Fans, Drivers Frustrated. Is This Talladega?

Following NASCAR's announcement that there would be no bump drafting allowed in the corners on Sunday, virtually all of the drivers had to change their strategy, and a lot of fans weren't very happy about it.

Several drivers opted to drop to the back of the field for most of the race, running at only half throttle for many of the 500 miles which made up the AMP Energy 500.  There's nothing new about drivers being conservative in the early stages of long races, but many of the fan's favorites never made a move to reach the front of the pack until less than 20 laps to go in Sunday's race.

Points leader Jimmie Johnson ran most of the day in 30th place or so, but managed to survive the late race crashes and finish 6th.  Johnson's decent finish practically guaranteed his fourth Cup championship.

For much of the race, the majority of the drivers were content to play follow the leader, apparently not wishing to take a chance on incurring NASCAR's wrath by touching another car at any point on the track other than the straights.  The racing predictably began to get interesting in the closing laps, which resulted in two rather spectacular crashes that left Ryan Newman upside down in the infield, and Mark Martin also turning turtle briefly during the resulting green-white-checker finish.

Newman's car was spun across the track, colliding with several cars, including Kevin Harvick's car.  The 39 Chevy of Newman then turned backwards, and went airborne, landing upside down on the hood of Harvick's 29 Chevy.  As Newman spun into the infield on his lid, he nearly collided with Harvick's car a third time.  Harvick, who led several laps earlier in the race, must have felt like his yellow and red Chevy had a bull's eye painted on it.

I've had a theory about the so-called new car, which used to be known as the car of tomorrow.  My theory has been shared by other fans and various media types alike, as well as, I'm sure, more than a few drivers.  On a race track where speeds of 190 plus miles per hours are the norm, that huge wing on the back does exactly what it's designed to do, when the car is moving in a forward direction, which is provide down force to keep the car on the track.

When the car is moving rapidly in a backwards direction however, the wing acts just like the wing on an airplane, creating lift, and resulting in the spectacular airborne flight that Ryan Newman took on Sunday.  Obviously, it appears that the new car is not the perfect solution for keeping not only the drivers safe, but ensuring the safety of the fans as well..

Fans get injured when cars fly up into the air, landing in the catch fence, or in what would be an absolutely horrible scenario, flying over the catch fence.

Fortunately, Newman's car went airborne on the low side of the track, not up against the outside wall, as did Carl Edward's car in the April race at Talladega.  Had Edward's car not caught air under it's wing in April, that brave young lady we saw on Sunday's pre-race show would  likely not have suffered injury.  If nothing else, I would ask that NASCAR reexamine the safety aspects of the wings on the rear of the cars.

As regular readers of this site know, my race day routine involves not only watching the race itself, but following several message boards, and lately, of course, following Twitter closely.  The fan comments I have been reading since Sunday's race have been rather predictable.  I don't think any race fan wants to see cars simply stay in line and follow the leader for the majority of any race, especially Talladega.  "Boring" was a race used by many fans on Sunday.

Unfortunately, quite a few of the drivers expressed their feelings of boredom as well, and several drivers quite frankly apologized for putting on a boring race, at least for the most part.  The crashes, though spectacular, were unfortunate, especially when the entire NASCAR world is watching the rescue workers first have to lift Ryan Newman's race car back onto it's wheels, and then cut the roof off the car to extract him.  Fortunately, none of the drivers were seriously injured in Sunday's race, though I imagine that Newman will be feeling rather stiff and sore for the next several days.

Talladega has been the site of some of NASCAR's greatest racing in the past.  I hope we see it there again soon.

After Martinsville - Old Points Vs. Chase Points

Congratulations to Denny Hamlin for his win at Martinsville.  Winning in his home state of Virginia must have been about as fun as it gets for not only Hamlin, but his entire family as well.

Jimmie Johnson, with a second place finish at Martinsville widened his points lead over second place Mark Martin to 118 points.  Jeff Gordon remains in third place, 150 points behind Johnson.

Tony Stewart, in fourth place, is 192 points out, and Juan Pablo Montoya is an even 200 points out of first place.

As close as the Chase is supposed to keep the competition, it would appear that Jimmie Johnson is running away with the points with four races to go in the season.

Let's examine how the points would stack up under the old points system.  Tony Stewart would still be in first place, with an 80 point lead over second place Jimmie Johnson.  It would seem that Johnson's late season surge, which has worked so well in the Chase, would still see him playing catch up under the old points rules.

Under the old points system, Jeff Gordon would still find himself in third place, though only 117 points out of first place, rather than the 150 point deficit he currently finds himself in.  In other words, Gordon would still be a long shot to win his 5th championship with only 4 races to go, but he'd have a better chance than he does now.

