Thoughts on A Brick of a Race
  • Unquestionably the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is the second biggest NASCAR race on the schedule. If a driver can’t win the Daytona 500, a win at Indianapolis is almost as nice. But 16 years after NASCAR raced on the famous bricks for the first-time, the question that needs to be asked is, should NASCAR still a race on a track that rarely offers not even great racing, but good racing? 16-years after the most memorable moment in 400 history when “Wonder Boy” Jeff Gordon won the race in front of his hometown fans, we’re still waiting for another great moment in Brickyard history. Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart collecting checkered flags at the speedway were nice, but unlike the first Brickyard race, neither moment was truly memorable because the races themselves were pretty lackluster. Yes, I know in terms of media attention, and publicity, NASCAR needs an annual race at Indy. But what good is all that attention if all your doing is showcasing a product that rarely offers fans a reason to get excited, and a product that makes the casual fan wonder why they should invest their time in following NASCAR if all there going to see is single-file racing, and few, if any on-track passes for the lead? Ask yourself this, if you were someone who turned on yesterday’s race for the first-time, would you be compelled to take the time next Sunday to tune in to watch the Sprint Cup series race at Pocono? There is no need to answer that question because you and I both know what the answer is.


  • Give Jimmie Johnson, now the holder of three Brickyard trophies, credit for being in position to take advantage of a mistake by Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya without a doubt was cruising to his second Sprint Cup win, when during final pit stops, he was clocked exceeding the pit road speed limit not once but twice, necessitating that NASCAR hand down a drive-thru penalty to the 2000 Indy 500 winner. Johnson pretty much running in the top-three for the majority of the day, capitalized on Montoya’s mistake and became the first NASCAR driver to win back-to-back races at Indianapolis. When asked afterwards if he would have had anything for Montoya, Johnson replied bluntly "I don't have a clue," Johnson said, then snickered. "I do know I have the trophy." Which at the end of the day is the thing that matters the most.

     
  • It has been a lost season for 2002 Brickyard 400 winner Kevin Harvick. Entering Indianapolis, Harvick was buried in the standings and hadn’t had a top-10 finish since Atlanta back in March. On Sunday though, Harvick looked a lot like the driver who finished fourth in points last year, running in the top-10 throughout the day and with a sixth-place finish, Harvick earned his first top-10 in 16 races.

     
  • Speaking of Kevin Harvick, for those who think that he won’t be running for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2010 because Richard Childress issued a statement saying he has no intention of letting Harvick out of his contract early. Just remember that a year ago; Joe Gibbs was saying the same thing in regards to Tony Stewart, who still had a year left on his contract. I am no legal expert, and I don’t pretend to know anything other than what happens on a racetrack, I do however know that contracts in NASCAR are about as worthless as the paper their written on.

     
  • Another driver who ran inside the top-10 all day was Brian Vickers, who ultimately finished fifth. Vickers is now 15th in points, and with Pocono and Michigan, two tracks Vickers always runs well at, upcoming, and trailing Matt Kenseth for 12th by just 120 points, he’s in excellent shape to cut that deficit significantly and make his first appearance in the Chase for the Championship.

  • What do you think Elliott Sadler is thinking about the new Dodge engine that he raced for the first-time on Sunday? You know the one that lasted only a lap before Sadler had to take it behind the wall for repairs.
Posted: 7/28/2009 10:14:18 AM
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