Month: July 2010

-by Justin St. Louis VMM Editor It’s not often that we focus on NASCAR’s upper levels here at VMM, but it’s time for me to say something. NASCAR’s biggest problem is not Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski dumping each other every week. In fact, those two should be celebrated for it. NASCAR’s biggest problem is not saying “Boys, have at it,” and then slapping penalties on the boys for having at it. NASCAR’s biggest problem is not the Car Of Tomorrow, the Chase, or green-white-checker finishes. NASCAR’s biggest problem is its own success. Everyone remembers the key moments when NASCAR went through its big boom years — “The Fight” at the 1979 Daytona 500; Richard Petty’s 200th win in front of President Reagan in 1984; Bill Elliott’s “Winston Million” score in 1985; the rise of Dale Earnhardt’s “Intimidator” moniker in the 1980s and early ‘90s; the arrival of Jeff Gordon in the mid-1990s; and finally a plateau around 2003-05, a few years after Earnhardt’s death. When R.J. Reynolds Tobacco signed on to sponsor NASCAR’s top division through its Winston brand in 1972, the schedule was cut from 48 races down to 31. Over the next 24 seasons (read: through 1996, as NASCAR popularity approached its zenith), the schedule fluctuated between 28 and 31 championship events, plus the annual non-points races now known as the Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star...