February 17, 2010
By Chuck Abrams
What a week for racing. The Gatorade Twin races on Thursday were full of door-to-door racing and thrilling finishes.
The Nationwide race gave fans of wrecks -- what they come for -– a car on its roof sliding down the track while others ping-pong off of it.
Danica Patrick made her NASCAR debut but got caught up in a wreck, not of her making.
A new winner, Timothy Peters, in the Truck Series on Saturday night with more great racing right to the finish line.
And then on Sunday, a lot of side-by-side racing, lead changes and…. A pothole?
Now, living in Minnesota, we expect potholes. In fact, it is called pothole season and it has already started. Potholes that swallow unsuspecting small dogs and children. Whole cars disappear and tough American pickups are shaken to their very core as they bounce through the plethora of asphalt with holes we nicely refer to as roads.
But we are not driving 200 mph door-to-door with 42 of our best friends intent on beating us to the line.
And in the biggest day of American stock car racing, what many often refer to as (cringe) the Super Bowl of NASCAR, the race is held up for nearly three hours while a pothole, if fixed not once, but twice.
This was frustrating for all involved. Track officials, fans, drivers, teams, TV viewers – you name it, it was something no one wanted and had many fans leaving the track -- and TV viewers turning the channel for Olympic viewing.
For the uninitiated, a track surface coming apart is not common but it is certainly not without precedent. It happened in the 2004 Martinsville 500 and ruined Jeff Gordon’s chance for a win.
But when you are racing in 2010 in a sport that generates a lot of money for the owners of these tracks, you don’t really expect this to happen. And I can assure you, NASCAR will make sure that the next time the Cup cars return to Daytona in July, this will not be an issue.
For the fans that stuck around for the eventual end of the race, they were treated to a wild finishes with two attempts (the first attempt was the final three regulation laps so it does not count) at a green-white-checkers finish –- a rule NASCAR put into play right before the race. I am a huge fan of this new rule. Whether it is two or three attempts does not make a difference to me. I applaud NASCAR for attempting to finish under green in a reasonable manner.
And as expected, the Cup drivers could not help wrecking themselves in the final laps. And if anyone noticed, the alleged instigator (Jeff Gordon) of the no-bump drafting rule from last year, did not take his own advice on that very issue causing more than one wreck.
At the end of the day, under the lights with an unexpected Jamie McMurray out in front, NASCAR got what it was hoping for from the drop of the green flag. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. came from 22nd place to second under the final cautions, driving up through the middle (what had been no man’s land all day) from ninth place in the final lap to the bumper of McMurray’s Bass Pro Chevy, electrifying the remaining audience. But McMurray had the racing god’s with him and he took the checkers in front of the 88 car. One more lap might have cost Jamie Mac the win. But that was not to be in this Daytona 500.
Eanrhardt said the final laps were just a blur and he put the car where no one else was. He also said he did not like being that aggressive normally. Well, guess what Junebug –- that is what got you where you are -– or were. Get more aggressive and you will visit Victory Lane this year more than once.
In the end, an overjoyed and emotional McMurray celebrated his win for win new team and millions of Earnhardt fans are asking the question: “Is he back?”
Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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