Bristol has its ups and downs

There may be some fans who miss the single file wreck fest that used to be the product of a NASCAR race at Bristol. I’m not one of those. Granted, the old configuration presented a challenge to the drivers in that they had to be able to hold their cars on the track while getting bumped from behind, and that there were few ways to gain a position other than moving the car in front of them out of the way by using the “chrome horn.” But that was the same thing we see at Martinsville, except at a higher speed. That might be right for some, but to me, it wasn’t good racing.

Bristol, in its most recent configuration, features multiple grooves that allow side by side racing. It is still a short track, but it is a high speed short track. As at any short track, the driver has to find a rhythm, but the rhythm has a quicker beat than it would at a flat track.

We still saw plenty of contact in the Nationwide Series race, Saturday night, especially when the lead lap cars caught up with lapped traffic. Contact is expected at short tracks, and it still occurs. It just isn’t as effective or obvious with the Cup cars as it is with the conventional cars used by the Nationwide Series.

The Sprint cup car presents a complementary challenge to the new configuration of Bristol. With the matching bumpers, it is more difficult to get a leading car loose than it was with the conventional car. The challenge presented now is to find the right line for the car and hold it, drive into the turns as hard as possible without using up the brakes or over-driving, and avoid getting beat up too bad by the other cars. Aerodynamics are more of a factor at Bristol than at other short tracks.

Jeff Gordon is good at all of the above, which is why he is my pick as the winner of tonight’s Sharpie 500. He has declared that he will take matters into his own hands, and, if he lives up to his promise, we will see why he is considered one of the greatest NASCAR racers of all time. We are looking forward to that tonight.

Bristol is still one of my favorite tracks. The new configuration requires new driving and racing techniques. Side by side racing and contact between the cars is what we like to see in NASCAR Cup style racing, and if it can be done without an overabundance of wrecks and caution, so much the better.

 

NASCAR’s top paid drivers are…

Forbes Magazine came out with several lists this week including who NASCAR’s top paid drivers are. While I, being the pondering chick that I am, think some of the list are certainly out of place (and you can read about my thoughts here), I wonder what you guys think.

The list of NASCAR’s top paid drivers are:

1. Jeff Gordon $32 million
2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – $31 million
3. Jimmie Johnson – $23 million
4. Tony Stewart – $19 million
5. Kasey Kahne – $14 million
6. Juan Pablo Montoya – $11 million
7. Matt Kenseth – $11 million
8. Kevin Harvick – $11 million
9. Kyle Busch – $10 million
10. Denny Hamlin – $10 million

 

Quick thoughts and links

First, a few search engine queries that have led folks to this site:

I-hate-Kyle-Busch

Drivers-hate-Kyle-Busch

Throw-beer-cans-at-Kyle-Busch

The first two I understand, because that is the emotions of driver fans playing out. Racing wouldn’t be as fun if it weren’t for those who take a strong dislike for a certain driver. I once “hated” Jeff Gordon, but I got over it.

Doesn’t anybody still “hate” Brian Vickers, though? Is there anybody who remembers how Vickers won his first race at Talladega in 2006? Am I being an ars for bringing up old baggage?

The last one, though, bothers me. It is a waste of good beer. Kyle Busch is wearing a helmet, so it won’t hurt him much. And, what if you missed Kyle and hit Junior? How would you feel then?

Busch-wrecks-Sadler

What race were you watching?

Stewart-reaction-to-wreck

Somebody was probably looking for some kind of dramatic reaction. Stewart was a disappointment, then, because he didn’t say a thing about the wreck. I looked on every site I could, and didn’t find anything, except that, by the end of the race the #20 team had the car running as good as, if not better than it was at the beginning of the race.  However, Elliot Sadler, took the high road and admitted responsibility for the wreck, which, by the way was very similar to the one between Busch and Earnhardt at Richmond last week, except, at Darlington, the damage to both cars was much worse.

Sadler also made a sincere and gentlemanly apology for wrecking Stewart, and he should be admired for that.

Now, a few new items from our bloggers.

Mike, from Trouble in Turn 2 has published his eagerly awaited race recap, “View From the Couch: Darlington”

Ovalscream has posted four new and excellent post-race items by the prolific Monte Dutton on NASCAR This Week:

“Sunday’s Post Race Report”

The winner and how he did it: Kyle Busch bounced off the wall repeatedly, prompting Jeff Gordon to say, “He didn’t win it on aerodynamics.”…read more

“Bad Boy Does Good In Darlington”

The fans who don’t like Kyle Busch left Darlington Raceway doubly frustrated Saturday night…read more

“Notebook: Stewart shoots par for Darlington course:”

Tony Stewart, who won the Nationwide Series race the night before, managed to make it slightly more than a lap unblemished in Saturday night’s Dodge Challenger 500…read more

And “He’s on top, which is something he has realized”

Dizzy Dean might’ve liked Kyle Busch. It was the St. Louis Cardinals great who said, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.”…read more

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments, here, or on the linked sites, or both!

 

 

 

 

Weekend previews and more from Diecast Dude

Diecast Dude, of Restrictor-Plate This, points out that there is more to Talladega than who the winner will be or “the Big One” in “The Sacred and The Profane Done Southern Style:”

Talladega is the quintessential southern track, a place where the sacred and profane ride shotgun for each other.  There are few thrills in racing quite like a forty car pack thundering off a turn three wide, separated on all sides from each other by naught but a few air molecules that themselves are gasping for breathing room…read more

While you are in the house of Diecast Dude, you may also want to read “Playoffs, And Why NASCAR Doesn’t Really Have Them:”

One of the main focal points zeroed in on whenever the Chase is brought up is how it’s a post-season, which is always more exciting than the regular season.  The latter is true.  However, the Chase is not the playoffs, nor can it be…read more

And do not miss Diecast Dude’s methodlogical repudiation of Bob Magolis’ assertation that Danica Patrick’s win last week in Japan was PR hype, in “Would It Hurt To Give Danica Some Credit Here?”

Apparently rather peeved over being deprived of that motorsports writer’s most cherished fallback column on a slow day, namely how Patrick equals Anna Kournikova albeit at 220 MPH, Margolis assembles every hackneyed cliché there is in his effort to discredit Patrick.  Unfortunately for him, the arguments disintegrate faster than summer snow.  Shall we proceed?…read more

Diecast Dude is always very entertaining to read, so enjoy your stay at Restrictor-Plate This.