The number of emails I receive from readers on a weekly basis telling me how boring the previous weekend's NEXTEL Cup Series race was has been on the rise in recent years. It seems that race time has turned into nap time for many fans - and truth be told - reporters as well.

Here's an easy way to help fix the problem.

Shorten the races.

There is no need for 500 mile races at Pocono, Atlanta, Texas or Charlotte that drone on and on. Several tracks realized this some time ago - Michigan and Dover for example - and cut the distance of their events in order to ramp up the excitement. I'm surprised some drivers don't fight the need to cat nap during these drone-fests.

Less laps would mean more important laps and make things much more interesting to watch.

But don't listen to me, hear what a real driver has to say.

"There is that point in the middle of the race where it's sort of pointless,'' Earnhardt said. "We're just cutting laps is basically all we're doing to get to the end.''

I know, some fans will complain that taking away distance isn't fair based on the high price of tickets these days. But come on people, we're talking quality here not quantity. Shouldn't the race mean something, not just be a bunch of laps to meet an "advertised distance?"

Other sports have taken meaures to liven up their events and NASCAR should follow suit.

Shorter would be better.

Sorry to say Sunday's race at Texas wasn't exactly a rip-roaring affair. I'd go as far as to say it ranks as one of the season's yawners.

After last week's trip to Atlanta where we saw two and three wide racing, I thought Texas would be more of the same, given the fact the two are "sister tracks." But while Texas has been home to some bigs speeds the last couple years in qualifying, it hasn't become as competitive a place to race as Atlanta.

That's a shame. It's a great facility, the fans pack the place and now with its second date in the middle of the "Chase," Texas should be a date to look forward to.

Unfortunately all we had to look forward to on Sunday was a long nap - and no doubt some channel surfing of NFL games.

That's not the way a championship battle should be treated. But until Texas becomes more like its sister in Georgia, it will be the black sheep of the family.

The mysterious "debris caution" reared its ugly head at Atlanta Motor Speedway a couple times in Sunday's Bass Pro Shops 500. Both were loudly trashed by fans as well as some members of the media.

The first came early in the race when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was in the lead and needed a caution rather than pitting for tires under green and losing the lead. The caution flew for debris in tirn two, that wasn't shown by television cameras. NASCAR listed the reason for the yellow as "TBD," which one media wag quickly pointed out was "to benefit Dale."

Maybe I'm naive, but I sincerely doubt NASCAR would alter the race just to get Junior back into contention. Thousands of fans and a gaggle of press-types beg to differ.

The day's other debris controversy came when a piece of rollbar padding was found on track, brining out a yellow. There was video of the pad coming from Robby Gordon's car, which makes some sense since it was Gordon who benefitted from the timely caution and was put back on the lead lap.

NASCAR deemed the video "inconclusive" and let the call stand, again to the cackling delight of many media personnel.

There's not an easy answer for this problem except for NASCAR to clearly display any debris it finds on track that is the cause of a caution flag. In other words, take the mystery out of the equation.

The passing of Ted Johnson ends a storied chapter in winged sprint car racing. Love him or hate him - and there were an equal number of people on both sides of that fence - Ted Johnson changed the face of winged sprint car racing forever.

Until Johnson came along, winged sprint car racing was a hodge podge of drivers, tracks and races with absolutely no direction. Johnson's World of Outlaws changed all that and his creation became one of the most popular - and successful - racing circuits in the world.

"To underscore how singularly important Ted was to sprint car racing, all you have to do is look at the conflict and disorganization that has befallen sprint car racing since he stepped away from running the series in the last few years," said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage.

A truer statement about the sport has never been spoken. Since Johnson's departure from running the Outlaws, the sprint car world has been transported back in time nearly 25 years with no clear picture of where it's headed. The formation of the NST hopefully won't be the fatal blow that will send the sport spiraling further downward, splitting cars, teams and drivers into two warring factions.

What sprint car racing needs now more than ever is a clear plan mapped out for its future and a sanctioning body or somebody that understands the sport that will do whatever it takes  for it to survive and prosper.

Someone like Ted Johnson.

As you head west on I-80 toward Des Moines, you'll see the country's newest race track rising out of the Iowa cornfields. Iowa Speedway, an immaculate clone of Richmond International Raceway, is a 7/16-mile, progressively-banked track that opened its gates earlier this year with a Hooters Pro Cup/USAC doubleheader.

I'm here this weekend for another doubleheader - the ASA Late Model Challenge Series is in action Saturday, where I'l be handling pit road reporting duties for the telecast that will air later this Fall, and the ARCA RE/MAX Series which races Sunday afternoon live on SPEED.

Juan Pablo Montoya is here in the ARCA race, and there's a contingent of Colombian media reps here covering the action.

Rusty Wallace designed this track and will be here on Sunday, along with his son Steven, and whatever hand he had in creating this facility, kudos. It is one of the best short tracks in the country and the IRL will join the track's schedule next year with Hooters Cup, USAC, ARCA and ASA also expected to be back. Management is hoping to land a Craftsman Truck Series race in 2008.

In this age when we hear of short tracks closing at an alarming rate, it's great to see a facility like this one come to life. Let's hope the stands are packed and the track thrives. Now I'm off for another Iowa pork tenderloin sandwich.....

