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Sunday, August 12
Teams doubt NASCAR will drop race
By Jonathan Baum
ESPN.com

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- NASCAR's annual trip to Watkins Glen International was also Jeff Gordon's almost-annual trip to victory lane. Gordon won Sunday's Global Crossing at the Glen, his fourth-career win at the track, which is one of two road courses on the Winston Cup circuit.

And going hand-in-hand with NASCAR forays on the road are rumors and speculation about where NASCAR might add or subtract races -- including talk that Watkins Glen and Sears Point are on life-support.

But after Sunday's close finish between Gordon and Jeff Burton, the future of racing at Watkins Glen seems to be safe.

"I thought it was a fantastic event," said track president Brian Sperber. "Jeff Gordon is always very very strong at the Glen, winning four of five races here. He had to earn this one."

Sperber dismisses talk of the Glen's NASCAR race being in jeopardy.

"You look at the great races we've had here over the last few years. This has been a phenomenal event. The fans in upstate New York continue to support the race in a big way and I think the competitors and NASCAR see that. I think these rumors are just that -- rumors. Somebody with too much time on their hands looking to create a news story."

At the very least, the immediate future of Winston Cup racing at the road courses is certain.

Said NASCAR president Mike Helton on Sunday, "We plan on being back at Watkins Glen and Sears Point next year."

Talk of dropping a road race doesn't seem to carry much weight with drivers or former drivers, either. NBC commentator Wally Dallenbach, who has had success at road courses, doesn't see the road race being abandoned anytime soon.

"Well obviously, I'd hate to see any road course go away," Dallenbach said. "I think there need to be about five or six more. Those rumors come up every single year and I'm not going to put a whole lot of faith in them. If one has to go, I hope it's not this one."

"(Road courses are) fun because you get to drive the (heck) out of a race car and you can be really, really aggressive on a road course where you really can't be aggressive with the race car on an oval. The car dictates how fast you go (on an oval), but on a road course, you can just get in it and be a gorilla if you want, and it's a lot of fun."

Ricky Rudd, who entered the race in third in the Winston Cup points standings, qualified second next to teammate Dale Jarrett. Rudd said he wouldn't mind adding more road courses to the schedule.

"We here those rumors every year, and I hadn't even heard them this year until (now). I think road course racing is here to stay on the circuit. Two times per year is OK -- it'd be nice to run at least four."

NASCAR's modern era has seen Winston Cup races at Watkins Glen continuously since 1986 and at Sears Point since 1989, marking the only two road races in the series. Drivers and owners seem to generally like the road courses, but also say that they can throw a monkey wrench into a season.

"(NASCAR) needs to do more of them or less of them," said Ray Evernham, who as crew chief for the No. 24 led Gordon to three consecutive victories at the Glen and two more at Sears Point. "We put a lot of effort -- a lot of time, money and testing into two races per year. So I'd either like to see them say, 'OK, we're going to run more of them or not run any at all.' But we have a lot of equipment sitting around for just two races every year."

Jimmy Makar, crew chief for Bobby Labonte's No. 18 Ford, agreed with Evernham's assessment.

"It's a little bit different, but it is a neat change of pace -- I'm almost of the opinion that I wouldn't mind seeing, if we're going to race road races, to put a couple more in there to make it worth having two or three road race cars in the shop; do it a little more often.

"It's fun. It's a different way of racing for us, but it is a little break from the typical going around and turning left."

As is common with road races, there were several road course specialists on hand driving as hired guns, including Boris Said (finished eighth in No. 77 car), Anthony Lazzaro (34th), Brian Simo (37th) and Ron Fellows, who at one point led the race but was knocked out by mechanical problems. Fellows won the Busch race at Watkins Glen last month.

Robby Gordon finished up a four-race stint in the No. 31 car filling in for Mike Skinner, who was injured at Chicago. And though he's normally on the short list of road course specialists, Gordon, who's day ended when a TV telemetry box blew in his car, thinks there's less of a need to bring in hired guns for these races.

"Dale Jarrett can't cry that he's not a road racer anymore," said Gordon of the pole sitter, who actually spun into sand traps twice on Sunday. "I think it's getting closer (to being an even playing field between Cup regulars and road racers) every week."

But not all drivers are on the road course bandwagon. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 12th, basically described today's race as a necessary evil, saying, "sometimes you have to do what you normally wouldn't." Even race winner Jeff Gordon balked at the idea of adding another road course.

Meanwhile, Bobby Labonte's ninth-place finish was more than he expected.

"(It's satisfying) just to finish. I'm not a road racer, so just to finish here without getting anything torn up makes it OK."

Jeremy Mayfield, who has seven top-10s and eight finishes of 35th or worse in his inconsistent 2001 campaign, notched a third-place finish on Sunday, his first top-10 since June's Kmart 400 at Michigan.

"I am just happy to finish," said Mayfield, driver of the No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford. "To come home third at a road course is awesome for us. I started to wonder if I could even drive these things."

Despite what drivers, crew chiefs and owners may think, business interests dictate where NASCAR does and does not race. Included in the equation are tracks that currently have two Winston Cup races this season.

"I'd question whether we need to run all the race tracks twice," said Rudd. "I understand the problems they get into trying to develop new markets and expand the sport. If they cut some of these tracks back to once per year, it wouldn't hurt my feelings any, and then they'd be able to expand the markets even more."

But maintaining current markets might be just as important as expanding into new ones.

"I'm happy to come to Watkins Glen," said Jack Roush, whose Cup stable includes Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and multiple road race winner Mark Martin. "I enjoy the road races. I think we need to come in to this market, in the Pennsylvania-New York area. I think it's worth doing and I hope that we'll continue to do it for a long time."

Said Makar, "They're getting good crowds at these places and they're in good areas of the country to promote NASCAR-type racing, in the New York area and the L.A. area, so I think as long as we can bring people out and show them a good race, I don't see them going away."

If NASCAR did decide to add another road race to the series schedule, Watkins Glen would be ready for it.

"We're certainly available to run a second date if NASCAR wants to do that," said Sperber, the track president. "I think the series as a whole offers such a diverse group of tracks that I really think it makes it fun and interesting for the fans. Everything from Superspeedways to intermediates, short tracks, road courses -- it makes Winston Cup racing probably the most versatile form of motorsports.

"I think both Sears Point and Watkins Glen add a little spice to the schedule and I think the drivers by and large really enjoy it."

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