Another good race is in the can.
My investment in the 24, as a member of AARP, is paying off already. Never mind. I guess they don’t actually send us a dividend check.
Maybe the finish wasn’t quite Daytona-esque, but the racing was more like it’s supposed to be – except maybe for the unexpected Phoenix “big one”. Lot’s of good racing, great, although short-lived, battle for the victory, and another full weekend show by Kyle.
Apparently Nascar doesn’t have its plate full enough of changes to the racing. Its voracious appetite for tweaking has extended to qualifying. To what end? It seems most drivers dismiss the importance of starting position, I don’t think there’s much chance of increasing either the TV or track audience, and a number of professionals in the sport have indicated that qualifying could simply be eliminated. If the fastest 43 started, it might be worth the trouble. All it’s done so far is add an element of sandbagging possibilities. You see, it really doesn’t matter. Nascar’s time and effort should be spent on more important things.
A more important thing might be paying attention to such things as the cause and effects of short fields like the 2-26 Nationwide race. That might not be such a bad thing. Pundits have been calling for that for quite some time. (Probably the same ones who want shorter races.) Actually, after the “big one” eliminated a bunch of cars at Phoenix, there was some darn good racing.
In the news today worth mentioning: Morgan Shepherd chased down and captured a fleeing teenage robber, and WRFX Charlotte – home of John Boy and Billy – announced the station will fill the racecast void by airing all the Cup races that are held at Speedway Motorsports tracks. PRN will provide the feed. Maybe no one is better than the MRN crew, but Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and crew are equals.
2.27.65: At Spartanburg, Ned Jarrett beat 2nd place G.C. Spencer by 22 laps.
Ref: racing-reference.info, Greg Fielden’s “Forty Years of Stock Car Racing”, Richard Sowers’ “The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing”.
