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Still dumbfounded - but random thoughts come anyway

I’ll admit it, I’m still a little in shock from the race from Indy this Sunday…if you can call that 400 mile parade a race, that is.  I debated even posting anything this week, I was so miffed at that debacle.  I decided that like all good bloggers, I had the responsibility to join the millions of detractors and badmouth NASCAR in a public forum…ahh, this is what I love about blogging.

On to the thoughts after the “Allstate 400, Brought to You by the Color Yellow”:

•  First off, let’s just push the obvious out the door - this race sucked with a capitol S-U-C-K.  Worst race I have ever seen in my 25+ years of watching.  Enough of my colleagues have brought up fantastic suggestions, offered their strong opinions, etc, about the tire situation, so I’ll leave that alone and focus on the few subjects that had nothing to do with that.  If you’re here to read about a tire rant, you will find no more than you already have read.  If you’re really into that kind of thing, I hear that Google-machine can find just about anything.
• This was ESPN’s first foray into broadcasting the NASCAR Cup level series in roughly 8 years.  Let me be the first one to congratulate them on their stellar job in what had to be a very difficult debut.  They brought tons of great insight in the broadcast booth. Dr. Jerry Punch might be the best ambassador to the sport of auto racing in general since Chris Economaki, and he didn’t disappoint us on Sunday.  Back when I learned that ESPN lost the TV rights to NASCAR, I thought that no one else was going to be able to beat them at the game they created and perfected.   Years later, they seem to have picked up where they left off, and I look forward to finishing the ‘08 season with them.
• Am I the only one who doesn’t feel the whole “Tradition-of-Indy” thing?  Ever since the Cup series took over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994, the hype has been shoved down our throats of how the deep tradition and history of the speedway makes it one of the crown jewels of the season.  I just don’t get it.  Yes, it is a great and historically significant speedway.  Yes, it arguably houses the most famous race in the world, the Indy 500.  But folks, let’s get realistic: that’s an open wheel race on an open wheel track.  The cars of the modern stock car series almost always put on a boring race there, and the only thing that makes it a crown jewel is a) the over-the-top hype and b) the unbelievable purse.  I may be alone on this soapbox, but I know one or two of you out there are nodding in agreement, hoping no one sees you.  It’s OK.  You come out of that closet when you’re good and ready.
• To go along with the above, who’s bright idea was it to construct a set of grandstands in the infield?  I cannot begin to fathom that boardroom conversation and how that person sold the idea to the powers that be.  To me, this just shows how little the fans that attend races at Indy really care about racing, be it the open wheel cars or otherwise.  I can just imagine how exciting it must be to be a fan on the inside of the track.  You stare at a car flying down the front straight, then wait for a few minutes until they come back again, in a straight line.  Rinse and repeat roughly 160 times.
• Somewhere right now, Kyle Busch is smiling.  While Jimmie Johnson is hoping that everyone remembers this as the time that he became a two-time winner of IMS, Kyle knows it will be known as the “Tire-gate race”.  JJ will be long forgotten amongst the controversy surrounding this race, and it won’t be remembered as the only race that Kyle didn’t win this season.  Meanwhile, Kyle is preparing his Victory Lane speech for Pocono.  Ok, that’s a little far-fetched, but still, this kid couldn’t be any more on fire.
• Jeff Burton hit a bird.  I don’t really have too much on this, except that it was much more gruesome looking than that bird that messed up Earnhardt Sr. at Daytona in 1993.  Praise jeebus for the glory of HD.
• I don’t think enough credit went out to the over-the-wall crews on Sunday.  They worked their tails off at that race, and it would be a great gesture for the drivers to hand over a large chunk of the 60% of the winnings they usually get to the crews.  Drivers usually drive a car to victory lane, while the crew plays a large supporting role.  On Sunday, they played the larger role, in my opinion, while the drivers sat in the shadows for once.
• Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers did their best to totally ruin my predictions for drivers that will make the chase.  I’m not egotistical enough to claim that I cursed them, but man, I couldn’t have been any more wrong.

If it seems like I’m more cyncial than usual, well, it’s just a fact that I am.  I obviously am not alone in that sentiment.  Watch just one minute of Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain and you’ll see that.  Let’s hope that this crappy car puts on a better show in Pocono!

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