Junior Talks. NASCAR Cringes.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spoke, at length, to the press today.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. went from race car driver to philosopher Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. And in the process, stock car racing’s favorite son likely ruffled quite a few feathers in NASCAR’s front office.
In one of his most poignant interviews ever, Earnhardt confirmed what a lot of people – most notably disenchanted or former NASCAR fans – have been thinking for a long time.
Namely, NASCAR has grown too big, the season is too long and the watered-down result, particularly the Chase for the Sprint Cup, is hurting the sport dramatically, with potentially even more damage to come as the world remains in economic crisis.
I agree with him, 100%. Several years ago, it was fun to follow NASCAR. Just ask my kids. They knew every driver’s number. They knew every manufacturer, and they loved watching the sport.
This year, they were interested for about 10 races, and that’s all she wrote. They haven’t been back. I record the races on DVR just in case I feel like watching them, but I’m with Junior. The season is too long, and the ‘events’ have become too big.
Sphere: Related ContentAnother Rainy Friday In NASCAR
For the third week in a row, and the tenth time this season the starting order for the cup race was based on points because qualifying was cancelled due to rain. So, let’s see… There have been 32 races, Atlanta will be the 33rd. This has happened in 30% of the races.
For the third consecutive week, rain played a role in putting Jimmie Johnson ahead of the field.
Rain washed out Sprint Cup qualifying for the third consecutive week on Friday, forcing NASCAR to set the field on points. Therefore, Johnson will start from the pole position in his Chevrolet in Sunday’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Doesn’t NASCAR see this is becoming routine? We all know they hate consistency. Why aren’t they changing the days for qualifying? Why not do it a day early, that way, if there is rain, they can do it the next day? What happened to planning ahead? This is ridiculous.
Sphere: Related ContentIt’s Time To Go Camping
Wow. Camping World is taking over sponsorship of the truck series. I wonder if that means any “camping” related companies won’t be allowed to sponsor trucks?
On a sidenote, check out the following paragraph from the article. Notice anything?
Camping World on Thursday was named the new sponsor for NASCAR’s Truck Series.
The sponsorship deal is four seven years.
Camping World has been a prominent brand in NASCAR and especially the Truck Series, sponsoring the Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet that Ron Hornaday Jr. drove to a championship last season.
Four seven years is a long time.
Sphere: Related ContentRains Cancels Qualifying, Again
I have a serious problem with NASCAR lately. As you know, I have said for months that the races are boring. As long as they restrict everyone to use the same EVERYTHING in the cars, there will be no more exciting races. I don’t see why they can’t keep the technology and safety of the car of tomorrow, but can the design and the tight restrictions. Let’s see some real racing.
Anyway, back to my point. Not only are the races boring, but qualifying this season has been a complete joke. We don’t get to see them qualify, to know whose cars might actually be better, and then we watch a race that is throttled in creativity, imagination, and competitiveness.
Jimmie Johnson will lead the field to green for the NASCAR Sprint Cup TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway after qualifying was rained out on Friday.
That is bad news for the rest of the field, as no one has been better recently on the .526-mile oval than Johnson, the two-time reigning series champion.
Oh sure, I’ll record the race. I don’t watch them live anymore though. It’s too much of a waste of time when nothing is going to be any different than the race before. Oh, except maybe someone will get lucky on pit road and unexpectedly win the race.
Sphere: Related ContentJeff Burton Wins At Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Jeff Burton pulled off an excellent win on Saturday night.
Jeff Burton failed to win a championship when he was anointed NASCAR’s next big star, the guy everyone thought would challenge for multiple titles.
He couldn’t win one years later, when, after years of mediocrity, he suddenly found himself back in the mix.
A win Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway rocketed Burton onto Jimmie Johnson’s bumper with five races to go to decide the championship, and Burton is convinced he’s as capable of winning a title now as he was when he was a young hotshot.
Burton and his team took a gamble late in the race and it paid off big time. He’s just 69 points behind Jimmie Johnson with 5 races left in the Chase. Finally, a reason to be excited during the Chase.
Sphere: Related ContentStewart Ends Dry Spell At Talledega
What was up with all the tire problems today? We don’t usually see tire problems at Talladega, so I am wondering what’s up with the tire manufacturers. Is there something they aren’t telling us?
I have to admit, the last 20 laps of the race were pretty exciting, partly because of the “big one” but mostly because of the finish.
Tony Stewart, a six-time bridesmaid at Talladega Superspeedway, finally got to Victory Lane at the 2.66-mile track in Sunday’s AMP Energy 500. But a controversial finish left rookie Regan Smith shouting, “Stop the wedding!”
In a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race two laps beyond its scheduled distance of 188, Stewart was declared the winner, even though Smith crossed the finish line first. With a quarter-mile to go and Stewart protecting the bottom of the track, Smith was forced to dip below the yellow line, which divides the speedway proper from the apron, to complete the final pass for the lead.
Congratulations, Tony! You deserved this one.