Monday, April 6, 2009

Oh oh...Gordon Is Winning Again...

And so the torch has officially been passed. The massed boos that used to rain down on Jeff Gordon (as well as half-empty beer cans) are now the sole possession of young Master Busch. Gordon (Wonderboy of yesteryear..... some nicknames don't age well) has suffered enough in the eyes of the NASCAR fan. He has served his sentence and paid his debt to society and now has been welcomed back into the fold. The winless streak is over. Let the smattering of applause begin.

There is something familiar about this story for it has played out before in the Cup series. Ol'DW gradually evolved from despised to an official Most Popular Driver during his racing career. (His close association with a certain animated rodent of late might be undoing some of that however.) Discounting the Elvis-like worship since his death, Dale Earnhardt Sr traveled a similar path.

The unofficial role of NASCAR's Most Despised Driver is now being played by Kyle Busch. While Gordon's only sin was winning and winning (too) often, Busch, while also filling that requirement, willingly accepts the mantle of Villain. And he seems to like it. NASCAR's answer to the Iron Sheik.

Don't expect to see Busch (younger) make the same mistake again that he made in Sunday's race. His little bumping fit only worsened his day. I think the same mechanism in his brain that remembers which racing lines don't work, allowing him to adjust accordingly, will come into play with regards to his ill-timed run-ins with other drivers. This fellow's desire to win will eventually trump all his other emotions and he'll at least become slicker in how he gets his point across to a fellow driver during a race.

Though you could have hung a sign that read "Caution - Wet Paint" on the Nationwide race on Saturday (read David Poole's comments on his blog) the Cup race on Sunday was actually pretty good by this season's standards. Though there was limited passing there were enough pit road goofs, on-track goofs, comers and goers and story lines to keep me awake and involved.

Quick-un's:

Carl Edwards:
Monday morning pit stop practice for this crew. Ouch.

Pit Road Mistakes:
Mistakes on pit road, by both driver and crew, have replaced mechanical failure as the unknown that lurks waiting to ruin a good day for a team. On the topic of pit road I second David Poole's comments lamenting the role pit stops have played in deciding races. Pit stops are important but the should not be a substitute for on-track action.

Ambrose Watch:
He was holding his own until another engine let go for this group. Still pulling for him.

Double file restarts:
Lead lap cars have to moved to the back of the pack for restarts. That inside line of cars is ruining the race for the lead. NASCAR needs any help they can get to improve racing at the head of the field. The Lucky Dog rule negates any need for a double-file lapped cars/lead lap cars restart.

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