What can a plane flight tell us about restrictor-plate racing?

By Mike Smith

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 | 8:56 a.m.

Commercial air travel in this country has a lot in common with stock-car racing. The cramped, claustrophobic and uncomfortable seating in today’s jetliners can make any traveler feel like he or she is experiencing the close quarters of a restrictor- plate race.

But I’ve found a way to ease the pain of long plane flight. I travel with multiple electronic devices.

I recently had to take a flight to the Midwest to attend a wedding. I figured a good way to pass the time, while captive in the flying cattle car, was to watch a few movies on my iPad. But depression quickly set in, as I was unable to find a movie that I was really interested in viewing. I began thinking that it would be great if I could watch a few NASCAR races on my Apple device.

Well, guess what? You can watch races on an iPad. I found a few abbreviated versions of classic races and downloaded them for my trip.

So there I was, sitting in my seat, eating my airline meal (peanuts), and watching the 1998 Daytona 500 and the 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega. I actually found myself wishing the flight were longer to accommodate more races. And I also found myself wishing that restrictor-plate races could go back to being what they used to be.

The quality of the racing in these two events was simply better than what we see today at the restrictor-plate events. The cars ran in a pack for most of the laps and the drivers were able to pick and choose which driver they wanted to draft with in order to drive to the front.

Compare that with what we experience today. The large packs are gone, replaced with mini-packs of two cars each.

Drafting, as we have come to know it, is also gone. No more picking and choosing the best drafting partner as the dynamics of the race unfold. Instead, a driver picks his dancing partner and stays with that partner.

Although the restrictor-plate races this year have had multiple lead changes and first-time winners, the excitement level of the racing has been diminished by fewer drafting partners and the absence of large packs of cars.

The older races had more of that edge-of-your-seat intensity that I loved experiencing. Every lap was tension- filled and had a level of unpredictability that we don’t see any longer.

I don’t have the knowledge to tell NASCAR what needs to be done to restore the drama to restrictor-plate racing. But I’m sure NASCAR can figure out a solution. I just hope it thinks that the current situation needs a solution.

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