Longest Season in Professional Sports?

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on January 11, 2006.

Do we need 38 weeks of racing?

The Nascar Nextel Cup season runs from the middle of February until the weekend before Thanksgiving.  There are 36 point races and 2 non-points events.  During the season, there are typically 2-3 weekend off for competitors.  Being a fan for an entire season requires commitment - to be a competitor requires, well, stamina and some form of mental illness.

Now I love racing.  I've watched races in the cold, heat, rain, indoors, outdoors.  I've listened to races online, on the radio, and by reading a message board as the race took place (don't ask!).  But I question whether 38 weeks of racing in one series is necessary.

The drain on competitors is significant.  With the institution of the Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2004, Nascar upped the stress factor on teams.  Every team wants to be champion.  Only one achieves that goal each year.  Now teams face "elimination" if they are not in the top 10 in points beginning at the September Richmond race.  On the other hand, those 10 teams all have an opportunity to be champion. 

The pressure on drivers, crew chiefs and teams has been apparent in the past two years.  There were significant non-accidental on-track acts of aggression as the season headed into the Chase.  The media pressure amped up.  Drivers who were close to the 10th place cut off were endlessly grilled about how they felt, if they were stressed out, what they were doing to improve their performance every time they turned around.  Pressure on teams was apparent when major shuffling of crew chiefs started occuring as soon as the Chase began.

The Chase was devised to make money, to amp up interest in the sport, and to avoid a "boring" season where one driver dominates the points to the degree it isn't a question by mid-fall who will be champion.    These are all laudable goals, but do we need 38 weeks of racing to accomplish this?

The last race of the 2005 season was on November 20th.  Tony Stewart was crowned champion in New York on December 2nd.   And testing for 2006 started at Daytona on Monday, January 9th.  That's 38 days of an off season - one day per week of the racing season.   Granted, the teams who were not involved in the chase were officially done on Nov. 20th, but those 10 teams in the Chase had obligations through the banquet on the 2nd. 

Don't kid yourself that those teams were completely idle during this "off season."  Most crew chiefs and teams logged time making , preparing, and wind tunnel testing cars, as well as strategizing for 2006.

As much as I hate the idea of "losing" races or tracks, I don't know how long competitors can keep up this crazy schedule.  The impact on their personal lives and physical wellbeing is bound to take a toll. 

Do we want shorter competitive lives for these drivers and teams?