Final Thoughts On The Talladega Race

Some final thoughts on the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway:

• The guess here is that if there were such a thing as a discuss-o-meter, the Talladega race would have pegged the needle. The racing at the elephantine oval with the high banks and new fences has been discussed more than any other race I can remember. It is the most discussed sporting event since, well every, single NFL game by ESPN.

• The guess here is that if there were such a thing as a solution-o-meter, the needle would not even have moved.

• The guess here is that if Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have won on Sunday, the entire tone of the discussion would have been different.

• Rip NASCAR and Talladega officials to your hearts content about what happens at Talladega but use caution when you criticize them for not trying. The history of the place is about trying to solve the problems which physics presents there. Bad idea to build a track that big, with corners that lazy and with banks that steep? Probably. But NASCAR has tried everything from roof vanes (remember those?) to verbal warnings in efforts to keep the chaos down to a reasonable level.

• Another opinion about labeling NASCAR as do-nothing; Ryan Newman is alive today because NASCAR did something about the safety of the cars.

• A colleague suggested Monday that NASCAR/ISC needs to either bring in the bulldozers or perhaps even close Talladega down. Neither one is going to happen, of course. Both are too expensive and not just in terms of money. It’s odd but it seems that about half of NASCAR fans hate Talladega and what goes on there, and half love it. Should Talladega be turned into just another tri-oval, half of the series’ fans would go crazy and, perhaps, just plain go. The grandstands were far from full Sunday, but further from empty.

• Another opinion about fans and this comes after hearing what Ryan Newman said after walking out of the infield care center Sunday; people in the garages and in Daytona Beach offices had better be careful about saying that if fans don’t like what they see then they are not real fans and they should stay home. Fans just may do that and in too many cases, are doing that. Just a simple business 101 reminder that fans are the buyers and the sport is the sellers.

• Great poin: Ray Evernham on “NASCAR Now” Monday pointed out that when COTs are going forward, the rear wings of the cars keep them pinned to the ground, but when the cars turn and are moving backwards at Talladega speeds, the wings provide lift.

• Great suggestion: Jeff Gordon, I think it was, said chop the distance of the races at Talladega from 500 miles down to 200 to eliminate all the cruise-control time. I’m thinking, 300 miles.

• Great shots: I watched Talladega from my home for the first time in many years. The television shots from the blimp allowed me to understand why it takes four hours to get from the parking lots to the Interstate. Lot of cars competing for space on one four-lane road.

• Great Scott: Jamie McMurray became the first driver from Missouri – or Kansas – to win a Sprint Cup race this season.

Jim Pedley is managing editor of Racin’ Today. Read more NASCAR news at racintoday.com.

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