Our experts debate whether a classic race is due for change
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's historic, it's grueling ... it's long.
But is it too long? Does the distance of NASCAR's longest race need to be shortened -- and if so, by how much?
Join NASCAR.com's Brad Norman and George Winkler in this debate, and chime in below in the comments section.
Norman: It's an interesting topic, George. There's no question that businesses must continually innovate and improve, and in that regard, NASCAR must ask itself the very question we are debating. Is the Coca-Cola 600 too long? But -- and this is hard to do -- organizations must also balance that continual improvement with the need to preserve not only what works, but foundations on which the organizational structure is built upon. The May race at Charlotte has always been 600 miles, and it should always be 600 miles.
Winkler: Brad, it's tough for me to go against tradition. I mean, you're talking to a guy who waited to find out whether his children would be girls or boys, so I totally respect what it means to stick with the old-school way of doing things. But the times are changing and sports are reacting accordingly. Recently, college basketball proposed a 30-second shot clock and fewer timeouts. Meanwhile, baseball tested a pitch clock in an effort to shorten their games and appease fans. Why should NASCAR be any different?
Norman: I think that's a great point, George, and one with which I agree. NASCAR should take a serious look into speeding up the pace of the race, so to speak, especially if there's a fan outcry for it. But why does it have to be the Coca-Cola 600? NASCAR could look into shortening races at, say, Atlanta or Texas or any other number of places, but the 600 is, at least to me, on a holier ground. There's a reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. still tweets using the #World600 hashtag, which is what the race was previously called. It means something special to the drivers, and to the sport. Let it stay just like it is, a unique, once-a-year event that's been a part of the sport since 1960.
Winkler: For the drivers, the 600 is an excellent test of man vs. machine. But when I take my kids to a sporting event these days it's man vs. machine all right, the handheld machines that sap their attention span. I'm lucky if I can get them through two hours before they're asking to go home, and I think a lot of parents probably share in my pain. So you end up paying big money and don't get to see a complete event. And since kids' interest level is the lifeblood of any sport, I'd be cool with a Coca-Cola 500 or 400.
Norman: Isn't there something to be said for history and kids, though? Teaching them the value of the past, and explaining the emphasis on man vs. machine and what it meant in 1960 vs. what it means now, all these years later. There's also something so special about starting one of the most historic NASCAR races ever at one of the most iconic venues ever under a gently setting sun, after a sensational tribute to the troops … then seeing the track change, the sparks fly, the lights come on. It's a wondrous thing, if I can get a little poetic. No other track or event can provide all of those facets. As for your kids being on their devices -- and thankfully, I'm not there with mine just yet -- one word for you George: RaceView.
Winkler: Ha, ha, way to sneak the RaceView plug in there, pal. But my kids are at least another two years from being able to appreciate the intricacies of RaceView -- in other words roughly the time it will take to complete another Coca-Cola 600 (wink, wink).