Debate: NASCAR's burning questions
— -- Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR this week:
Turn 1: Do you expect Brian Vickers to race again? Does Michael Waltrip Racing need to move on and hire a full-time driver for the 55?
Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: I believe Brian Vickers will compete again for MWR -- but I'm less certain it will be full-time. The cruel reality of the business of being a race car driver is this: seldom do you get to choose when you're finished. Consequently, there are few retirement parties in the industry. I hope for Brian's sake that he can regain control of his destiny professionally. More importantly, I simply hope he regains control of his health.
Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Hope? Yes. Expect? I honestly don't know. After his meeting with the media last weekend, there's no doubt about his goal. But for 2015 they should absolutely hire a full-time driver and that should be the guy who is in the car right now, Brett Moffitt. Make an unfortunate situation into a positive by giving that kid a chance to prove himself. In the meantime we can continue to wish Vickers, who handled what could have been a horrible news conference like the pro that he is, all the well-wishes we can muster.
John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: My guess is that this spells the end of his full-time racing career, but it shouldn't force him out of a car completely. Aside from his health, which is obviously priority number one, Vickers' biggest challenge moving forward might be finding a team and a sponsor with the confidence to stay with him through thick and thin. Aaron's and Michael Waltrip Racing have been extraordinarily loyal so far, but there's a logical replacement waiting in the wings in the form of Brett Moffitt. It's time for him to step in with a chance to prove himself for the long haul. Vickers raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a few years ago, and occasional sports car races may be his best option moving forward if he wants to keep racing.
Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: I expect him to try to get off the blood thinners and race again because he appears determined not to have his life dictated by being more prone to developing blood clots. But I consider it doubtful he will race the No. 55 car. He isn't signed for 2016, and in three months, MWR will know whether Brett Moffitt is its future. And if not, MWR will likely have its eyes on another driver. Vickers might drive again for MWR if Moffitt isn't the answer and the team's 2016 driver isn't available. Vickers' biggest problem will be sponsorship. Unless Janssen Pharmaceuticals (the makers of Xarelto) wants to sponsor an entire season, who will sponsor a driver knowing that at any time, he could develop blood clots again and have to sit out races? While a full-time ride could be out of the question, Vickers could fill in as the perfect substitute driver or part-time driver.
Marty Smith, ESPN Insider: Impossible prediction. It's a fickle condition. Unpredictable. Each setback means blood thinners and months away from the sport. It's difficult to accept. Vickers is a very good person and he is a fighter. His attitude about his condition is admirable and rare. Most would complain and ask "Why me?" There are no pity parties. It's his challenge and he has the guts to accept it. I believe God gives you what you can handle, even when the fight makes no sense. Few would be as graceful as Vickers in the fight. I've known him since he was a kid. He's a black-and-white thinker and debater who accepts abstract influences. I want to see him in a race car. I hope we all get that privilege.
Turn 2: Where does Kevin Harvick's eight consecutive top-two finishes stand in the sport's history?
Craven: Among the most impressive accomplishments I've witnessed. Jimmie Johnson winning five titles in a row is No. 1, and won't be replicated in my lifetime. The same could be said for Harvick's run of eight straight top-two finishes. With all due respect to my hero Richard Petty, who holds the record at 11, those days were associated with two or three cars finishing on the lead lap in each event. On average, there have been 25 cars finishing the lead lap during Harvick's stretch. That speaks loudly in terms of today's parity.
McGee: It's quickly moving up my list of all-time "Hey, are you guys seeing this?!" NASCAR streaks. Like I've said before, we won't know the true historic impact of it until we can get the perspective of time somewhere down the road, but to have done it in this era (don't forget, one year ago we were praising the long list of different winners) and to have the streak span two seasons with two different rules packages ... and, oh yeah, he won a championship in the middle of it all. It's nothing short of amazing.
Oreovicz: Well, there's only one man ahead of him, and he's the guy with the mustache, cowboy hat and sunglasses up there on stock car racing's Mount Rushmore. Comparisons between eras are difficult and often pointless. But given the parity of the current field, with 12 to 15 drivers capable of winning on any weekend, eight consecutive top-two finishes is arguably more impressive than 11 in 1975, when it was often Petty and Pearson and the rest.
Pockrass: It stands high enough that when Harvick gets inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it will be one of the stats in his bio sheet. The fact that no one has accomplished this feat in 40 years is enough to rank it among the most impressive. Is it more impressive than Petty's 11 in 1975? Petty did have six wins in those 11, so maybe we'll have to wait and see whether Harvick earns another win or two over the next few weeks.
Smith: Lofty. It hasn't happened in 40 years. And Harvick has done it with two different aerodynamic racing packages. And he's done it on every type of track. And he's done it in the most competitive era ever.
