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StumblePublished Monday, Feb. 16, 2009 | 8:46 p.m.
Updated Monday, Feb. 16, 2009 | 9:27 p.m.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then blame for a NASCAR wreck depends on the loyalty of the viewer. Dale Jr. fans most likely defend Jr. as blameless in the wreck with Brian Vickers that sent 10 cars spinning with 75 laps to go in the Daytona 500. And fans who don’t have their living rooms decorated with No. 88 merchandise are probably cursing Jr. as the destroyer of Vickers’ chance at victory.
I think it takes two to tango. The wild, sweeping block by Vickers on a car that was closing fast was an invitation for mayhem. And Jr.’s refusal to back off one inch from his position contributed to the wreck that ended the day for several good cars. OK, I sound like I’m sitting on the fence on this one, but driving that aggressively won’t get a driver to victory lane or help him make up a lost lap if his car ends up behind the wrecker.
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The teams of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were understandably frustrated with the circumstances that led to running backup cars in the 500. But blaming Goodyear doesn’t take into account that there were many angles to the weekend’s tire woes. There were three different tire issues at play here. There was a batch of bad tires that Goodyear confiscated. The tire that caused the Newman/Stewart wreck was due to a puncture. And Jeff Gordon’s tire issue during the race was most likely caused by a camber setting. The tire manufacturer definitely had serious quality issues regarding the batch of confiscated tires, but blaming Goodyear for the Newman/Stewart wreck is a rush to judgment. Stewart may wish for more tire makers to enter the sport, but if it’s hard to control one manufacturer’s quality, imagine how difficult it might be with several manufacturers.
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Mother Nature is the most powerful person in NASCAR. It doesn’t matter how much money teams spend or how great the drivers are or how much control NASCAR has, Mother Nature can waltz in and decide the outcome of a race. So much for all those predictions we heard for the last two weeks about who would win the race.
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That reminds me, why did NASCAR decide to end the race so early once the rain came? It’s the biggest race of the year. Couldn’t the sanctioning body have waited a little longer to see the outcome of the weather front? The race may have ended late once the track drying was complete, but who cares? It’s the Daytona 500!
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My last blog post included a poll asking who would win the 500. As of Sunday morning, no one, including myself, had picked Matt Kenseth.
Jack Roush's first Daytona 500 win has come after 21 years in the sport. It's amazing it took so long when you consider all of the resources his racing organization has.
Jr. did it! I could care less about petulant Mr. Vickers, he's always a problem, but Jr. should have known better. Of course what really chokes me up is that that stupid wreck took out Kyle Busch, the guy who was going to win the race hand down. Lapped cars beside you, tail end of the lead lap cars in front of you, what is that all about anyway? The 18 and the 11 would have been outa there if NASCAR would let the lead cars lead instead of putting them in a sandwich from hell.
Lemme see... There is a rule concerning a certain yellow line...Ya don't go over it... If you do you blend into traffic... am I wrong? Sorry Earnhart does not buy you a lucky dog due to your name. Vickers move while aggressive was legal... Not a bit of rubber on the yellow.
Hell Jr can't keep a car tire in a pit box
The only race he won last year was by cheating as well. <passing the pace car>
JR is by far the MOST over rated driver in Sprint cup competition. He should drag his sorry a$$ back to Nationwide.
JSin
Mike,
Kenseth doesn't have that many fans. You know, there's his mom and his wife. The pair of them couldn't send that many notes.
"Stewart may wish for more tire makers to enter the sport, but if it's hard to control one manufacturer's quality, imagine how difficult it might be with several manufacturers."
It's called free market competition and its a cornerstone of capitalism. But Goodyear has a monopoly, in exchange for an undisclosed 'official sponsor/supplier' contract. Imagine if they had those $$$ available to spend on quality control instead of adding to the France coffers.
It will be interesting to see how full the stands will be when they go to Fontana. And they have 2 races. LA is a Dodger and Laker town.
rocket-you are right-I remember how PO'd Rusty Wallace was when he spent a lot of time testing Cooper Tires, only to have them pull out because of Goodyear's monopoly and who knows what deal. Nascar won't end up like horse racing, but it is in a definite slowdown that they just might deserve...
