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Junior Nation Is All A-Twitter

An Opinion


July 7, 2010

By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams



























After a win and a fourth place finish at Daytona this past weekend, Junior Nation is bubbling over with excitement.

The win came in the legendary No. 3 Wrangler in the Nationwide series and the fourth place run came in the SprintCup race, vaulting Earnhardt back into the top 12.

In a strange twist, there was far more discussion around the Nationwide race over the Cup race. With RCR, JR Motorsports, EGR and Hendrick Motorsports all coming together to make racing the No. 3 once again possible, much of the racing community was excited to see just what would happen. Would this be just a huge PR event or could Junior do the unthinkable -- win a race in a period where winning seems to have been a dusty memory.

Junior qualified the No. 3 well, but we all know that doesn't mean much. But he ran the new Nationwide car well and in the end, took the lead with under 30 laps to go and held that lead to what turned out to be an enchanting win. Junior has now accomplished something his legendary father never did -- take the No. 3 Wrangler car to Victory Lane at Daytona.

Earnhardt's fourth place finish on Saturday night not have been -- had the field not wadded itself up with just 12 laps to go. In a race that appeared to be heading towards no 'Big One' (as happened in the Nationwide race), cars right behind the leaders decided that a little more bumping and banging was necessary.

There was not a lot of give and take Saturday night and that paved the way to more take than give in the closing laps. Jeff Burton was the meat in the sandwich once again and the ensuing melee took out nearly half the field. This allowed Earnhardt, who admittedly wasn't running well at all, to advance to a finish that they did not think was possible at all. From some reason, they brought their 500 package to the track. While that might seem like a good place to start, the new spoiler makes enough of a change in the car to require a different set up. Just ask Mark Martin, who was running deeper in the field with the same set up and was caught up in the carnage in a burning car.

But as Tony Stewart will tell you, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Junior Nation can only hope.

Chase Changes
Brain France has announced that there will be tweaks to the Chase for the Championship. While most folks thought something was in the offing, France made it clear that things would be different next year. What those changes will be is open to speculation at this point. So here goes.

One thing I find odd is that NASCAR for years hated the term "playoff" when referring to the Chase and yet France continues to use that term again and again. Can't the brain-trust get it right? Anyway, I look for adding a few more drivers to the Chase (perhaps three more bringing the total to 15), some different tracks added to the Chase and quite possibly an elimination round added in to reduce the number of drivers that can win the title through the final ten races. And in a twist that I don't like at all, it is quite possible that the final race could be a 'winner take all' format for the final contenders.

This sure seems like a playoff system for sure now.

But why the change now? Because of falling attendance and TV viewership? The need to prove itself to TV networks that shell out big dough to promote and broadcast the series?

Perhaps all of the above?

Let me know your thoughts.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.








Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News.
You Can Read Other Articles By Chuck Abrams

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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