NASCAR Cup Series

I prefer new

Published Jan. 31, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

Darrell Waltrip

I make it a point when I talk to fans to ask them what they like or don’t like about our sport -- I will ask customers who come to my dealership, or someone who comes over asking for an autograph at dinner in a restaurant.

One of my buddies and I were e-mailing back and forth the other night, and I asked him what he thought about the upcoming season. He said he was really tired of the change. So I asked him to be more specific. He mentioned: The change on the front end of the cars, the new fueling system, the change in the points system and the change in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Now back in the day, one of my first crew chiefs was “Suitcase” Jake Elder, and he always had a saying that still makes me laugh. He would send one of the crew guys down to the parts store to get a “brand damn new” fitting. Not a new fitting, mind you, but a “brand damn new” one.

So what I was trying to convince my buddy about the other night is to not look at it as “change” but to look at it as “new.”

So we have a new nose, new fueling system, new points and a new Chase format. That should be exciting because it is a new way of doing things. Everything evolves and new is good. We had the old points system for what, 35 years? I think it’s time to try a new one. We have a new surface at Daytona International Speedway that’s probably going to make Feb. 20 one of the most exciting and intense Daytona 500s we’ve ever had. The qualifying procedure is new too.

With a new year comes a lot of new things in our sport. Nothing stays the same. You can’t stand still. That’s what happened to me as a car owner. I got complacent and happy with status quo and boy, did that come back to bite me. You simply cannot sit still. I don’t care what business you are in, you always have to be looking and planning for the future.

So here we are only about a week or so from heading to Daytona for the start of Speedweeks, and we have a new season with a lot of new things to be excited about.

When you have new things to watch for and to anticipate, well, it makes not only the racing better, but also makes the telecast better. It creates new storylines that we will follow: How will all these new things work out? Will there be, like I always maintain, unintended consequences that will have to be dealt with? I don’t know, but it sure is going to be exciting to follow.

Let me ask you this, because I asked my buddy this, too. What if there wasn’t anything new? What if it was the same ol’, same ol’, year after year after year? My answer is simple: That would be pretty boring.

As with any company, you want to continue to grow. The changes that have been made, which we’ll see starting in Daytona, are clearly investments for the future. The changes are exciting. These are things we will be talking about and following all season.

While we are talking about new things, let’s touch on the Nationwide Series. Even with the recent rule change limiting drivers to fighting for one championship, you can still have the Brad Kesolowskis, Kyle Busches and the Carl Edwards’ of the world running all the Nationwide events. This year, however, they will be running for the owners championship, hoping to win it, in this example, for Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs or Jack Roush. Now in addition to that, there will be a Nationwide Series drivers champion. So this is something new and fresh for that series.

One of the things I hope we will see is more young, qualified drivers coming into the sport. For example, I think this young man Trevor Bayne has a long career ahead of him. He and some of these other young guns out there are the future of our sport.

Unfortunately, a lot of the short tracks across the country are drying up. That’s why you aren’t seeing an influx of younger drivers into the Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. Bill Elliott’s son, Chase, is one everyone should keep their eyes on. From what I have seen and learned in talking to Bill, Chase is as good as anyone his age. I really am anxious for him to get old enough to get into our top three series.

We all head to Daytona the middle of next week and get to see what’s new. Some folks want to blast NASCAR about all the changes even before the season starts. I just think when you look at it as something fresh, exciting and new, you will come to realize and see the positive impact it’s going to have on the sport.