Was Bud Shootout a Sign of Things to Come?

February 12, 2008

By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

One race does not a season make, but if the 2008 Bud Shootout is any indication at all of things to come, it’s going to be an exciting season with close racing, hot tempers and a field dominated by Chevrolet and Toyota; and oh ya, Dale Jr., back in the win column.

For all the complaining about the (COT) new car last season, a lot of it by yours truly, I was actually impressed by the level of racing the new car provided. Aside from a few instances, the cars were able to stay close and competitive, something not seen nearly so often in past seasons. I was very critical of the COT last season, and I still have some reservations. However, if it provides anything close to the exciting, side by side downright fun racing we saw at Daytona Saturday night, I’ll gladly apologize to NASCAR for not giving the car a bit more of a chance.

I should also apologize to Jack Roush for over estimating his fear of Toyota. Apparently his fears were well founded, as evidenced by the performance of Toyota at the Shootout compared to Ford’s showing. After a wreck during practice Friday, the repaired #20 Toyota finished 2nd compared to the 12th place finish of the #99 Roush-Fenway Ford.

After Saturday’s results, there is little doubt that the Toyota and Hendrick teams spent their off-season wisely and that the Ford, and some of the Dodge folks, have some serious catching up to do. Like I said at the beginning, one race doesn’t make a season, but it certainly seems that the season is off to a less than spectacular start for Ford.

I’ll now take just a moment to congratulate that little known driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on an impressive showing and a well deserved and much needed win. By taking the checkers at Daytona, Dale Jr. has washed all the funk of the last season away and proven that he undoubtedly made the correct choice by leaving DEI.

Now when I first started this week’s contribution I commented on my apparent misjudgment of NASCAR in regards to the new car.

I would now like to refer to a column I wrote last season after Kurt Busch’s pit lane antics directed at Tony Stewart. I said then, and I say now that the penalties imposed on him by NASCAR were too weak. I received more than a few comments from readers last season that said I was being too hard on him and that Busch’s penalty was just. After his similar display at Friday practice, it appears he just hasn’t learned his lesson.

As of this writing, NASCAR hasn’t yet handed down their penalty for his fender banging -- and there-in lies the problem. The penalty should have been handed down Friday night; he should have been parked -- period.

For all the improvements NASCAR has made, they still seem to miss the boat from time to time when it comes to penalty doling. I won’t pretend to understand their decision making process, or that I know all the details of the incident or what went on inside the NASCAR hauler following the incident. But after a display like that, so similar to his outburst last year, I just can’t wrap my head around why he was allowed to race.

Hopefully he’ll receive a little less leniency this time as he did last year.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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