CHECKERED FLAG
Clint Bowyer was the last driver to clinch his spot in the Chase. He had zero wins in the 26 race regular season. Sunday, he had the car to beat, and dominated the kickoff Chase race in Loudon.
GREEN FLAGS
Jamie McMurray (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr (4), and Sam Hornish Jr (10) all had nice finishes at NHMS. Denny Hamlin kept the points lead with a hard earned second place run after being spun earlier in the race by Carl Edwards.
YELLOW FLAGS
With less than 100 laps to go, there were several instances of the Chase drivers spinning, and spinning each other. These are the twelve best drivers in the world, yet they were mixing it up like it was the last lap with 85 to go. It was very unexpected, yet highly entertaining.
RED FLAG
My blustering about the Chase being anti-climatic. I expected the Loudon race to be follow-the-leader boring, with most of the top-10 finishers being Chase drivers. I couldn't have been more wrong. The race was exciting, with the outcome in doubt right down to the last lap. Here's hoping that the next nine races are this good.
BLACK FLAG
The Black Flag stays sheathed this week. WTH? I'm sure I could go off on ESPN again, but aren't we all tired of that?
Maybe it's the daytime racing :)
ReplyDeleteSeems like the short track with a 300 lap event kept everybody interested including the drivers!
The question that begs asking is once again: "What can NASCAR do to make this kind of action happen at every race?"
Remember the guy who wrote about breaking the race weekend into two halves and making the races around 200 miles each? Think about it...
I'd like to see races at 200 miles (or laps) for Nationwide, and 300 miles (or laps, in short-track races) in Cup, with the exceptions for the superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) and the Coca-Cola 600. Imagine a Pocono race at 300 miles instead of the super-boring 500 milers we have now! Or how about breaking the race in half and give the teams 10 minutes to make adjustments and have the drivers line up for the second half of the race in the order they finished the first half.
ReplyDeleteD-0ne.... Maybe all 12 of the Chasers realized that they needed to break on top for the 1st Chase race. Those already more than 100 points behind now have some digging to do. I still believe we will see more points racing in the Chase.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for shorter races. The Truck and NW races are usually better than Cup, because they are not long enough to get too boring.
Jon... Yes shorter races would be better. Anything over 3 hours is too long for TV. It's hard to build new fans when the events drag on and on, "and what's up with all those left turns"... lol
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what got into those Chasers -Kurt was definitely driving in hard and making it hard on himself - when his whole Chase theory is 8th place finishes - he could have had that no problem if he wouldda coasted. Maybe they are believing the hype (their own) that it is anyones game...and they gotta get a jump like you said.
ReplyDeleteLets hope it continues is all I have to say.
And one final WOOT goes out to my boys Junyer and Sammy!!
You got a spare red flag for me someplace, Gene? I also thought I'd get quality naptime on Sunday, lol
ReplyDeleteI've never considered Louden a boring race track. It's a place where brothers will take each other out(Kyle and Kurt), as well as friends(Tony and Ryan). Drivers throw helmets at cars, and call each other names. It's fast racing with a short track feel. I've always been fond of Phoenix, Dover, Richmond, and Bristol, as well. Martinsville, on the other hand, is not fast enough, and I find it boring watching 500 hp bumbper cars.
ReplyDeleteKristen... I believe the last three cautions Sunday involved only Chase drivers. Amazed that they were taking chances. Tony could have settled for 2nd or 3rd, but went for the win. Caught me totally off guard.
ReplyDeleteI finally got around to reading last week's Sports Illustrated story on Kurt. S.I. has tabbed him as this year's champ.... Kiss. Of. Death.
Tez.... Hos about a blue flag with a white, diagonal stripe? I'll pull over and give you room...LOL
ReplyDeleteCR... I suppose Jeff Burton turned it into a 'meh' track for me. After they did the work there a few years back, the racing has become better.
ReplyDeleteMartinsville, and N Wilkesboro, were both always way overrated as short tracks in my book.
Dang Gene - you figured out the REAL reason I wont pick Kurt for the trifecta...the SI K.O.D!
ReplyDelete