Turn 3: Is there anything NASCAR could -- or should -- do to prove the legitimacy of their caution flag process? Plenty of fans were skeptical of the late-race cautions at Fontana and were also split on racing back to the finish line at the end when that wasn't allowed at Daytona.
Craven: Fan skepticism is an element of sports or entertainment, and exists mostly because your team or driver was defeated. I despise pass interference calls late in the game when it's against my team, but not so much when it leads to my team winning. I will not criticize the timing of a caution flag, because the driver and team still mostly control (mostly) how they finish. If I were king for a day, I would abolish the rule allowing any race to end under caution. Even if the caution came out inside a lap to go, I would make them drive 1,000 miles If necessary -- but we would end under green!
McGee: This is easily the most transparent that NASCAR has ever been when it comes to how they do race day business. When I see them bringing in officials to answer postrace questions in the media center and allowing the TV truck to tap into the video coming from the new officiating truck, it blows my mind. I think about when I first started in this sport 20 years ago and what would have happened had I asked for anything resembling any of that. I would have been politely told to go away. But even with all of today's transparency and technology, providing hard evidence of why every debris caution is called or providing logic as to why a call is made 100 percent of the time? That's an impossible ask. This is sports. That means there will be judgment calls. And that means not all of those calls will be the right ones. But a grand conspiracy to prevent Kurt Busch from winning a race? That didn't happen.
Oreovicz: NASCAR has already admitted that they couldn't find the alleged piece of metal in the most controversial caution at Fontana because "somebody must have hit it." If and when NASCAR has video, it should get it into the public domain as quickly as possible. After decades of phantom debris cautions, the only way NASCAR can appease a skeptical fan base is with real evidence. As for racing back to the line, that call should be left as late as safely possible, and dictated by the proximity of any wrecked cars to the finish line. It's a judgment call, and at Fontana, Greg Biffle got out of the way fast enough to avoid a caution.
Pockrass: NASCAR just needs to rule consistently, and admittedly that is easier said than done in a race setting. If it has video of debris, it needs to produce it as soon as possible if the network hasn't shown it. It needs to do what it did Sunday and make someone available to talk to the media about what it saw from the tower to make the call. The bottom line is the caution will always be a judgment call. NASCAR made a judgment that safety vehicles had to get out on the track at Daytona so it threw the yellow on the final lap. It made a judgment that Greg Biffle was able to drive away at Fontana before he became a danger and let drivers race to the finish. Whether fans agree or disagree, at least they know the reason. And it's OK to say when it comes down to the last lap, the judgment on a caution is different. It's called a race for a reason -- fans come to watch drivers race to the finish line. To deny them that finish in the name of consistency throwing the caution seems weak.
Smith: Be transparent and explicit in explanations. Show the debris on television whenever possible. They've gotten much better at this over the past few years. But Sunday was weird.
Turn 4: Will you eat a Martinsville hot dog now that they have changed hot dog brands?
Craven: Absolutely! I have a very difficult time walking past any hot dog. I also feel a debt of gratitude toward Martinsville Speedway and what it meant to my career. In October 2001, I earned my first Sprint Cup Series win at the half-mile paper clip. To me, the hot dogs are like an annuity to the facility, and I'm always willing to make my payment.
McGee: Yes. I always have to eat Marty's for him because he doesn't do "pressed meat." But this year I will be doing so as if I were a judge on "Chopped," with a wincing eye and critical tongue. We'll see ...
Oreovicz: Given the quality of media food served at most NASCAR races, we are frequently almost forced to buy concession-stand food. Against my better judgment, I tried a Martinsville hot dog last fall, with an asterisk -- I prefer my hot dogs plain, with no condiments. And apparently the condiments are a key part of the Martinsville hot dog experience. Anyway, I can't say I'll have another, but my dissatisfaction was down more to the preparation of the hot dog than the quality of the product itself. What's up with the red dye? And hot dogs were made to be grilled or heated on rollers, never boiled.
Pockrass: No. I've had one in my life. A Martinsville hot dog is one not just to be eaten; it's a hot dog that is supposed to be appreciated. For whatever reason, I don't appreciate them enough. So I don't eat them and let those who appreciate them have more to themselves.
Smith: No. In 2000 my diet became pretty strict. I last ate a Martinsville hot dog in 1997 at the Taco Bell 300 Late Model extravaganza. I was seated in the press box with the late PR legend Dick Thompson and current Martinsville marketing executive Karen Parker. I was as green as that grass in the turns. They were teaching me some things. Thompson told me the dog was a delicacy. I plowed a couple. It didn't end well for me. At all. If I ate one right now, my body would experience a notable level of shock.
