Sunday, March 12, 2000
AUTO RACING INSIDER
Big bucks fuel success on NASCAR circuit
BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup points race is looking a lot like the 1999 race.
And that, as a perpetually jaded friend used to say, is no surprise. In NASCAR, as in baseball, the guys with the most money usually win.
This year's top 10 in points, entering today's race at Atlanta:
1. Bobby Labonte
2. Dale Jarrett
3. Mark Martin
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jeff Burton
6. Bill Elliott
7. Dale Earnhardt
8. Rusty Wallace
9. Ward Burton
10. Ricky Rudd.
Look familiar? It should.
Here was the 1999 finish:
1. Dale Jarrett
2. Bobby Labonte
3. Mark Martin
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jeff Burton
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Dale Earnhardt
8. Rusty Wallace
9. Ward Burton
10. Mike Skinner.
The top five guys in 2000 are the same five guys from '99.
Eight of the top 10 from '99 are in the top 10 again. (It should soon be nine of 10. Gordon, currently 23rd, will make his inevitable climb).
The star system is not an entirely bad thing, NASCAR believes. The big-bucks owners such as Robert Yates (Jarrett, Rudd), Jack Roush (Martin, Jeff Burton) and Joe Gibbs (Labonte, Stewart) burn millions annually on the best drivers and what the racing people call “R and D” (research and development).
Kevin Triplett, NASCAR's director of operations, reminds us that the handful of dominators is nothing new. Every era has its Richard Pettys and David Pearsons, its Earnhardts and Gordons.
“It's obvious why the Yankees win the World Series so much, and it's the same with us,” Triplett said last week. “The best teams have gone out and gotten the top drivers, the top crew chiefs, the fastest pit crews, and the best engines.”
Despite NASCAR's booming popularity, some bemoan the monotony of the weekly winner's circle. Last year, the Big Seven of Jarrett, Labonte, Martin, Stewart, Jeff Burton, Gordon and Earnhardt combined to win 30 of the 34 races.
Nothing has changed in 2000. Jarrett, Labonte, and Jeff Burton have won the first three races.
But, Triplett points out, 11 different men won races last year. And for the sixth straight year, there was a first-ever winner (Joe Nemechek) on the Winston Cup circuit.
So, there is always hope. On any given Sunday, there is always the chance that a Johnny Benson can come within four laps of winning the Daytona 500.
Slim chance, but still a chance.
“The fact is,” said Triplett, “there are always 42 other drivers in the field. And the fastest car doesn't always win.”
But it usually does.
BIG DOUGH: Speaking of money, NASCAR again leads America's major-league motor sports in sponsorship spending.
According to IEG, a Chicago research firm which tracks such things, NASCAR will take in $558 million in sponsorship dollars this year. Next is CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) at $492 million, and then the IRL (Indy Racing League) at $143 million.
Still, sponsorship spending in the IRL has jumped 18 percent this year — a bigger climb than NASCAR (up 9.2 percent) and CART (up 8.6 percent) combined.
Sponsorship is the primary funding source for racing, making the sport far more dependent on corporate dollars than most other sports.
ROOKIE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth, who start Nos.2 and 4 at Atlanta today, lead an unusually deep Winston Cup rookie class. The rookie standings to date: Earnhardt Jr. 33 points, Kenseth 30, Stacy Compton 26, Dave Blaney 17, Scott Pruett 16, Ed Berrier 15, Jeff Fuller 15, Mike Bliss 8.
F1 RETURNS: Mika Hakkinen aims to become only the second driver to win three straight Formula One championships, as the F1 season begins today with the Australian Grand Prix.
F1 will return to the United States this year, after a nine-year absence, with the U.S. Grand Prix on Sept.24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tom Groeschen welcomes your email at tgroeschen@enquirer.com.
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