Fourth and fifth places would be held by Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin, but they would have virtually no chance whatsoever of a championship at this point, being both well over 400 points out of first place.

Tony Stewart has accepted that the Chase is the law of the land, but one has to wonder how he feels now, knowing that he would have an advantage at this point in the season, were NASCAR still using the old points system.

As for Jimmie Johnson, he's doing exactly what he needs to do to assure himself of his fourth consecutive championship.  Late season charges do make a huge difference under the Chase system.

Some Random Thought, and Thank You, Part 2

It was a pretty exciting day for racing, with Timothy Peters winning his very first NASCAR Camping World Truck series win at Martinsville today, and with Brad Keselowski beating and banging his way to a victory at Memphis.

Unfortunately, because the Truck race got off to a late start due to rain this morning in the Martinsville area, the races overlapped a bit.  I nearly wore out my clicker flipping back and forth, but managed to see nearly all the action in both races, all the while keeping an eye on the Clemson/Miami football game.  (Way to go, Tigers!)

I also wanted to share some stats with you, the kind readers who visit this site.  I just pulled some data from my stat counter site, and tabulated some interesting data.

Of the last 500 visitors to the site, the state with the most visitors is the great state of North Carolina, which I suppose isn't surprising, since most of the NASCAR world is centered in that state.

Here's the top 15 locations of visitors to this site over the last few days.  Note, some of these aren't US states, you might be surprised to know.

1. North Carolina
2. California
3. New York
4. Ontario  (Yeah, that Ontario, as in Ontario, Canada
5. Ohio
6. Pennsylvania
7. Georgia
8. Michigan
9. (tie) New Jersey, Texas
10. (tie) Florida, Connecticut
11. (tie) Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, Tennessee
12. Washington
13. (tie) Indiana, Maryland, Missouri
14. (tie) Victoria, Australia; Minnesota, British Columbia, Canada
15. (tie) Washington DC, Kansas, Louisiana, England

My sincere thanks to all of you who made the top 15, and to all of you who didn't!  Here are some other interesting places readers were when they visited this site:

Prince Edward Island
Saskatchewan
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Nova Scotia
Ostfold, Norway
Zurich, Switzerland
Rajasthan, India
Alberta
Quebec
Catalonia, Spain
Magnisia, Greece
Oslo, Norway

Thanks for all of your visits, and I hope you'll keep coming back!

The Junior Nation Gets Fired Up

 Last Friday at Concord, NC, Dale Jr. answered some questions put to him by the media, and quite frankly, I don't think I've ever heard or seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. sound so down in the dumps.

Dale talked about his season, and the lack of success that the 88 team has had so far.  He also mentioned that his current crew chief, Lance McGrew, is not necessarily going to be Junior's crew chief next year.

Much of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s greatest successes have come when Tony Eury Sr. was on top of the pit box, back on the 8 team at Dale Earnhardt Inc.  Since then, Dale Jr. has mostly had his cousin, Tony Eury Jr. as his crew chief, and the results have been far from stellar.

Long time Dale Jr. fans know that he worries when he's not performing well, not just because of his sponsors, but because of his fans.  That's certainly true of other drivers as well, but probably no driver worries about making his fans happy more than Dale Jr.

When his father died in February of 2001, Dale Jr. wondered if he even would have a job for the rest of the season, and if the success he had enjoyed so far would go away because his father was no longer there to help him.  Junior worried about sponsors leaving, honestly thinking that the only reason he had Budweiser and other sponsors was because of who is father was, not Junior himself.

In my opinion, Dale Jr. has more than proven that he is a race car driver in his own right.  Most his his 18 Cup victories came after his father's death, including his 2004 Daytona 500 win.  There are quite a few drivers currently driving in the Cup series who would love to have 18 wins.

The naysayers have been out in force as of late as well.  I've read plenty of comments such as "Maybe Junior should realize he just has no talent," and my favorite, "Dale Jr. is an inarticulate backwoods hillbilly."  I just love comments like those.

Richard Childress, the owner of the 3 Chevrolet for so many years, has supported Junior during this time of not-so-much fun.  RC has basically said that he still feels that Dale Jr.'s best days are still ahead of him as a driver.  I agree with Mr. Childress, who's having problems of his own at RCR.  Not one of his four cars is in the Chase this year, and it's rumored that Kevin Harvick, who replaced Dale Earnhardt in 2001, will be leaving after the 2010 season.

Dale Jr.'s car owner, Rick Hendrick, has addressed Junior's performance problems, and likely is working hard on trying to provide a solution for the 88 team.  Dale Jr.'s fans have spoken out as well, rallying in support of their favorite driver.

