Another decent race is in the can.
Now that we’ve got a road course weekend out of our system, we can get back to stock car racing. I don’t mean to sound harsh. Actually, I enjoy the change of pace and the scenery. But the debate among the talking heads about having one of these as part of the ” Chase ” is almost laughable. Let’s face it, most of the teams are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to this style of racing – if only due to lack of experience and focus of resources. If the schedule is comprised of 5.6% road courses, it doesn’t seem appropriate that the playoffs would be 10% such venues. I don’t think we need a wild card event as part of the playoffs. Of course, I also don’t believe half the tracks we already have in the chase should be there. Nascar could do better.
That said, both races this past weekend were quite entertaining. If Nascar would add Road America to the Cup schedule that might not only add a very interesting race to the season, but would also lend some credibility to the ” clamor ” for including a road race in the ” Chase “.
The last 12 laps on Sunday were threatening to be exceptional until the 51 had a failure. Even with that, it was still exhilarating. As he has shown a number of times in the past, Kurt is quite capable of giving it all he’s got. It’s probably good for everyone he doesn’t do the same off the track.
Even with the great numbers he has, Tony Stewart still displays talents that seem to beg for better ones. Maybe those 3 years in Indy cars have kept him – statistically wise – out of the Gordon, Allison, Earnhardt class. Maybe there’s still time, if not physical dedication.
6.24.65: @ Greenville-Pickens Speedway, just prior to the start, a water truck lost power and leaked in the first turn. The cars starting 2, 4 and 6 all went straight over the banking and flipped outside the track. The car starting 14th soon joined them.
If Ned was in the booth we’d know what’s up with Kevin Cywinski.
By Gary Erdakos
Ref: racing-reference.info, Greg Fielden’s “Forty Years of Stock Car Racing”, Richard Sowers’ “The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing”.
