WOW! WHAT A RACE!

29 race leaders and 88 lead changes... First time all three GWC attempts were needed to finish a race...

Once again NASCAR seems to have produced a 'plate / aero package that produced great racing, and not one tire left the ground in the Cup race.

With 20 laps to go I was asked who I would put my money on, and I did not have an answer. There were so many drivers looking good, so many pairings who could work together and have a shot at it. In the end it was Harvick pushing McMurray on the last lap who made the breakaway. A one on one shootout coming off the tri-oval is what a 'Dega race should come down to, and Harvicks move was a perfectly timed move to end a dramatic race.


Arguably the drivers ability to overtake was too reliant on bump drafting and not enough on the cars ability to draft up to each other, but the end result was a lot of great racing with the drivers being able to race and work their way to the front if required.

"I am pissed"... and so Jeff should be!! JJ's blocking, sorry, attempt at staying the lead car on the low line, was a bit silly. As I have said before, you've just gotta love the openness and enthusiasm from Jeff.

This year has seen some good racing, some drama, some good wrecks which while dangerous and expensive are what fans want, yet still NASCARs viewing figures continue to drop. It was painfully obvious that Talladega was not full on Sunday and Bristol, a track that always sells out, failed to do so a few weeks ago.

Fans want to watch a good show, and this year NASCAR has delivered so I don't think NASCAR needs to worry about the quality of the show. Keep doing what they are doing, letting the racers race; give them cars and tires that enable them to go racing, stand back and let the show speak for itself.

The best thing about rivalries at Talladega?? It's Richmond next... bring it on!!
 

Texas Spoiler

Rain rain go away...

and when it did the 90,000 fans who returned to the track were rewarded with some pretty good stuff.

The return of the spoiler brought fears of the dreaded aero push and Texas was the first long track and first chance to see if the fears would come true. Well fear not, as it appears NASCARs testing and research resulted in an aero package which allows the drivers to run close together in the turns, with more stable race cars, and draft more on the straightaways.

As a COT fan I was worried about the effects on the racing, changing to the spoiler, as the car had been developed for and with the rear wing. I am still interested to know what NASCAR thought the wing did for the cars and the racing compared to the spoiler, but so far the return of the spoiler has gone well.

In Texas the drivers seemed able to run nose to tail going into the turns with the following car not losing too much ground in the turns. On exit a lot of the cars were loose, partly due to the track surface but also due to the new looser characteristics of the cars, if some of the drivers are to be believed. Personally I would much rather watch the top 43 stock car drivers drive cars that turn in but might get a bit fun on exit than cars that cannot run together and push on entry. With any luck this all means that one of NASCARs intentions for the COT, to take away the "aerodynamic set-ups", and put the emphasis on chassis and tire set-ups is coming good. I actually look forward to the 1.5 mile races with now even though I do think there are too many, and think some races are too long.

The Texas race also had its own "big one" - 3 wide in turn 4 at Texas turned into a lot of wrecked cars in a hurry. Some drivers would have whinged and moaned, but Tony Stewart put his hand up and said he got loose and Edwards had nowhere to go. Not many drivers take the blame for a wreck that took a potential win out of his own hands as well as many others as easily as Smoke did on Monday.

Had the race been one lap longer then Texas would have been another win for JJ. It wasn't, so Denny Hamlin took the flag just ahead of the 48. To be fair you feel the other drivers are lining up to have a go at the 48, always watching him, wanting to know where he is on track, when he pits, what he eats for breakfast, and how he takes his coffee. You've gotta love Jeff Gordon for his aggression and determination to stay with or ahead of his team mate. Even the 88 had a good race until the red flag, leading some laps and racing well. He was obviously frustrated after the race, feeling that the red flag and the short sprint afterwards wrecked his day... that son, is racin'. He's running up front on a more regular basis now and hopefully will turn the good runs into race wins soon.

Speaking of which, it's Talladega next and don't be surprised if JJ finds it hard to get drafting partners. I am looking forward to seeing the new aero package at 'Dega and hope the COT's flight issues will be confined to the history books. Remember though that NASCAR cars took off before the wing and may continue to do so after, but hopefully the spoiler and wicker on the rear window and trunk lid will help stop the cars taking off quite so easily.

This years' Sprint Cup season has produced good races, exciting finishes, wrecks, action... bring on 'Dega!!

