Talladega took the cake. I am happy for Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. After 48 years of watching races however, I can say I saw the worst race I've ever seen Sunday. Worse than California Speedway, Kansas, Texas or Kentucky. Quite frankly, it was sooooooooo bad, I spent more time watching the Carolina Panthers beat the Washington Redskins. I've been to Talladega many times and watched many more. That crap yesterday wasn't racing. I never thought I'd see the day in NASCAR when drivers fought to fall to the back to make a finalten-lap charge. Trevor Bayne should have told Ford to stick it and stuck with Jeff Gordon. Maybe Hendrick has an extra ride... who knows. Can you imagine saving all year and taking your family to Talladega? If I had, it would have been my last trip. Hell, if all those teams and drivers want to start from the back, NASCAR should just do away with qualifying and do what the successful short tracks did for years. Run two heat races to determine starting spots, with heat race starting positions based on the money/points system. Then the pretty boys could start in the rear. Qualifying sucks and is boring anyhow.
Close your eyes a minute and try to picture these 3 scenarios:
1) Neil Bonnett pulls out of line at Talladega and drops to the rear. He is looking for teammateDarrell Waltrip so he can pull him back to the front.
2) Buddy Baker pulls out of line at Talladega and drops to the rear. He is looking for teammate Richard Petty so he can pull him back to the front.
3) Dale Earnhardt pulls out of line at Talladega and drops to the rear. He is looking for teammate Mike Skinner so he can pull him to the front.
You don't remember those incidents, because they never happened and never would have happened.
I respect Richard Childress' take on the race as reported in the Charlotte paper,
One thing Childress was adamant his teams would not do was ride around in the back of the pack waiting until late in the race to make a run to the front.
Several championship contenders including Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt and Gordon spent time running in the back of the pack.
These fans pay a lot of money. I hate it for Kevin, but he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. All of our RCR cars race to give these fans a show, Childress said.
We didnt sit in the back and ride until the last minute. Our cars ran all day long. We dont get paid to ride in the back.
We started calling drivers who went over from Cup and won in Busch Series, "Buschwhackers." Well all those guys like Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards are what I'm now calling "Backpackers." Thank you Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton for Racing yesterday and Richard Childress for telling your teams to race. For Hendrick, Gibbs and Roush... get a life.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
