama “qualified” with a provisional, based on car owner Travis Carter’s points. It’s not his fault that the rules were favorable to his qualifying effort, but maybe we should look at those rules to ensure that they’re not putting drivers at risk and alienating struggling teams and sponsors.

I know that anyone can screw up and wreck a bunch of people, but, with few exceptions, the odds of that happening go up proportionately with a driver’s lack of experience. Fukuyama is inexperienced in stock cars, and he was  slow all weekend. On Saturday’s final practice, he was slowest, around six MPH slower than the fastest qualifiers. In the early practice, he was nearly six MPH slower than the next slowest car. Forget about having a legitimate shot at winning, with that kind of performance, he should consider himself lucky not to get run over.

When a driver isn’t prepared or qualified, it’s not only his own safety that is at risk, but also the safety of fellow competitors. Beyond safety, ill-prepared wheel jockeys can hamper the competitiveness of other drivers.

Imagine if Fukuyama unintentionally caused an early wreck that took out two or more of the top points competitors. With any luck, no one would be hurt; however, the way that the points race is shaping up, one screw-up like that can determine who wins the title. Imagine if your favorite driver were to be caught up in such an incident, and the points he lost kept him from winning the championship. Might that cause you to complain about the provisional rules?

It’s even worse to consider the position of NASCAR sponsors whose cash keeps the sport going. If their logos aren’t going around the track on Sunday, they aren’t getting any return on their investment, and they’ll abandon a team. We’ve already seen several teams struggle to find and retain sponsors, and this provisional issue isn’t very encouraging to the smaller sponsors.

The newer fans might not be aware of it, but Hooters has a long, storied history with NASCAR, even sponsoring the late champion and fan favorite Alan Kulwicki. I can’t imagine that they were happy with the results of Dover qualifying. Granted, Brett should have done better, but under normal circumstances, he probably would have gotten a provisional. No matter how many pitchers of Budweiser and Three Mile Island wings I eat, I can’t make up for a missed race.

In fairness, though it seems that I’m picking on Fukuyama, I’m really not. The provisional problem has been around for a long time. Just a couple of years ago, it was under scrutiny because a former champion had come to rely on it to make races. Back then they changed the rules to limit the number of times that you could use a past champions provisional. Maybe it’s time we look at the issue again, before sponsors and struggling teams pack up and go home or someone gets hurt or loses a championship because of it.    

Grandstand Bob Profile and Past Columns

note: This opinions expressed in this column are those of writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of ARS Racing Outlet or its parent company, amI, Inc.