August 20, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Last week's race at Watkins Glen made it abundantly clear. NASCAR needs to add more road courses to the schedule. Adding one to The Chase would serve to spice things up nicely.
The final lap of at the Glen was one of the most exciting finishes in NASCAR, if not in all of racing. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances that added to the excitement.
It's believed that the No. 47 car of Bobby Labonte oiled the track down in several places while experiencing engine trouble in the closing laps.
Normally under such circumstances, NASCAR officials would have thrown a caution and ended the race under a Green-White-Checkered finish. Yet that didn't happen because officials said they weren't aware there was oil down on the track until after the race was over.
Of course, some drivers benefited from the conditions and some were hurt by it. Spinning out on the final lap cost Dale Earnhardt Jr., the points lead. Jeff Gordon's day was ruined by the oil on the track as well.
"That was a fantastic finish to the race; very entertaining. It was great for the sport; great for Marcos (Ambrose) and even for Brad (Keselowski). That was cool. But somebody pays the price and those guys aren’t going to be happy with that and that’s the way racing is. Not everybody is going to be happy with the way things end up, and I was one of those," Gordon was quoted as saying during a press conference this weekend at Michigan. "I went home and watched it and I thought wow that was exciting; that was cool. So, you hope the sport can gain from that."
A lot of driver's complained about NASCAR officials not being consistent, Gordon among them.
"Do I ask for consistency? Yes, please be a little more consistent with the calls you now," Gordon said. "On a road course you could have local yellows and things like that. There are always ways to do it better and learn from it."
Yet how can officials be consistent with calls if they are unaware that there was oil on the track? Would a caution have been thrown if they were? More than likely, it would have and fans wouldn't have gotten such a fantastic finish.
After the race, the No. 2 and the No. 9 teams high-fived each other after their drivers competed for the victory. That's something rarely occurs in racing.
Regardless of the oil, Marcos Ambrose was thrilled with getting the race win.
"I think that lap was one of the best laps of my racing career. I'm sure Brad will tell you the same thing. It was just a thrill to be in that position, to be able to duke it out for a Sprint Cup win in those conditions. It's meant to be the toughest sport in the world, in racing, and it is," Ambrose was quoted as saying. "I know it was a safety issue that some drivers said about the randomness of not knowing where the oil was, not being able to see it.
"I've raced on road courses where there's been 10, 15 cars broken down on the side of the road, rubber and oil still on the track late in a long-distance race, and they keep that race running to crown the winner worthy of the day. Definitely at Watkins Glen you had the fastest three cars of the race duking it out for the win on the last lap. That's the way it should be."
Regardless of the conditions that contributed toward such a spectacular final lap, it was a finish that would never have happened at an oval track. That was definitely racing as it should be.
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