The IRL and Champ Car both have their 2007 schedules pretty much in place. While Champ Car moves further toward becoming an American-based "Grand Prix" series, with a slate full of street circuits and foreign venues, the IRL seems intent on copying the old CART schedule of the mid-1990s.

The addition of Belle Isle to the IRL's schedule is another blast from the past. There's also the possibility of Mid-Ohio coming into the fold for 2007. All we need is a season-ending race on the streets of Miami and the Meadowlands Grand Prix to return and voila, we're right back to where the old CART started.

One thing the IRL is doing with its schedule, and it's obviouslu due to its ABC/ESPN television partner's return to NASCAR broadcasting next year, is to move races off head-to-head battles with NEXTEL Cup. The Homestead opener and Kentucky to name two will shift to Saturday nights next year, which can't but help ratings.

Champ Car has added some interesting venues to its schedule, but the series is becoming more of a non-American circuit than ever. Six of the 15 races announced on the 2007 schedule will taker place on foreign soil with two more European dates pending. That's a tough sell for any American-based company, but Champ Car management must feel its business future is best served on a more global playing field.

One thing is for sure - the two circuits are further apart than ever and any reunification is remote.

They say to act like you've been there before when you reach the top level of your profession.

Obviously Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer haven't made it yet.

Both drivers showed an incredible lack of class in their comments over the weekend at Dover in response to Bob Dillner's report on SPEED TV last week about the alleged modified wheel rims used on Harvick and teammate Jeff Burton's cars.

While NASCAR and RCR denied the claims and the report at this juncture seems to have been a plant of information by another team, the comments Harvick and Bowyer spewed on Saturday toward Dillner were to say the least childish and classless.

All both have to do is take a look at teammate Jeff Burton for a lesson in class, who also addressed the issue without getting into a name calling shoving match.

Harvick reportedly went after Dillner Friday in the garage area at Dover, reverting back to the bully-like behavior he has been known for during most of his NASCAR career.

The report may have been erroneous, but the response by Harvick and Bowyer was worse.

I love when drivers, teams and fans complain that if they're not in the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup," they don't receive any attention. The focus during the last ten races is obviously on the ten drivers battling for the championship. And the "poor" souls not in the title run are on the pay no mind list.

Here's a way to get some attention. Run up front.

Why should television concentrate on some driver running 15th, not a championship contender or a factor in the outcome of the race? The story of any race should be: 1) the lead and the win, 2) the championship scenario. If your driver isn't part of either equation, oh well.

Tony Stewart isn't in the "Chase" this year, but he managed to get some great exposure for his team and sponsor on Sunday at New Hampshire by running in the lead pack, challenging for the win and eventually finishing second. Ditto Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler.

Sorry Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch and Dale Jarrett fans. Your drivers were non-factors on Sunday so of course we didn't get to see much of the 99, 2 or 88 cars on camera.

The "Chase" haters love to point out that the old "classic" points sytem was a better way of determining a champion, which is an old argument. If that format were still in place, there would be two drivers battling for the title at this point not ten. So based on the complaints that only drivers with championship implications get mentioned on the telecasts, that would mean, let's see here - carry the one, minus this, add that - eight more drivers would be cast to the sidelines.

The "Chase" opens up the championship to more drivers and provides more attention to a wider field than in the past. If a driver isn't in that party, there's a simple solution. Find your way to the front of the field.

Everyone has a memory of that terrible day five years ago when the terrorist attacks rocked all of our lives. I remember the eerie silence that engulfed the city of Chicago that day and the scary stillness is something I'll never forget.

Our RacingOne offices at the time were located on the north side of downtown Chicago and minutes after the second plane hit the Twin Towers, several of the staff just stood frozen in the middle of the office not knowing whether to run, hide, call our loved ones, cry or do all of the above.

When the order came to ground all U.S. flights that day in the aftermath of the attacks, the skies over Chicago - and the world's busiest airport at O'Hare - were free of any airplanes for the first time in probably 50 years. The jetplane noise that is just part of your daily life was suddenyl gone and the usual traffic, trains and other city sounds were absent as well.

Several of us went out on the balcony outisde our offices and just stood in the deafening silence, which almost felt like a "Twilight Zone" episode.

It's a day none of us will ever forget nor should we. We should all remember those who lost their lives that horrific day and thank those who have made it possible for the rest of us to go on with our everyday lives.

Well the 2006 winged sprint car seasons are winding down and unfortunately, there's no end in sight to the ridiculous split that has fragmented the sport. The World of Outlaws and the National Sprint Tour continue to march on, both talking about the good of the sport but neither doing what is ultimtely the right thing for it to thrive - merge into one unified series.

We've recently learned of some planned movement by teams and drivers between the two series. Danny Lasoski and Tony Stewart's driver Paul McMahan appear headed back to the Outlaws side next year. And there are rumblings that unless there is a merger, two or three others will also slip back across the border to WoO.

Unless all of the "names" are at a winged sprint car event, the sport will never grow or prosper. What a shame that this weekend's Gold Cup doesn't have the star-studded field of years past because of this ugly split. Whatever issues caused this to happen - no finger pointing intended - they need to be resolved immediately.

Sponsorship budgets for next year are pretty much in place and companies simply won't spend the money on the winged sprint car world, already a tough sell, without a unified series. The sport needs a unified base of teams and drivers, a solid schedule of key events in top markets and a well-distributed television package in order to generate sponsorship dollars.

Right now, none of those exist and the flow of money is down to a trickle.