Catchfence

NASCAR’s greatest mistake celebrates – if one can appreciate irony – its 20th anniversary, and fittingly with “Boys have at it” now an official philosophy it makes sense that NASCAR is considering dropping restrictions on testing after 20 years of it.

NASCAR first began limiting testing in March 1990 after several drivers tested 30-plus times in 1989; teams were limited to seven tests from the March to November period. The reason for limiting testing was ostensibly to reign in costs, but by June 1991 it had become obvious that they were not working, with multiple crew chiefs speaking out against any limit on testing – Harry Hyde had the most succinct argument: “What kind of plays would Broadway put on if they didn’t have rehersals?”

NASCAR then extended testing limits to an outright ban on testing from mid-November until January in 1994, and the last two seasons it has banned testing outright. Of course the ban can’t apply to non-NASCAR tracks such as Texas World Speedway, where Winston Cup teams have tested and where Greg Biffle supposedly hit 218 in a test.

Robin Pemberton, in explaning NASCAR’s present lack of a decision, talked about “risk versus reward,” and claimed that some felt the racing in the last two seasons “has never been better.” Yet Pemberton’s argument does nothing but illustrate Harry Hyde’s point. The advent of two-abreast restarts has added a competitive spark to the racing, but in doing so has masked the fundamental weakness of the racing. The reality is that the sport’s non-plate racing, outside of spots at Pocono this past June, the Martinsville finish, and some nastiness at Sears Point, has not been competitive – an illustration of Hyde’s point that plays without rehersals cannot work.

Aside from that, the big picture of NASCAR’s testing ban has been that it changed the sport’s dynamic by killing single-car teams. In the days where even four to five months of unlimited testing were allowed, single-car teams were able to get all the track time they needed to prepare for racing and could keep their effort focused; multicar teams could gain nothing from sharing information because it was inherently unfocused. By severely limiting and then outright banning testing NASCAR literally forced teams to share information, and suddenly multicar teams stopped being the top-heavy white elephant they’d been throughout NASCAR history pre-1995 and became the sport’s lone competitive force.

With testing ban, it is impossible to find any area where costs have been saved – all the sport can see is the resultant wreckage of the swallowing of single-car teams by mutlicar monsters – a feast that would never have happened without testing restriction.

It has been the single biggest mistake in NASCAR history. Robin Pemberton now has opportunity to rectify this mistake, and he needs not blow it.