CHECKERED FLAG
David Reutimann scored his second Cup victory with the win Saturday night in Chicago. When his car is set up right, (seldom, I know) he reminds me of Bobby Allison. Just runs the same line as if the car were on rails, lap after lap. No give up, no slowing down, no taking a breather. He just wore down the other contenders.
GREEN FLAGS
Second place finisher, Carl Edwards led two laps Saturday night to double his season total to four. Jeff Gordon dug deep, just not deep enough while fading to third. Jamie McMurray won the pole and ended up fifth at the finish. Hometown boy, Paul Menard is looking better each week after his 10th place run here.
YELLOW FLAGS
NASCAR is often criticized for the unknown debris cautions that tighten up a strung-out field. I really don't mind, as I'd rather see close, albeit manipulated, racing than cars spread all around the track. So, why didn't they throw the yellow Saturday night when they were presented with two semi-legit opportunities? Late in the going, Greg Biffle blew an engine, and later, Scott Speed spun out at the entrance to the pits. Both of these incidents could have brought out a caution on any other night without too many conspiracy claims being filed. Maybe if it had been #18 leading?
RED FLAG
Chicagoland as the only Cup race in the midwest. Or, is Michigan considered midwest? If it is, someone needs to look at a map. Anyway, there are other, better, tracks in the midwest that deserve a Cup visit. Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, etc.
BLACK FLAG
Buh-Bye, TNT. Six races was enough to wear out your welcome. Maybe we should have six networks each do six races per year? Evidently, a network exec has made Kyle Petty watch tapes of other telecasts. Now he just repeats the same talking points that we hear from Rusty, Mikey, and Darrell.... EVERY RACE! Wally Dallenbach had this gem after Robby Gordon had 30 seconds to lock in on sitting duck, Bill Elliott, "They say to aim where the car is, it'll be gone by the time you get there." Really? Who says that? Harry Hogg from Days of Thunder? No wonder you never came close to winning a race Wallster.
My boy finally won one. Last week I read an article that claimed David still had an outside chance to make the chase. How realistic do you believe his chances are?
ReplyDeleteAero... WTG! to Buzzy's boy! He's a solid driver, maybe with two wins now, he'll get more gloss.
ReplyDeleteHey Gene!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see aero too!
I understand David Reutimann is still working under the terms of a handshake deal with MWR! Maybe Michael better pay attention or the best driver he's got might find some greener pastures. He's bound to get attention.
I know a couple of people in my neck of the woods that are friends with David and his family. Man were they happy!
Sure am sorry to see the fade with Kyle... Maybe he's just playing the game until Chase time like many of the other seem to do. I'm a firm believer in momentum. I want to see my guys build up for the finale, ya know? Maybe that's not the thing to do in NASCAR. What do you think?
Maybe a revised Chase format will help. I see where several of the drivers are dead set against eliminations. Maybe that oughta tell NASCAR that it's the thing to do!
So we get a week of break and then a week of brick!
Thanks Gene!
Dwindy..... Reuty says he staying at MWR even if it's just to cut the grass.
ReplyDeleteAero is one of those happy folks in your neck of the woods, Dwindy.
I doubt Kyle is slacking off by design. A couple more sub=par efforts and he'll be on the borderline of not making it.
I was calling for sudden death type eliminations in the Chase years ago. Any other sport, you lose a game or a series and you're out!
It's AERO!!!
ReplyDeleteGood thing Bill wasn't t-boned on the driver's side. That was a hard hit.
We're heading to Amelia this weekend. Anything new and different to do besides watching the tide roll away?lol
Hey Aero, good to see ya back! Good for your guy Reutimann winning a race! If he puts some solid top 5 finishes he's got a shot.
ReplyDeleteGene, I spent a good amount of time snoozing in front of the TV. I should have DVR'd it and watched it when I can't sleep. As far as a revised Chase format, here's my suggestion: you have your first round of eliminations after the third race. (Your lowest four drivers are eliminated.) Then you bump the remaining 8 up another 200 points for the next three races. Positions 5-8 are eliminated after the sixth race. Then you bump the top 4 up another 200 points. Then it's a four-race sprint to the title.
Not sure if any of you saw Gluck's latest blog on the broadcasts...its pretty spot on and well worth the read:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sbnation.com/2010/7/12/1564204/chicagoland-nascar-tv-ratings-broadcasts-espn-fox-tnt-2010
Twitter was all a twitter with fans saying NO DUH to the incredulous media...
Heard Rooty Tooty gets his contract at Indy too. Pretty good two weeks for him I'd say!
ATH....Have fun in A.I. Nothing new there that I know of.
ReplyDeleteJon....eliminations are the way to go... or give points for each lap led in the Chase. That should lead to a little competition.
KLV.... I'll have to check it out. I'll be polling TV talking heads, in all categories, from all NASCAR's network 'partners'.
ReplyDeletenice one, Gene :)
ReplyDeletelove the comment about the F1 coverage in that article, klv. Of course, we don't get to see the BBC prereace show they do but, not sure how it is for you guys south of the border, TSN do put side-by-side for those. Also, the onboards are far superior but I think you get more cool locations on an openwheeler anyway. Mind you, I am probably also the wrong person to ask about that given my bias....
hey, I think the V8's are on speed this weekend....we should do a comparison, lol
Hey Gene, I just ran across the following website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nascar.com/promos/hof/2010/vote/
The fans get to vote! I know... Out vote's amount to like .0000000001 of what the NASCAR HOF will consider for next year's induction, but there it is!
Tez... the last time I saw Speed's F-1 pre-race it was great. I think Varsha was on pit road before Monaco, and it was all info... no fluff.
ReplyDeleteDwindy... that is about as high a percentage as the fans need. Every year in MLB and NBA all-star voting the fans vote a player in who has been injured all year, or just has a name and no numbers.
Excellent recap this week. Saying Reutimann's car was on rails is spot on. That car was so smooth the entire night.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a move to either Iowa or Kentucky, both tracks have proven their worth in the Nationwide and Trucks.
Also, I was thinking the same thing when they said aim for the wreck. Although some drivers out there seem to aim for one almost every week.