RICHMOND, Va. — There have only been 43 yellow flags this season, going into the Richmond race. At this same point last year there were 80. The last caution for a multicar wreck came April 1 at Martinsville.

Blame it on the cars, tracks, safer racing, or more caution on the drivers’ part, the lack of action hasn’t made for an exciting year of racing.

It’s left many fans wanting more.

Wrecking, crashing and bumping and rubbing have always been inherent parts of the sport of racing.

But not in 2012.

Bruton Smith, owner of Bristol Motor Speedway, is in the process of tearing up parts of the track pavement, after the dismal attendance at this year’s spring race. He plans to grind down the top portion of the racing surface in order to return the racing to its original style.

His decision not to seek driver input on how to fix the track didn’t sit well with several drivers. And not all drivers are convinced the decision by Smith to grind the top groove will return racing at the half-mile track to the bumping and grinding it was known for before the 2007 reconfiguration.

“I think they’re wasting their time,” said Greg Biffle.

Some drivers point to the uniformity of the car design as the culprit.

“The Car of Tomorrow has brought a lot of great things for us,” said Jimmie Johnson. “But I don’t think we can look at the garage area for the next change. I think the change comes with the venues. The change comes with the resurfacing of tracks and reconfiguring tracks to make more side-by-side racing.

“And then there’s also the argument of tracks that create more cautions that some people want to see. From a competition side, NASCAR has created a very level playing field, which we were all after. And now we need to look at the venues and try to put on a better show based on the tracks.”

Two track examples would be California and Texas. At California the race ran 124 caution-free laps. Two weeks later at Texas, there was a 219-lap green flag run.

Then came Kansas. There were three cautions for a total of 18 laps. One came when Clint Bowyer spun, and the other two were for debris.

In 2011, there were 18 cautions. This year there were only five.

This is not the type racing fans are accustomed to. Racing is an emotional sport. Except for a couple brief finishes, where the leaders made contact, fans haven’t been treated to much excitement.

Hopefully, the next three races, Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte, will see the action pick up. Fans not only deserve it, but demand it.

For more sports news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.