I feel sorry for anyone who actually sat through the entire live broadcast of Sunday’s race
at Talladega, because that wasn’t a race.
You could call it many other things: A parade, an accident waiting to happen, a complete farce.
But it wasn’t a race.
It’s ironic that a tribal medicine man was recently brought to Talladega to clear up some bad mojo that was allegedly lingering there, because he really should have gone to the NASCAR headquarters in Daytona to do his dance. Brian France, Mike Helton and crew have ruined this race, plain and simple.
Newman said it best after his wreck: "No one watching enjoys this. Well I hope not, if you do. you just don't belong here"
Jeff Gordon had a good one, too: “At least we were able to run out of gas on time, so we could get to the pits, get back out on the track and destroy our car.”
Then there is Mark Martin, whose title hopes were ruined by the stupidity that Talladega has become. He wanted to rip NASCAR a new one, but he didn’t. He’s too nice. “Congratulations to Jamie McMurray. That’s about all I know about this race” was what he said, but you could tell he wanted to cuss them out.
Two things remain true about Talladega.
1. Plate racing remains dangerous, and one of these wrecks will eventually kill someone again. There has to be another way to slow the cars down without creating these tight packs. (And while we’re at it … can we get some roof flaps that actually work and stop the cars from flying?)
2. The new rule restricting bump-drafting basically forced the drivers to run single-file, for fear of being penalized. This begs the question that if they’re not allowed to race, why should the fans watch?
There is a terrible new formula for the race. 150 laps of parade, followed by 30 laps of scary crashes. I seriously thought Newman was dead (luckily his radio was just disconnected), and if he had died then NASCAR would have been to blame for creating the situation.
I’m putting this race on the level with the restrictor plate race they held at New Hampshire, as it was one of the worst races I’ve seen in the dozen years I’ve been watching the sport. And I know I’m not alone in this sentiment.
Jimmie wraps it upIn other news, write Jimmie Johnson’s name on the trophy. Under the previous points system, both Tony Stewart (-7) and Jeff Gordon (-72) would be realistically in the title hunt. As it stands now, Johnson leads Mark Martin by 184 points, and Gordon by 192. It’s official. This Chase is a dud, and stinks like a manure farm.
Somehow, Johnson’s strategy of staying in back all day, then moving up the front late, worked for him. He finished in the top-10 and all his competitors wrecked. Congrats Jimmie, but you’re boring me to tears with this. Four straight titles is just sick, and I don’t think it’s good for the sport.
Surprising finishesTalladega always has some interesting finishes, as guys who don’t normally do well will have solid days if they avoid trouble. The biggest surprise this time is Robert Richardson Jr., who drove the #36 car of Tommy Baldwin racing to 18th in his first Cup race ever. Reed Sorenson was 16th, Bobby Labonte was 10th in the #71 TRG Motorsports car, Elliott Sadler was 9th in his first race in a Ford for RPM and Michael Waltrip was 7th.
Don’t blame BradLastly, a lot of people online have been critical of Brad Keselowski, saying it was his fault that last big wreck happened. They would be wrong. Just like in the spring, NASCAR’s rules forced another bad wreck. I could see why some people might jump to this conclusion, given Brad’s recent history of aggressive driving at other tracks, but it’s not that simple. Brad got pushed and hit another car, and that’s not his fault. It’s the fault of an organization that forces dangerous restrictor plate racing on the drivers.
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