In a petition to Hendrick Motorsports, some Junior Nation fans have asked:

We have suspected for quite some time now that there is a problem somewhere within the 88 team, either in the shop or at the track. The statements released today from Tony Gibson have proven that our gut feelings were accurate. The fans would like this to be taken care of immediately!   We the fans thought our equipment would be first class at Hendrick Motorsports. Please act now.

Thank you,

       Junior nation


If you'd like to check out and even sign the petition, click Here.

It's good to see a driver's fans get fired up to actually go through the trouble of setting up something like this petition, and it's refreshing to know that the Junior Nation is trying to do their part to get Dale Earnhardt Jr. back in victory lane again.

photo credit:  Geoff Burke/Getty Images

Just a Quick Thank You

Thanks to everyone who's read this blog over the past year or three!  I really appreciate you all clicking on this site, for what ever reason prompts you to do so.

I enjoy doing this, and will keep doing so for as long as I can.  Hopefully I will eventually write better, so you can read better as well!

I've never tried to support any one driver, because I just try to write about what happens on the track, and sometimes off the track.  I enjoy all things NASCAR, you could say.

Whether you're in New England, or England, or some former colony of England, I appreciate your time and trouble to get here.  We now have readers from all over the world, from every continent, and every state in the nation.  I could not be more proud of you, and thank you for your support

Feel free to rip me a new one, whenever you see fit.  My e-mail is public domain, so feel free to tell me when I'm making a total ass of myself.

All comments are welcome.  If I don't reply to yours, expect me to use you in a future article!  Just kidding.

Thanks,

Jimmy C

Johnson Well On Way To 2009 Championship - Fans Say Ho Hum?

With five races to go in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it appears that NASCAR's version of Mr. October, Jimmie Johnson has his fourth Cup nearly in hand.

It's understandable, with the economy in such poor shape, that ticket sales at the track have been down for 2009.  One would suppose that if one couldn't afford a ticket, the price of gas to travel, the price of a place to stay, etc., that one might have to make do watching the races on TV.

That doesn't seem to be happening though.  TV ratings are basically down across the board for most of the races this year.  Saturday's race at Charlotte was down by sharply in the ratings from last year, when the race was held on a Saturday evening, head to head with college football, the same as this year.

What could the matter be?  It would seem that Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are setting in stone a bona fide NASCAR dynasty, putting up some incredible numbers again for the fourth year in a row.  Normally, one would think that these would be exciting times for NASCAR, but the TV ratings don't seem to be reflecting that.

I've been reading a lot of fans' comments over the last few days.  Some of them are very interesting.  "It's only exciting if you're a Jimmie Johnson fan" seems to be a popular comment.  Others say that the racing is just boring.  The blame for boring racing ranges from NASCAR's rules to the new car.  Others blame the television coverage itself, saying they cannot stand to listen to certain commentators or analysts.

I'm not going to try to come up with an answer for boring racing here, or for how to improve TV coverage.  In other articles on this site, I've already shed some theories on those topics.  I will hazard a guess as to some fans' animosity towards Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team though.

To the casual observer, Jimmie Johnson should be a sports' perfect champion and spokesman.  Johnson has the looks of a movie actor, some would say.  Jimmie is rather soft spoken, and his comments rarely provoke controversy.  He displays a certain sense of humor at times during his interviews, and never fails to thank his sponsors, his team, and his owners.

To some hard core NASCAR fans, the above description of NASCAR's reigning champion is precisely what's not to like about him.  NASCAR largely thrives on a certain level of controversy, whether it is in the form of incidents on the race track, or words spoken in the heat of emotion during post action interviews.  Rarely do we see Jimmie Johnson deviate from the company line when it comes to interviews.

Perhaps many fans remember the old rivalries between drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, or Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip, or Earnhardt and Bodine, or perhaps Earnhardt and just about anyone.  If nothing else, Dale Earnhardt got people riled up and talking about NASCAR.  The 'Intimidator' moniker that Earnhardt carried through much of his career was well earned, both on and off the track.

Jimmie Johnson has almost entirely the opposite personality off the track as did Dale Earnhardt.  If Jimmie is ever confrontational with another driver, it's well outside of camera or microphone range.  On the track, Jimmie Johnson is known as a very competitive driver, and he has certainly been part of his share of on the track scuffles, but he's not known as an overly aggressive driver, but rather as a patient racer.  It's easy to be patient, however, when you're nearly always running at or very near the front of the field.  "Fearless" does not really describe Jimmie's driving style.  "Smart" might be more descriptive.

