The Right MixThirteen Winston Cup team owners reached Victory Lane last season. There was concern a few years ago that multi-car teams would ruin the sport. Burton, who drives for the four-car team of Jack Roush, says that hasn't happened; that multi-car teams have actually helped the sport.
"When the multi-car teams really got going, there was a real concern it would make Winston Cup racing less competitive," says Burton. "As last season showed, just the opposite has happened because there are more drivers who are competitive. Maybe it's still the same car owners winning races, but the fans could care less about that. The drivers and the cars are the ones who put on the show, and that's what the fans go to the races to see.
"Anybody involved in the sport knows we can't exist without the car owners and every single person on the team working their (tails) off. But the fans watch the racing on the track, they don't see the work that goes into it behind the scenes and back at the shops even though that's probably the most important part of what we do. So, in my opinion, the multi-car teams have made the sport even more competitive. The end result of that is more winners and closer competition."
There is, however, a line of reasoning that maintains the sport is better off with one dominant driver, a Jeff Gordon or someone else who is winning lots of races and setting the standard for success. But Winston Cup racing has not experienced a true level of domination since Gordon had consecutive seasons from '96 through '98 when he won 10, 10 and 13 races. The top figures the past three seasons have been seven wins by Gordon in '99, six by Tony Stewart in 2000 and six by Gordon last year.
Winning margins that were often measured in laps or half laps are now measured in mere seconds. The average margin of victory last season in 34 of 36 races (two were decided under caution) was 1.2 seconds, 41/410 quicker than the average from the 2000 season. It's practically unheard of now for a race winner to lap the field, and the lead pack is not just tightening up, it's growing. Last season's average of 18 cars on the lead lap was up from 16 the season before and up six from just five years previous when the '96 season had an average of 12 cars on the lead lap at the finish.
The number of winners each season has also climbed steadily since Winston Cup racing's modern era began in 1972, the year the schedule was trimmed from as many as 55 races to approximately 30 per year. Prior to last season's modern record of 19 winners, 14 drivers reached Victory Lane during the 2000 season, and that was preceded by five straight years of 11 different winners each season. In fact, the '90s saw 10 or more winners every year, and the last time fewer than 10 drivers won in a single season was 1985 when nine won.
Good Or Bad?Ned Jarrett has mixed emotions on whether or not the level of parity found in recent seasons is good for stock car racing.
"I think it helps lead to the unknown," Jarrett says. "It's nice to be able to have a sport where you don't know who might win on a given day. In many of your ball sports, they can pretty well predict who's going to win, although circumstances might change that. In auto racing, NASCAR Winston Cup racing in particular, you can't do that.
"But I still believe having someone out there for everyone else to chase is good for the sport. When Jeff Gordon was winning 10 or 12 races a year, and Dale Earnhardt was, and Richard Petty was-whoever it was-I think that was good for the sport. It certainly gives the sport a lot of attention and sets the bar. That concept is better than having 36 different winners."
From his perspective as a team owner, Childress would like to see the best of both scenarios: a good mix of winners and a dominant driver. Having 19 different winners, for instance, helps create a larger fan base, he maintains.