The other event that caused great sadness to many, although for me it was an neither good nor bad, was Junior actually running out of gas with a half lap to go at Las Vegas Sunday handing the win to Keselowski. I am a Keselowski fan. I am, somewhat, a Junior fan as well. I also like the way Kevin Harvick is starting his year although he didn't have such a good finish Sunday. But the situation here is another type of sadness for so many fans of Junior. As with all partisan fans in the sport, we live and die with the performance of our special hero. That's the way I was with The King. Since he retired, I really haven't had a "favorite" although I was very pleased when Bobby Hamilton was driving for Petty. There are those out there whom I don't like and I have been very verbal about those drivers over the years. But Junior ran out of gas with a half lap to run and lost to Brad K., but still ran second.
So, here's the deal. Junior, who has won two races over what, three years, suddenly has bagged the Daytona 500 and run second in the other two races. Brad K. has won once and finished in the top five in the other two. Word is that now that these two drivers (and Harvick) are locked into that infernal Chase, they can do whatever they need to do to win races. Take whatever chances they need to take, like gambling on the gas when they knew, almost certainly, that they were short. It was a gamble, Junior lost this time, but it is a different Junior driving these days. Did he not even show up in Victory Lane to congratulate Brad? Yes he did. I saw him.
One issue that has amazed me since Junior's Daytona 500 win is the number of negative comments I've seen posted online about him. He is NASCAR's most popular driver and he is, without a doubt, NASCAR's franchise driver. Mike Helton has even stated that in public. I have always liked Dale and thought him a class guy and I still do. I think he got into racing because his name is Earnhardt. Duh, as they say. So did Dale, Sr. really, if you're smart enough to remember Ralph Earnhardt was one tough customer on the short tracks around the Carolinas long before Senior wore that title.
I said, a few weeks ago, that it is my opinion, however skewed it may be, that Dale can now feel free of the shadow of the number 3. It is back on the track and it is NOT Dale, Jr. driving it. The Bruhaha that was given so much press before the Daytona 500 on the return of the 3 has faded, if not completely away, down to just a mere shadow of what it was. In my opinion, Dale, Jr. can now be Dale, Jr. and not someone fans are expecting will one day magically step into the number 3 and bring back the Intimidator status. In my opinion, the difference between Dale, Sr. and Dale, Jr. is as different as night and day. In my estimation, Junior is the "day" in that scenario.
So, as to the change made by NASCAR in reference to the Chase, it is apparently giving us some more "let's take some chances" racing from some of the top drivers. That I like. Now, let's examine a couple other issues as I saw them. First of all, I did not get to see the Nationwide race as I was involved with other things on Saturday so I missed the excitement of Kyle Busch trying to run down and pass Brad Keselowski. From what I was hearing, it was a good run, but Busch just didn't have it Saturday. Imagine that. Someone actually beat Kyle Busch in a Nationwide race. Granted, it was another Cup driver but that is an issue for another day.
I also missed the first 60 laps of Sunday's race as I had much more important things to do. The good part about missing the start is that I don't have to fear the obnoxious "boogity" crap. It is bad enough, however, to have to listen to D. W. and M.W. throughout the race. I didn't have the radio close at hand Sunday so I kept the sound up on the television. I finally had to turn it down so low I could hardly hear it. There is something about both the voices of D.W. and M.W. that makes me crave fingernails on a blackboard instead if listening to them. There is one thing certain after listening Sunday, and that is FOX could save some money by letting Mike Joy go. He can't get a word in edgewise between D.W. and Larry Mac. D.W. has absolutely taken over the broadcast.
Speaking of that issue, I post on FOX's Facebook board, almost every day, a note to "dump the Waltrips". I wish I knew how to start an online petition to let FOX know what the Waltrip duo is doing to television and NASCAR. And that is not just my opinion. I hear it from all sides week after week, that the Waltrips are disgusting to have to watch and yet we are inundated all weekend with the mindless cacophony. As of this writing Monday afternoon, the television ratings for Vegas haven't been posted so I will be interested to see how that rating went.
