In the Stix:   Two Words Describes the “Sizzler”: It Sucks

By Jason Buckley

(Executive Editor’s Note:  The views expressed in this column are the views and opinions of the author of the article.  His views are not necessarily those of LegendsNation.com, its sponsors or other contributors.)

A few years back NASCAR decided to make a change in the NEXTEL Cup Series point system which determined their biggest champion of all.  They had used the old system for well before I started watching or even caring about racing.  Instead of a 36-race point championship, they instituted the “Chase”; a 10-race championship chase at the end of the season after locking in the top drivers in points after 26 of the 36 events.  The change was made to help make the sport more exciting, especially during the last races of the season when NASCAR lost a television market share to the start of the NFL football season. 

“The Chase” has garnered a mixed bag of results over the last few years in TV ratings and in the views of the drivers, teams and fans.  While some feel it has made the final races of the season exciting, others feel it has cheapened the whole meaning of a season long champion. 

Some tracks and series have followed this trend, thinking that if the biggest organization in American racing does it, they should too.  One in particular is Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout Series. 

For years, the Shootout has consisted of a 10 race championship chase for the Legends, Bandoleros and Thunder Roadsters.  Each race used the same point schematic, except for three races where double points were awarded.  These double-points races had their own separate points chase called the “Red, White and Blue”, but also counted towards the 10-race championship, which allowed drivers to use these races to catch up on points they might have lost throughout the season.

This year LMS officials decided to change the system to add their own version of the “The Chase;” they call it “The Sizzler”

Here’s how it all plays out.  There is still a “Red, White and Blue” championship, but no more double point nights.  During the first seven races of the 10-race Shootout, drivers tried to stay in the coveted top-10 in points.  At the conclusion of that seventh race, the top-10 had their points all elevated to the 3000 point mark, which essentially made all the top-10 drivers even.  The only change was giving five bonus points to a driver for each win they had this season; another concept borrowed from this year’s Cup point system.  These ten drivers then battle for the final three races of the season to decide the 2007 Summer Shootout champion in each division.

While I am a fan of “The Chase” in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, there are only two words to describe my opinion of the new “Sizzler” Summer Shootout championship system: “It Sucks.”

First off, NASCAR has a 26-race setup with a 10-race championship chase following it.  That gives drivers many races on the front end to get their cars right, have some bad luck here and there and make sure their program is stable and consistent.  Then those top drivers have 10 races to shake things out to decide who will be the champion.

With this Sizzler Shootout format, there are only seven races for drivers to get things sorted out; that’s not too bad.  But three races to determine the “Champion” of the Shootout?  What a farce.  That isn’t even close to the amount of races needed to determine a champion for the season.

There are a lot of other factors as well.  You have the amount of drivers in each division, their conduct (penalties are awarded by officials more rampantly than it Cup) and also the actual outcome of the race.  In NASCAR, just about the same 43 drivers, give or take a few on the back end, are racing each other the whole season and in their “Chase.”  NASCAR has a decent grip on things, and very rarely do you see non-“Chase” drivers blatantly wrecking out “Chase” drivers.  But in the Summer Shootout, it is a whole different ball game.  Drivers run all over other drivers and officials seem to randomly penalize some drivers, but not others in certain situations.  Generally, it is a chaotic scene to just make three races at the backend of the season and they are the ones that count toward determining the champion.  One bad race and a driver is out of the Sizzler championship chase unless the others have trouble too.

Roger Slack runs the show at LMS for the Summer Shootout.

Also, I haven’t really heard of many drivers that like it.  Many didn’t even know much about it this season.  While officials stated what was going on, it wasn’t highlighted too well.  In NASCAR, it was “the buzz.”  It was a big deal.  But this Sizzler was more of a fizzle and dud in the media surrounding the Shootout.  This is supposed to be the biggest series for the Legends cars.  You would have thought this type of “Sizzler” format would have been big in the news (internet sites, trade papers and such).

Also, while some drivers benefited with the points being evened up, it hurt others. 

After round seven, multiple Shootout champion Brian Weimer had a 49-point lead over Clay Hair in the Masters division, but on the point reset he was tied with him.  During round eight, Weimer was involved in a wreck that dropped him to seventh in the standings, 97 points behind leader Hair.  Without the Sizzler figured in, he would only be 48 points back and in third.  This frustrated Weimer so much that he told LegendsNation.com last week he might not show up for the final two races.

Tyler Green (#20) was one of many drivers that was affected hard with the new "Sizzler".

Pro driver Tyler Green is another that was affected by this new system in a big way.  After round seven he had a 163 point lead on second place due to having three wins and all top-five finishes in the first seven events.  With the point reset and the bonus points, he still held the lead going into round eight, but by only 10-points.  An incident with a non-Sizzler chase driver during the heat race forced him to start the feature from the back.  While he overcame the huge hole he was put in to finish 11th and beat his nearest competition in the points before the reset, he dropped to fifth in the standings, 45 points behind the new leader.  Without the Sizzler points reset, he would still be in the lead by 162 points.

Who did it benefit?  Drivers like Scott Knox in the Legends Pro division who entered round eight 332 points back before the reset, but only 10 points out after.    Benji Hicks was 321 points back in the Bandolero Young Guns division and Bayley Currey was 320 points back from the leaders in the Bandolero Bandits, but both were only 20 back from the leader after the reset.  While this was good for them and others that got a boost in the points, in my opinion, it certainly isn’t the right thing to do.

Another thing that bothers me is the name.  Who decided the “Sizzler” was cool to use?  When I hear the word “Sizzler”, I think back to the year 2000 when I lived in California and was introduced to the “Sizzler” eating establishment.  I also remember how I felt after eating there and my subsequent visit to the Porcelain Bank & Trust thereafter.  Come to think of it, maybe “Sizzler” is the right name for this whole thing.

 

Regardless what it is called or what people think about it, the reality is that the Shootout is Roger Slack and Humpy Wheeler’s show.  Drivers can cry and whine about it and so can I, but that doesn’t mean it will change.  The Summer Shootout is more about entertainment for the fans and putting money in the speedway’s pocket than true racing anyway.  It always has been.

The only way things are going to change is if less drivers show up to race and the attendance drops significantly.  Both have appeared to happen recently, especially the car counts as round eight (the start of the Sizzler) was the lowest car count to date with only 179 Legends and Bando drivers showing up, compared to 211 on the first week and 222 during the July 3rd round.

So while the numbers of cars drop and drivers get more frustrated at the circus show that happens Tuesday nights at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the “Sizzler” continues on and champions will be named.  While it will be an accomplishment to win the championship this season to the drivers that pull it off, I think the whole meaning of ‘champion’ has been cheapened by this new stunt.  Yes, I think the “Sizzler” sucks, but it is what it is. 

Antacid anyone?