NASCAR’s recent tweaks trouble some

CONCORD, N.C. – The spin generated this week on the annual NASCAR media blitz could have sparked a tornado.

Every team is undefeated. Every driver, owner and sponsor is excited about the prospects for 2007. NASCAR is strong, as its freshly tweaked point system and the move of Toyota to the Nextel Cup Series illustrate.

But some of this breathless optimism and praise was troubling.

The championship system? It’s going to make the racing more exciting. The tweaks to the Nextel All-Star Challenge? You bet the competition in that annual no-points, $1 million to win special event is going to be even more exciting. That doesn’t say a lot for the current product, then, does it?

“It must have been kind of dull, right?” said seven-time champion Richard Petty. … “If you set out with a blank sheet of paper and said, ‘OK, I’m going to run a race that I think is going to be the most exciting race that I’ve ever seen,’ how would you envision the most exciting race you’ve ever seen? Would it be a wreck? Would it be 43 cars going across the start-finish line for the checkered flag?”

The constant tweaking, according to Petty, reflects an ongoing shift of NASCAR from sport to show business.

“If you play football, that’s the sport part,” he said. “If you’re a spectator, that’s the entertainment part. Racing’s the same way.”