Changes keep progressive NASCAR on the move

Sometimes, change is good. It's that simple.

It wasn't that long ago -- January 2009, in fact, -- that NASCAR officials were singing a bit of a different tune. Too much change, too fast, could be confusing for race fans, they said. They promised to pretty much keep things the same for a while.

While there was some validity to their claims at the time, it hasn't taken long for them -- and everyone else -- to realize that in racing, frequent changes usually are good for the sport.

You want evidence?

Look no further than the past two weekends in the Sprint Cup Series. Sunday's win by Juan Montoya at Watkins Glen came on the heels of the previous Sunday's dramatic victory by Greg Biffle at Pocono -- breaking lengthy winless streaks for both drivers and giving fans something new to look at in Victory Lane.

In the Nationwide Series, Marcos Ambrose won this past Saturday's event at The Glen. And while it's nothing new for Ambrose to win the Zippo 200 at the 2.45-mile road course -- it was his third in the row -- it's always great to have someone in Victory Lane who says, "We've still got work to do tomorrow, so I won't have too many beers tonight."

In the Camping World Truck Series, which ran this past weekend at a 1.33-mile concrete track southeast of Nashville, Todd Bodine added to his points lead by holding off up-and-comer Austin Dillon. Bodine is seeking his second championship -- but like Jimmie Johnson in the Cup Series, anybody but four-time champ Ron Hornaday feels like something new in the Truck Series.

More changes ahead

Changes in the results on the tracks in the various series, despite whatever various conspiracy theorists may maintain, are not manipulated. They simply happen, and are refreshing when they do.

But NASCAR can and is doing something about other facets of the sport. It instituted the "have-at-it, boys" policy at the beginning of this season, promising to let drivers settle most of their differences on their own and within the confines of the track. It has held true to this mandate, stepping in only occasionally when it was deemed necessary, and the action on the track has been more exciting.

Now comes some refreshing changes to the schedule.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is losing its spring Cup race, while Kentucky Speedway will finally gain one. While that's sad for Atlanta, the fact is that AMS no longer deserves a second date. Now that facility can concentrate on making its one remaining Labor Day weekend date something really special.

The bottom line on that date swap is that Speedway Motorsports Inc., which runs both tracks, now has two dates that are likely to draw large crowds instead of one. Plus, it's always interesting when any of the series start running at a new facility, even if the other series already have run there.

Other changes to the schedule are expected to be announced by NASCAR as soon as this Tuesday. Auto Club Speedway, which deserves a second Cup race date even less than Atlanta, appears to be losing one of its weekends to Kansas Speedway -- which rightly expects to become one of NASCAR's destination hot spots with the addition of a casino/hotel overlooking Turn 2 at the 1.5-mile track.

And Chicagoland Speedway will replace New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the first venue in the 10-race Chase that settles the series championship. That is another domino -- but not the only one -- that will fall when the new full schedule is announced.

What else could help?

Tweaking the schedule is a good idea, but while they're at it, NASCAR officials shouldn't stop there.

The recent Truck race in Pocono, which lasted only 50 laps and 125 miles and was won by popular Cup driver Elliott Sadler, was well-received and with good reason. There are a number of Cup races that would be better received by the general sporting public, and even at least some hard-core race fans, if they were shortened by 100 or more miles.

That's an old argument, of course, but one that carries more weight than ever in today's over-saturated sports world where fans' attention spans seem to grow shorter every day.

You also could argue -- and many of us have -- that the current 36-race Sprint Cup schedule is way too long. That's not likely to change anytime soon, if ever, no matter how legitimate the argument might be. There are too many tracks clamoring for too few race dates already.

You also could argue -- and many of us have -- that there should be more road-course races incorporated into the schedule. Anyone who did not find the racing at Watkins Glen highly entertaining simply wasn't paying attention. If you're going to keep two road courses in the regular-season portion of the schedule, why not add one to the Chase, as well? That's also not likely to happen anytime soon, if ever.

But at least NASCAR is recognizing that some changes are good, and it is attempting to be somewhat proactive about it. It is much appreciated by even the participants in the sport.

"I think all tracks need to be held to a standard," driver Kevin Harvick told reporters at Watkins Glen. "Whether it be safety, whether it be crowd attendance, whatever it is. The biggest boom we have ever seen in this sport came in 2001 when we went to new venues in Chicago, Kansas, and you had all this movement with the schedule and you created all these new fans. Sometimes things can become stale."

And when they do, it's time to shake 'em up a little.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

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