Hey, rocket_car, you are correct that competition is the cornerstone of capitalism. But, unfortunately, competition doesn't exist in every area of NASCAR. Corporations want exclusivity. That's why the No. 12 car can't have Verizon on it's hood.
thanks for reminding me about Rusty and Cooper tires, bdover...Sunday is also Oscar night in Tinseltown (not that that affects gearheads). Fontana feels more like San Berdo than downtown Dodgertown or Lakers-Staples. Imagine LVMS located in Pahrump.
I like the racing, I like the teams, but, Na$car as an organization leaves me cold. Since I'm not an insider, maybe that's "leaves me old in the cold."
Hi Mike, the difference is this: whether or not Verizon is on the hood, it has no effect on what happens on the track.
Racing equipment, especially tires, are part of racing competition, which is diminished when there is a monopoly. Goodyear brought faulty tires to the biggest race of the year, regardless of Gordon's and Newman's troubles. What are the consequences when there are no choices?
Has anyone had fun looking at the relationship between Brian France, Brand Sense, and Goodyear?
Enjoy, and come to your own conclusion!
Dale, JR. really sucked on Sunday.
I am talking about the foul ups on the pit stops.
Is Dale, Jr. a goofball?
He has not married and has no children.
He loves are his night club and his toys.
He is still a boy and has not yet become a man.
He gets the best in equipment and staff.
All he can muster is a few wins and perhaps get in the top 10 at then end of the season.
He is not a championship driver. At least not yet. He needs to grow up and somehow find the extra 10% to go to the next level.
He also needs to learn to drive on the bottom track. He is love with the high groove too much.
If he was married with kids then he would settle down and probably have a better ability to focus on driving.
Is Dale Jr. standings with the fans starting to slip?
Hey fancan, here's a piece from The Frontstretch that looks at the business of Goodyear tire leases...I don't know if its accurate or not, but it is an interesting read.
http://www.frontstretch.com/jmeyer/2374/...
Rocket_car, we're going to have to meet for a beer and hash this out.
Ha, yeah, I've been a bad boy...I'm working on my weekend plans and may be able to make the race Sunday. Thanks to a random fan at Pomona last week (who gave me a ticket to the Winternationals!), my racing budget for 2009 suddenly has the price of admission to Fontana.
jfnance32, All we have to do is look at Richard Petty and Kyle Petty. You might be a nice guy, but the name alone doesn't make you a winner.
rocket-car, interesting piece about Goodyear, thanx. Also, do insist that Mike jumps, but his choice - chute or not!
Well, my office at the Sun is on the third floor, but the windows don't open.
The beer joints I frequent are all on the ground floor...well, OK, Hennessey's Tavern downtown is maybe '12 steps' above the Fremont St. Experience!
hey you "guys", get a room!
Junior and Vickers at least made it interesting. If NASCAR hadn't insisted on making the 500 a three-hour country fair, the race could have started at noon instead of 3 p.m. The fans pay to see the race. If they had a choice of seeing Tom Cruise talk about "Days of Thunder" again or watching the full 500 miles, I'd bet the race comes out on top. NASCAR also touts the race as its "super bowl," but I have yet to see a super bowl that was called because of rain. If the race is that important, run to the end and finish on Monday if you have to. And if it's a problem with the schedule to California, move the 500 up a week and leave the next weekend off. No knock against Kenseth, but it has to be awkward to celebrate an asterisk win.
$1,530,390 says, "no problem", with an *.
I'll admit I look really stupid for not seeing the "tire issue", Mike, I was wrong!! I've been watching NASCAR as long as I can remember, and never thought of Daytona as a tire issue track. Guess you notice when you put your foot in your mouth.
As far as the wreck, the blocking needs to stop. The drivers always bitch when there is a wreck, but also drive like idiots. Jr. was in a hurry, Vickers blocked, crash followed. Blame em both, they both were stooooopid!!!
And stopping the biggest race of the year due to rain after what, 20-30 minutes, is the dumbest thing they could have done.
Na$car often waits out rain storms and, if the race is less than half way complete, will wait one or more days to complete it. But this was the Daytona 500, the kickoff to the new season with an above average TV audience. With the Doppler radar showing large bands of moisture, the race nearing the end of its allotted TV slot, and the desire to have a winner (and not hold up the post-race PR parade to Letterman, etc.), the race had to end.
Today, Goodyear announces 5000 additional layoffs in 2009.
No problem, vegasj. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more tire issues as the season unfolds.
Thanks for reading.
Mike