Lose Some, Win Some

I enjoyed watching Jeff Gordon lose last weekends NASCAR Sprint Cup race from New Hampshire.

I also enjoyed watching Clint Bowyer lose the race.

This is not because I have some weird adversion to the drvers of the 24 or 33 cars, far from it. I may be a fan of the 14 car and its driver but this is not about the individual drivers, or a sudden fondness for fuel mileage races. What I enjoyed was the thinking behind the way in which they lost the race and Stewart won it.

The 24 and 33 cars lost the race by desperately trying to win it! The 24 car, with a sizeable lead remember, went one lap too far on a tank of gas, one lap, and it cost him the win! In the same way, Clint Bowyer lost the race, handing the win to a currently on form Tony Stewart.

The Cup drivers are doing everything they can to win, not finish high up, but win! For a fan of the sport this is great. By pushing the fuel window, not at the end of the race, but on the way to his final pit stop, Jeff Gordon showed us that the 2011 race for the Chase is win or nothing for these guys.

So we have a Chase race in which the "favourites" are not doing so well and others find themseves a position to win it... or loose it, we will see. Factor in a 'Dega race with a different plate and cooling package and who knows what will happen.

Is it too early to join the "Anybody but Jimmie" camp?

Keep it up Smoke!!