Biggest Questions In Motorsports

By ESPN

Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in motorsports as the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series takes a weekend off:

Turn 1: Should NASCAR create a rule to discourage slowing down at the end of pit road?

Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: No. That would qualify as over-governing in my view. In other words, we don't need to major in minors. We need to allow the drivers to handle the majority of these things, otherwise it's drivers vs. NASCAR rather than competitor vs. competitor.

Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Generally, I believe NASCAR has already smothered nearly all the gamesmanship out of the sport by burying it under new rulebook pages. But when it's such a blatant act and it creates potential safety issues, then you gotta write it up. Don't do it immediately. Maybe try the cone-choice thing. See if it's a trend and then throw a couple of black flags at it and see if it goes away. If not, fire up the printer in the rules office. Again.

Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: The "choose cone" is intriguing and I would like it for all tracks (except restrictor-plate tracks because teammates would choose to work together) so that drivers can make the choice on whether they want to start on the inside or the outside. That way, no excuses after a race. A side benefit would be eliminating the games on pit road.

Matt Willis, ESPN Stats & Information: A rule would be tough to enforce and might be a judgment call, so I'll say no, since those have been the basis of controversial calls. I like the idea of jockeying for better on-track position, and it's so easy for the move to backfire on a driver, possibly losing two spots instead of just one. The only downside is the "innocent bystander" who might end up with radiator damage from running into another car that has slammed on its brakes. In that regard, it might be best to let the garage police itself.
Turn 2: Which team benefits most from the off weekend?

Craven: Probably Kyle Busch because he is in such a strong position. Crew chief Adam Stevens gave his entire road crew the week off and said he does not want to see them. That's very healthy going forward because that allows a strong team to become stronger, to be energized for the final dozen races.

McGee: Anyone needing to throw a Hail Mary to win and make the playoff. If Joey Logano's and Dale Earnhardt Junior's teams aren't camped out at the shop all weekend running sims and scenarios for Darlington and Richmond, I'll be disappointed. Oh, and Team Pockrass. Bob really needs a weekend off.

Pockrass: The NASCAR officials. With NASCAR no longer having series-specific officials the last couple of years, these folks appear to put in the most hours at the track.

Willis: Hendrick Motorsports could really benefit from the off week. They have the team resources where time could really prove handy to solve the team woes. In the last four races, they don't have a top-5 finish. In the last six, only Kasey Kahne's wacky Brickyard 400 win gave them a top-5. Jimmie Johnson doesn't have a top-5 finish besides his three wins this season. They haven't had a driver lead more than 12 laps in a race since May. Do I need to go on? This is unusual for Hendrick, but the drought could end at any time.
Turn 3: Is Brad Keselowski shutting down his truck team a sign the series is in trouble?

Craven: The entire sponsorship template for NASCAR seems compromised, so it's not just the truck series, it's every race team and every series. I remember a discussion I had with Bill France Jr. and Brian France at breakfast 20-something years ago and Brian said what makes us different than all the major sports is we are allowed to put decals on our competitors. He recognized then that eventually other leagues would figure out a way to capture that money. They've done it with naming rights and things along those lines. It's absolutely concerning, and it has to be a priority or more teams will fall.

McGee: It's not good. I genuinely worry about how long it can be propped up without people like the Harvicks and Keselowski underwriting efforts. A couple of years ago I had lunch with Brad and he gave me a walking tour during construction of his then-new Truck Series shop. I was really impressed with his commitment, especially as he punctuated nearly every sentence with concerns about covering his costs. Sure, the sponsor landscape is rough, but the issues in this series go back to walking away from their yearlong unique identity.

Pockrass: He didn't need to shut down his two-truck team to indicate the series is in trouble. But it is in worse condition now. With the Keselowski and Red Horse teams shut down, there potentially will be only five championship-contending organizations (Kyle Busch Motorsports, GMS Racing, ThorSport, Hattori Racing Enterprises and Nemco Motorsports). Two of those -- Hattori and Nemco -- have limited sponsorship and the other three have routinely taken drivers who bring funding.

Willis: Yes, few drivers, or members of the sport in general, are more committed to growing the sport through the Xfinity and Truck Series than Keselowski. If he's admitting that the garage space, money and energy would be better spent starting to explore a Cup Series team, especially with his family's ties to the Truck Series, it's a sign that the Truck Series needs some help.

Turn 4: Is late August a good time for an off weekend only two races before the playoffs are set?

Craven: It's perfect. It allows everybody an opportunity to catch their breath for the final push. The only thing that might work better is the opportunity to put a week between the regular season and the playoffs.

McGee: Nope. This is when NASCAR should be pouring on the steam as football approaches. I also think this is when the auto racing season should be coming down the homestretch. Compress the calendar, own the summer, be done by early fall, don't compete with football and starve the fan base more over winter so they'll hunger for it more come February.

Pockrass: The only thing bad about the late August off weekend is that many kids already have returned to school. Each NASCAR national series needs to have an off weekend in June or July so that all crew members can take a vacation with their kids and not feel guilty.

Willis: It is an odd place for an off week for a couple reasons. It's really the last weekend of the season where there won't be college and pro football to compete with for weekend eyeballs (NFL preseason doesn't count). Also, I've been an advocate for an off week immediately preceding the playoffs in case a race weekend had to be entirely called off for some reason. It would allow that date to be made up without interfering with the playoff schedule. It's happened before, think Atlanta's race getting delayed to Tuesday because of a hurricane, New Hampshire moving from September to November because of the Sept. 11 attacks, or Daytona getting moved from July to the fall because of wildfires.