"Smart" could certainly describe crew chief Chad Knaus, who certainly has earned a reputation as one of the best, if not THE best crew chiefs in the garage, and is another anomaly to long time NASCAR fans.  Knaus reminds many of the fans more of a college science professor, or maybe a high tech engineer than he does a crew chief.  Many racing fans think of crew chiefs as tough guys with more grease under their fingernails than a lifetime of scrubbing can remove.  Chad comes across as a guy who does the heavy lifting with his cerebrum.

I'm only offering a few theories here, and certainly cannot claim that anything I'm saying here as fact.  Personally, I feel that NASCAR is not in trouble, nor is it losing fans.  I think the fans are just not as interested this year as they have been in years past.  Maybe it's like the World Series or the Super Bowl to some baseball or NFL fans:  If you live, say, in Texas, a championship game between a California team and a New York team just isn't as interesting as if the Astros or the Rangers were playing, or the Cowboys or the Oilers.

One other theory that I will present:  NASCAR fans don't automatically like the driver who wins the most races or championships.  Some fans like a driver because we like the man, who happens to also be a driver.  I think in many ways this could explain why Dale Earnhardt Jr. has such a large following.  I myself am a Dale Jr. fan, and though I wish he could win more races and at least one championship, I won't stop being a fan of Junior if he doesn't.  Like many of his fans, I like Junior because he seems like a nice, down to earth kind of guy.  The kind of guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with.

Many people attribute Junior's fan base to his father, and in large part, that's certainly true.  A lot of his fans never saw his father drive though, and seem to have formed their opinion of Junior independently, based on something other than who is father was.  There's very little about Dale Jr. that reminds me much of his father, except maybe his accent and the look he gets in his eyes when he's focused.  Dale Jr.'s driving style and personality are very different from his old man's, though in many ways he's lived through some of the same experiences as his father had.

Jimmie Johnson has become what his co-owner and friend Jeff Gordon was to the sport in the 1990's.  In the early part of that decade, this kid comes along, gets a ride on a top team, and proceeds to win everything there was to win, and more.  In the early 2000's, Jeff finds a young kid nobody had ever heard of, and darned if this new kid isn't winning everything there is to win again.

There are many fans who will never be Jeff Gordon fans, just like there are many fans who will never be Jimmie Johnson fans.  The fans themselves have their reasons for this, just like there are many who will never be Earnhardt or Earnhardt Jr. fans.

Next month, NASCAR will present the Sprint Cup to someone, and that someone is likely to be Jimmie Johnson.  If that is the case, Jimmie will be the first driver to ever win 4 consecutive Cups.

Like Jimmie Johnson or not, that's a heck of an achievement for any race car driver.


photo credit:  Glenn Smith, Associated Press

Chase Points - Old Vs. New - Part 2

At halfway through the Chase races, Jimmie Johnson appears to be breaking out into a commanding lead, at 90 points in front of second place Mark Martin. Jeff Gordon finds himself 135 points out of first place, while fourth place Tony Stewart is 155 points out of first.

Any of these drivers, as well as Kurt Busch (-177) and Juan Pablo Montoya (-195) can still technically win the Cup, but the momentum is definitely on JJ's side right now.

Were NASAR still using the old points system, or as some call it, the pre Chase points system, Tony Stewart would be 117 points in front of second place Jimmie Johnson, while third place Jeff Gordon would be 139 points out of first place. Mark Martin would find himself a whopping 460 points out of first place, and basically without a prayer of winning a championship in 2009.

Obviously, the points race is closer under the current Chase system, but were NASCAR running under the old system, there would be a different odds on favorite with only 5 races remaining in the season.

Jimmie Johnson's driving style and late season dominance have worked well with the current Chase points system. Even his owner, Jeff Gordon, has stated that Jimmie is better suited to the Chase format than Gordon is. Case in point; Jeff Gordon's last Cup came in 2001, before the Chase system was implemented. Jimmie appears to be well on his way to winning 4 Cups in a row, all under the Chase points system.

Will NASCAR decide that the 48 team is too dominant and try to tweak the points system yet again? All indications point to 'no.' Some fans are complaining, however, and one has to wonder if the noise level reaches a certain volume, NASCAR will once again try to level out the playing field.

Personally, dynasties in NASCAR don't really bother me. We've had them before with Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and before JJ came along, Jeff Gordon. Right now, Jimmie Johnson simply seems to be the best at winning championships in the current system, just like Jeff Gordon made the old points system work in his favor.

Once again, whether the Chase is good or not for NASCAR, or whether it's fair or unfair, it is what it is until NASCAR decides to do something different.

photo credit: Russ Hamilton Jr. (Associated Press)