Superspeeday Restrictor Plate Racing... UK Style

In the USA they have NASCAR.

In the UK we now only have Pickup Truck Racing. 

Thanks to a friend I went to Rockingham Motor Speedway at the weekend to watch the first two oval races of the 2010 LINE-X Pickup Racing Championship.

Due to the financial situation in the UK grid numbers are not quite what everybody involved wishes they were, but regardless of this the trucks still put on one-hell-of-a-show!

The top 10 trucks were nose to tail drafting at speeds around the 130mph mark, on Rockinghams 1.5 mile oval, for the entire 35 lap race. The racing is and has always been a high speed game of chess; this is restrictor plate racing in the UK.

I have always said there are three parts to a truck race at Rockingham. The first 15 laps are a bit of fun, the middle 10 laps are a game of chess, and the last 10 are down to business. Even with fewer trucks this is still the case. The drivers draft single file, 2 or 3 wide for a bit, sussing each other out, having some fun, seeing what the opposition has got. In the middle the good guys get themselves into line and work their way into a spot they feel they can race from at the end. The last 10 laps are a waiting game, waiting for someone to pull the pin and make a move.

Put it this way, at the end of the first race the top 6 were separated by just over half a second, were 2 by 2 across the line, with Phil White holding off the fast approaching, bump draft aided, and sideways, Steve Dance by just 0.021 of a second. Race two was more of the same with White winning by 0.041 of a second. Another dull Truck race then!!

If anybody behind the scenes ever wonders if the long hours required to make the series happen are worth it, those two finishes proved that there is life in it yet!!

The trucks make for seriously great entertainment, unlike the other races that day. Now there is nothing wrong with club motorsport, organised and run for the people in the cars, maximum track time, maximum racing; good old fashioned club racing. The pity for the Trucks is that they are this and so much more. Pickup Truck Racing has always been about putting on the best show possible for the fans, but without the support of a show biased package to race with fans are not going to sit for up to 3 hours between races in the wind and the cold.

The Trucks need to race with series that have decent numbers of cars on the grid and produce good racing. Put a package together with the Legends, MX5's and other club series that are good for the drivers to be a part of and also put on a show for the fans to enjoy.    

I feel sorry for Pickup Truck Racing as they appear to be on their own at trying to promote (non TOCA) fan biased motorsport entertainment... but what entertainment!

Gotta Love the G-W-C!!

With 10 to go the Phoenix NASCAR race looked over after Kyle Busch and JJ led the most laps and with Busch looking set to win the race.

Then the curse of the G-W-C happened again... and what a curse!

Suddenly the forgone conclusion turned into a free-for-all with a tire strategy (4 tire) vs. track position (2 tire) pit stop and a two lap sprint for the win. The combination of the G-W-C with the 2 wide restarts gave the end of the race a much needed dose of excitement. That's not to say there was a lack of good racing, as throughout the race there were two wide battles, aided by the high line at Phoenix working so well.

I am not sure however that adding laps to races is always a good idea. In my opinion some Cup races such as Pocono would benefit from the opposite. To me Pocono is normally one of the biggest let downs of the year. Maybe the G-W-C and restart rules will help but to me the Pocono races could do with being 400 miles long, maybe even 350. This would mean that the drivers would have less time to get into position and race for the win, and would give those races their own unique identity and excitement.

I would also love to see more short tracks back on the schedule. We all know that NASCAR went through the change to 1.5 mile tracks in the 90's as they were newer, more modern facilities that held more fans, but what was lost was the grounding and the variety that the short tracks gave the sport. Chicago, Michigan, Fontana, Las Vegas all similar / Charlotte, Texas, Atlanta again very similar, I wish NASCAR had maybe a couple less 1.5 mile races and a couple more short tracks, or maybe another Darlington race instead.

If you want a track that is the complete opposite of these, and proves you don't need perfectly smooth 20 degree plus banking and 1.5 miles of tarmac to create good racing, look at New Hampshire. Basically a flat, 1 mile long, standard old fashioned oval with 4 even semi circular turns and 2 (straight) straightaways, it has produces some great racing recently.

It will be interesting to see what the change to the spoiler does for the cars and the racing at Texas this weekend. If I am getting this right the teams have always complained that the wing gave the cars too much rear end grip thereby making the cars push in the turns. We will see if the teams now have more balanced cars, and we will see if they are able to run closer together in the turns and draft better on the straights with the spoiler.