Track Trash – Deganacious (aka The Big One)

OK, how do you take a perfectly good race, and screw it up? It’s a great track, they party like there’s no tomorrow, yet the race for the most part has become a yawner to the fans, and drivers. The drivers don’t like coming here, but do it to please the fans. But now the pleasure seems to be waning for everyone. Thanks, NA$CAR. You’re in the process of ruining this venue.

Crew chiefs: OK, so The Coach has enough gumption to change VileKyle’s crew chief, yet the Rickster can’t quite come up with the nerve to do the same for Jr. Something doesn’t equate. I can understand the need for stability, but if the combination isn’t clicking, it’s time to move on in life. I wouldn’t condone revolving crew chiefs, but Jr. needs another breath of fresh air.

Pablo: If you read Pablo’s response to the Griese affair, you may get some insight to the Columbian. Was he ticked off? No way. Did he make the effort to belittle Griese? No way. The only remark he made was that he didn’t know who Griese was. What started off as a non-issue led to a one week suspension for Griese. Shame on ESPN for making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Dinger: First it was Mikie just one under the limit, now it’s AJ just one over the limit. It’s no big deal….unless you get into an accident, or if you happen to work for the teetotaling King Richard. Remember, the Petty’s raced for years without running the Bud Shootout, just so they wouldn’t be associated with that vile liquid. Now it turns out that Dinger is on the dreaded Animal House “double probation”. NA$CAR has him on one until the end of this year, and The King has him on probation until the end of 2010 (plus fining him $ 10K that will go to charity). So until the limit is pushed too far, drivers apparently can get smashed, but they’d better not drive. There seems to be a message in this that we all might want to consider….

Mikie: With all the news he’s generated recently, Mikie probably didn’t want to get involved in another incident. However, NA$CAR decided to make him the poster boy for bump drafting. Over the weekend in several practice sessions, poor little JJ got bump drafted a tad too much for his liking, and I’m sure that someone whined to the officials. The next thing we know, Mikie is cooling his heels in the garage for 30 minutes (not that this penalty will hurt Mikie to any degree, cuz he could practice for 3 weeks and still not get any better). But the point has been made…..watch yer bump drafting or that big bully NA$CAR will throw the black flag at you.

Da Race: For the most part, the race was BORING….not only to the fans, but also to the drivers. The threat of bump drafting their way into a lap down penalty had the drivers at bay most of the day. Yes, there was sporadic driving, but most of the time it seemed like they were doing the freight train tango. So was the race any safer because of the new rule? Don’t ask FlyinRyan, nor SirMark, because both of their cars became airborne at different times within the last 5 laps of the race. What a spectacular tumble Newman took. The suspense was nerve wracking because his antennae was damaged during the tumble, and he couldn’t tell his team that he was OK until they were about to cut his roof off with a can opener. After exiting from the care center, he was interviewed and was extremely (yet accurately) critical of the type of racing NA$CAR was presenting here at Talladega. Through the years, with the rule changes that were laid on, one on top of the other, NA$CAR has made this race not only boring, but briefly exciting, and certainly more dangerous. It’s no wonder the Playoff guys dread coming here in the Fall.

Luckless: Although an early favorite to win or place high at the end, DennyHambone suffered an engine failure about 3/4ths the way through the race. All the while, though, das Kurt’s Blue Deuce had problems galore. First a spin in the grass via a flat RR, complaints on the radio about the inadequate machine he was driving, then off the pace (just before The Big One) due to more tire issues.

JJ: Taking a page out of DJ’s antiquated racing style, JJ hung back in the rear until about the last 15 laps. Sorry, but this is not racing. This is chicken poop at its best. I never liked seeing it with DJ, and I certainly don’t like to see a prospective Champion run a race in this fashion. Some of you might think this is racing smart, and his 8th place finish might verify this, but if he wants to be remembered as a true Champion, he might want to reconsider his game plan.

Mikie: Ditto the above paragraph, except wipe out any reference to a Champion.

Kudos: To JamieMac for a great finish to his Roush career. To Kasey for riding his dead horse to the finish line. To Joey, da Biff and Jburton for good finishes. And finally, to Blobonte for a 14th place finish for an underfunded team.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer set of Irwin tools,

Racing Maniac #3

PS: And who in the heck is Robert Richardson, Jr., and how did he manage to come in 17th???? He apparently replaced McDowell in the Tommy Baldwin car, but this kid came out of nowhere.