Ok, onto the propaganda forced upon us by FOX. I heard D.W. say, and Mike Joy later said, the "grandstands were full" as they showed the portion of the grandstands between the start/finish and turn one. There was a great crowd in that area. However, when the cameras were allowed to pan around other portions of the stands, there were huge empty sections. Statements were made by FOX as to how well the race was promoted in Vegas and that accounted for the number of folks in the stands. A friend of mine who lives in Vegas opined that getting free tickets to the race from hotels, casinos and merchants in town was as easy as putting out your hand. Wonder how many of those in the "crowded" stands were there on free tickets. That is AFTER the fact of the hugely inflated ticket prices we discussed here last week. Wonder how those who paid for the tickets feel about all the "freebies" handed out? Folks, it is a Bruton Smith track! Promotion, promotion, promotion, whatever it takes.
Moving on, NASCAR has stated that it conducted extensive tests to the Gen-6 cars to make them more competitive on the mile and a half track, the very bane, it seems, of NASCAR racing these days. It was really difficult to tell by watching the race whether or not all the extensive tests had really produced any results that benefitted the cars, drivers and fans. It seemed there was some passing, most times, however, by much faster cars lapping slower cars, but the real hot shots could not seem to make passes. In the late stages, I did see Brad catch Junior and even pull along side a couple of times so my thoughts were that maybe, just maybe, NASCAR had worked a miracle and gotten rid of the aero issues. WRONG.
After the race, several drivers mentioned the aero issues. I think it was Junior who said his car drove like a Cadillac out front but more like a log truck in traffic. Joey Logano couldn't do anything back in the pack but was a force with which to reckon when he had "clean air". It is my hope that NASCAR will continue to work with this issue and get the cars where they can handle and compete without all the discussion of "clean air, dirty air, and aero push". We once upon a time had racing where cars would race side by side, sometimes three abreast, for lap after lap with another two or three nipping at the rear bumpers. We don't have that now (and I'm not counting the Daytona and Talladega double file, can't move, traffic jams). Is it so difficult to look back to the cars of the past and determine what it was that made them so raceable?
NASCAR, I am hoping that this is going to be a breakout season for you. Like that starving little kitty that came across our fence 17 years ago, you have folks that care about you and want to see you happy and healthy. My first question to you, then, should be "why do you treat us like you don't care?". We have heard the dialogue that you don't need fans in the stands because you have the television package. Can you not see far enough ahead to realize that once the advertisers on television realize they are getting bilked there will be no more of those contracts either?
For the first time since 2004, I have a hankering to go to the Southern 500, albeit a Saturday night race and not my Labor Day weekend event. I don't know why. Maybe it is because I think that you are realizing that you must get it right this year or suffer the consequences of a fan rebellion the likes of which you haven't seen since you outlawed the Hemi. Maybe it's just because it's been so long since I've felt the ground shake beneath my feet as the cars roll by on the pace laps and then feel the wind of hurricane force as they come by full speed the first time, all together in a pack. Maybe it's because I'm still a race fan in spite of your efforts to put me out to pasture. Maybe it's because I buried our kitty last week but I don't want to bury my sport any time in the near future. But the sad truth is, NASCAR, I can't afford to be there. Not only that, but if Time Warner increases their cable billings, then I won't have the channels to watch you on television. Back to the Future and listening on radio. Maybe I'll invite Marty McFly to join me.
Think about it Mike Helton. You have the brains to see it. You should be given the power to make it so. Lots of changes have been made and we are three races into a new season featuring most of those changes. I like some things I see, some I don't like. I am but one fan but you can rest assured there are many more out there who feel the same as I. We want to see a resurgence of the sport we birthed and raised. We want to see full grandstands without the false reports and we want to see television ratings in the high numbers instead of a steady decline. We want to see our heroes represent the best of what sports are all about, as they did for so many years.
Bristol this weekend. A different track than the first three races and sure to be a different type race. Guess we need to acknowledge that Danica didn't hit anything or anyone at Vegas and actually finished 21st. Maybe there is hope for a top twenty finish for her at Bristol. Should be worth watching, but, again, I have more important things to do Sunday afternoon so I may get to see only a small portion of it. Ah, but the season rolls on, with or without me in front of the television.
