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Saturday’s Nationwide Series race ended with an onslaught of verbal daggers between Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers after the two tangled on the last lap. In a lengthy post-race whinefest, an infuriated Busch called Vickers and “idiot” and criticized his go-for-broke style for killing whatever chance each driver had to fend off eventual race winner Brad Keselowski. Busch also bumped Vicker’s car on pit road after the race.
Then on Sunday in the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Vickers won the fuel strategy war to bring his car across the finish line first. Busch, whose car was never to his liking during the race, finished 23rd. There is poetic justice in NASCAR.
Vickers’ victory came at the perfect time for the driver who hasn’t yet secured a contract for next season. He has stated that he would like to remain with Red Bull and now that he has given this racing organization its first win, I would hope his chances of extending his contract have improved.
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The finish was a nail-biter as the lead cars crept around the track on fumes. And it was great to see a different driver win a race. But I’ll admit that I would have preferred to see an American manufacturer win at the track that’s in the backyard of Detroit’s struggling auto industry.
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Gambling on fuel mileage dealt a bad hand to Jimmie Johnson for the second time this season at Michigan. If I were a betting person I’d bet that the No. 48 team won’t try to win on fuel mileage at the next Michigan race. This was a rare miscalculation by a team that usually doesn’t repeat mistakes.
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Where did Dale Earnhardt Jr. come from? Dale Jr. led six laps and eventually finished third on Sunday after a smart pit strategy gave him enough fuel to run hard in the final 39-lap segment. If it had been a 205-lap race he probably would have won.
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Next Saturday the Sprint Cup drivers are in Bristol where Kyle Busch has won two of the last four races.
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On Friday Dale Earnhardt Jr. voiced, with his customary honesty and straightforward style, that NASCAR needs to consider some changes if it wants to improve the quality of its racing. He suggested that tinkering with the COT should be part of this improvement effort. Well, when Dale Jr. speaks, people listen. It didn’t take long, less than a day, for NASCAR president Mike Helton to respond to the most popular driver’s comments. Helton said that changing the COT now would only set teams back from the progress they have made since the car’s introduction. His point makes perfect sense. At this time, when spending is closely watched, no one wants to go back to the drawing board and reinvest in changes that may or may not work. The COT needs refinement, just not at this time. Besides, changing this car is only part of the issue. The disproportionate number of flat, wide tracks should also be a piece of the improvement puzzle.
Helton also speculated that Dale Jr.’s struggles this season may have contributed to his current view of the sport. Perhaps, but it was another comment by Helton that really grabbed my attention. “And, oh by the way, I believe in the argument that the racing we’ve got on the race track now is as good as we’ve had in a long time, and a reaction from us could interrupt that,” said Helton on Friday. As good as we’ve had in a long time? Compared to what, the old car? Frankly, there isn’t much of a difference in the level of competitiveness between the old car and the new car. I had hoped that the new car, based on what fans were led to believe, would create more side-by-side racing and reduce some of the competition-killing aerodynamic issues of the old car.
Poetic justice??? Kyle Busch was exactly right. Vickers actions on the final lap cost them both a chance at the win and allowed the 88 to sneak by. Vickers doesn;t have half the talent or racing sense as Kyle.
And you should watch YOUR whining ("WAAAAAHHHHH, Toyota won in Detroit, WAAAAHHHHHH") before calling someone else a whiner.
Junior brought up a good point that seems to be the elephant in the room for NASCAR. The COT is safer, which benefits all the drivers, but the racing has been compromised to near IROC levels at times. Bristol, a track that has gained legendary status, is no longer bullring Bristol but almost boring Bristol. Add that to the follow-the-leader racing at tracks like Chicago, Kansas, California and yes, Las Vegas, and you have quite a few dull races. Michigan has many lines to race at, but it can't hide the fact that it's a fuel mileage race. Helton said what he felt he needed to say to protect his company/investment/meal ticket, but all of the empty seats and waning TV ratings cannot be blamed on the economy. You would think TV ratings would increase if fans were broke, but many have just lost interest in the increasingly sanitized sport. After Junior's statements, NASCAR may again try to throttle its personalities.
The 48 team strategy was to expect a caution (or two) in the last 50 laps, which was probably a 50-50 chance. Because there wasn't a caution, and because despite turning slower lap times to conserve fuel, they still ran out of gas (due to pressure from Vickers and little E) and finished 33rd. But that doesn't really matter because The Chase will reset the points shortly and they are solidly in. If there had been a caution, and there were several cars trying hard to cause one, then they would have likely won the race and added points to their Chase starting number.
I find it amusing that Kyle Busch has been saying the same thing about the new car since its debut and the media (largely) has ignored it. But as soon as Junior pipes up, the media falls all over itself running to their laptops to pound out their little stories because The Chosen One has spoken.
Maybe it's as much 'how you say it' as who says it. When Kyle won the first COT race and the media stuck the microphone in front of him, he brashly announced "It sucks!" Yeah, great Kyle...so how do we make it better?
Jr's comments were less pointed and more constructive, though still not in line with Na$car's official view of the situation. Wasn't it just a few races ago that Na$car met with all the teams to solicit suggestions on how to improve the sport? Of course, Na$car has bet the farm on COT and cookie cutter tracks and due to the world's economic situation, it's in a world of hurt right now, so I don't expect them to do anything but whistle as they pass the graveyard.
I agree that too much is made of Junior's opinion over, let's say, drivers who have won Championships, but he still commands respect because 50% of all Na$car's licensed merch has his name, number and/or likeness on it. So his credibility is given to him by the paying fans.
Kyle doesn't have the fans or the Championships to put him on the same page with little E.
Spartacus84....Your assessment of the COT is on the money, but I think the current state of the racing at Bristol has more to do with the resurfacing of the track than with the COT.
Thanks,
Mike
One of the most exciting races of the year and there's not a word about it on here? WTF? Somebody wake the Sun up and tell them there was a race at Bristol Saturday night.