After barely completing the daunting task of staying awake on a full stomach to watch flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday evening, I’m compelled to suggest that the sanctioning body employ one of two radical approaches in dealing with so-called “restrictor plate” races:

1. Find another way to keep Winston Cup and Busch cars under 200 mph at Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway without using artificial means; or

2. Admit that engineering has caused your sport to outgrow those two speedplants and leave them behind.

Before you start throwing 20-pound rocks at the messenger, let the record show that I know NASCAR will never pick up its marbles and leave either one of those high-speed, tradition-rich tracks.

As long as there are cars, owners, corporate sponsors, spectators and sand on the nearby beach, there will be a Daytona 500 and a Pepsi (nee Firecracker) 400.

That doesn’t mean they’ll be fun to watch under the current format.

Friday’s Busch race was easily the dullest race in the history of the late Bill France Sr.’s pride and joy. Worse than the aerodynamically challenged Daytona 500 of 2000, the one Dale Earnhardt the Elder angrily stated would have prompted France to “roll over in his grave.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip headed what amounted to little more than an expensive Independence Day parade, hold the fireworks, for 100 laps.

With few exceptions, the only passing occurred on restarts – when the cars take as many as three to five miles to reach full song due to restricted airflow – or when a car wobbled getting through the turn and its driver was forced to feather the accelerator for a moment.

The cars are too equally matched, too stable and too disadvantaged when they waver outside the draft to even think about passing.

Which means the word “passing” merely describes the level of interest in watching such an exhibition.

Restrictor plates were necessitated when top speeds at Daytona and Talladega crested above 210 mph during the 1987 season. Bobby Allison’s car sailed into a catchfence in an especially memorable crash at Talladega that spring, endangering hundreds of fans.

Fortunately, everyone walked away without serious injury.

Plate racing is nominally safer for spectators, although it could be argued that Daytona and Talladega have become more dangerous for drivers under that format. Dale Earnhardt died, while Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Craven and Richard Petty all have been involved in violent crashes. And Craven’s barrel-rolling wreck at Talladega six years ago could have harmed fans had it happened in front of the grandstands.

The crash that ultimately short-circuited Andy Santerre’s Busch Series career, leaving the Cherryfield native with a severely broken leg, was the obligatory “big one” at Daytona.

Efforts to make restrictor plate racing safer for drivers produce what we saw Friday night, removing the word “racing” from the equation.

It’s time for NASCAR to employ the ingenuity that enabled it evolve beyond anyone’s wildest dreams in the last two decades and find a happy medium.

Otherwise, the most prominent sound during NASCAR’s crown jewel events won’t be the collective roar of 43 cars.

It’ll be the collective snore of 160,000 people in the grandstands.

Rowe-ling along

In the Pro All Stars Series’ inaugural 2001 season, Ben Rowe won about two-thirds of the races on the schedule.

The following year, Rowe took to the track with a more consistent approach, winning fewer events but walking away with the series championship.

Third time around, the 28-year-old from Turner seems determined to win everything PASS has to offer.

Rowe ruled the first half of a weekend doubleheader in the Maritimes on Friday night, capturing the Forbes Chevrolet-Olds 200 at Scotia Speedworld in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was his second straight win, third in the last four starts and fourth in seven PASS races this year.

Headed into the weekend, Rowe enjoyed a comfortable point lead over Dale Shaw and Dave Gorveatt, who were tied for second.

Only two caution flags slowed the event for minor spins, and Rowe lapped all but the second (Larry Gelinas), third (Scott Mulkern) and fourth-place (Scott Fraser) cars. Rowe’s father, Mike, finished fifth, followed by Shaw.

Sam Sessions of Norway finished ninth, Denmark rookie Travis Khiel claimed 13th, Johnny Clark of Hallowell ran 15th and Farmington’s Cassius Clark checked in 21st in a 24-car field divided evenly between PASS regulars and Canadian competitors.

The northern swing concluded Saturday night with a 150-lap race at New Brunswick International Speedway in Fredericton.

Wiscasset winners

In other holiday action, rookie Jason Oakes of Boothbay picked up his first Pro Stock victory at Wiscasset Raceway on Friday night. Although a disappointing field of eight cars took the green flag, Oakes (no relation to the writer) is the 11th different winner in 12 races for Wiscasset’s top division this season.

While his younger brother dominated the PASS proceedings on the other side of the border, Turner’s Tom Rowe ran second to Allan Moeller in the Modified feature.

M.G. Severson, Ed Pierpont and Brent Roy also picked up feature wins. Trailing Pierpont and Maurice Young in the Super Street race were a slew of local drivers: Darryl Cook of Sabattus, third; Phil Mitchell III of Poland, fourth; Ken Carter of Winthrop, fifth; Larry Emerson of Durham, sixth; Guy Childs of Lisbon, seventh; and Mike St. Germain of Auburn, ninth.

Kalle Oakes is sports editor. He can be reached by e-mail at koakes@sunjournal.com.

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