Nascar sees an opportunity to create drama.
Another race is in the can.
I’ve never seen so many cautions just for sparks. Good thing it was a night race. It was apparent after a quarter of the race that nothing was going to change in the top 16 Chase order since there was no rain on the horizon. What to do,what to do. How were we to get some drama going? Nascar is always ready with a solution if needed. With alternate pit strategies already going on, they needed something else to get some non-Chase drivers in the mix. Voila! Sparks. Just what we need. Another back runner vying for the championship. Oh, I forgot, it’s not about that. It’s supposed to be a Cinderella story for the ratings.
Too harsh? Regardless, the racing was great, as has become the norm. Too bad that’s not enough for Nascar.
What comes after secret double probation? So you get called on the carpet for intentionally wrecking somebody one week and do the same thing the next week. No problem. Yeah, I know, special treatment is rampant in all sports – pro and amateur. Like we learned again today in tennis and the Olympics. Probably always been that way, and not just in sports. I shouldn’t have even brought it up. That’s just life.
But most other examples don’t involve 3500 lb. vehicles going 100+ mph. Nascar’s wager is that no one gets – how should I put this – “hurt” in the next 10 races. Actually it could be more. Maybe Tony will have to come out of retirement to sub for one of his own drivers next year, if Mark Martin or Brett Favre isn’t available.
By Gary Erdakos