While chatting on facebook earlier tonight with friend and fellow race fan Wes White, we discussed the statistics I put together earlier this winter. It's interesting to see how the numbers compare through the years and to check out who the dominant drivers were from each decade and generation. What you can't see, however, and what we will never know for sure, is how the greats of each generation would compare if they competed against each other head-to-head. While that's impossible in the literal sense, I thought it would be fun and interesting to see what race fans thought by creating an imaginary field of the all-time greats at Independence Motor Speedway.
I pondered a number of ways to generate a who's who list of the top drivers over the past 40-plus years at the track and how to pit them against each other in an ultimate fantasy race. I figured the easiest way was to take the top feature winners in each division, divide them into qualifying heat races and let the race fans have their say, voting who they think is the best into their respective features.
I decided to take the top 32 feature winners (and all ties) in the Late Model, Modified, Stock Car and Hobby Stock divisions and break them into four qualifying heat races per division. In the end, 33 Late Models, 34 Modifieds, 38 Stock Cars and 41 Hobby Stocks made the cut. The heat race lineup "draw" was determined by career wins. I set it up similarly to how NCAA seeds the men's basketball tournament in such a way that the heats in each division were as equal as possible. The lineups were created with the drivers earning the fewest feature races on the pole and staggered to the back where the drivers with the most career wins would start.
Next, I determined the best way to present each "race" to the race fans was through the Independence Motor Speedway facebook page, which is growing in "friends" every day. If you know of someone who's not on facebook, but may be interested in this generation-transcending contest, tell them to sign up! Via the IMS facebook page, I'll present new heat races, one at a time, throughout the season and let the drivers, crews and fans decide for themselves who they feel would win each qualifier if the drivers were able to compete head-to-head. I know times have changed, rules have changed, and the sport as a whole has changed, but that doesn't mean you can't wonder or imagine what it would be like to watch Darin Duffy battle Jack Mitchell or Curt Martin go wheel-to-wheel with Chub Liebe and Doc Mayner today.
With that said, in the coming days, weeks and months, different heat race lineups will be posted on the IMS facebook page. It will be up to the fans to e-mail/message the inbox on that page with their final predicted results for each race posted. For every vote for every position, each driver will be awared a certain number of points. For instance, the driver picked as a heat race winner will receive 10 points, second will get 9 points, and so on. I'll add everyone's votes together to produce the final results for each fantasy heat race. The top 3 in each heat will then qualify for that division's ultimate fantasy feature at the end of the 2010 season. Fans will again have the chance to vote in each of the four 12-car fantasy features.
With that said, here are a few ground rules:
* Each time a new heat lineup is posted, I will include a voting deadline by which time all votes must be received for that race.
* All votes must be sent to the inbox of the IMS facebook page or they will not count. Individuals may only submit one vote per race per username.
* All participants are encouraged to complete each race's entire lineup and not just include the winner or top two. I'd like this to be as thorough and complete as possible.
* If there are ties for third place in a qualifier, all drivers tied for the third position will qualify for that division's feature.
* After all qualifying events are completed, feature events will be posted toward the end of the season. Feature lineups will be inverted based on total points earned through their heat races.
* This isn't meant to be a popularity contest. This is about who you think would win, not who you'd want to win. If you're a young race fan and aren't familiar with some of the drivers from the early years, ask around, you never know who would be able to help you out by offering their thoughts.
I plan to start with the first heat race in the very near future and expect to allow approximately one week for voting for each race. I will post results of each race when the following race's lineup is revealed.
If you have questions, contact me by mailing me on the IMS facebook page. Have fun!
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