Bristol: Help Control the Excitement - Have Your Track Spayed or Neutered

I think we'll need one more race to definitively prove that 'They' have ruined Bristol. Kyle Busch is just so annoyingly good these days that I'm inclined to believe that even if the race on Sunday had taken place on any of the previous Bristol racing surfaces the outcome would be the same. Little or no evidence for or against the charge can then be gleaned from his performance. The same can't be said for what unfolded in his wake.

It was an almighty bore.

Busch spent so little time in contact with 2nd place on back Fox naturally focused on the rest of the field. I didn't see much action back there. I don't blame the designers or builders of the new, progressively-banked surface. They were tasked with creating a second racing line. Mission accomplished. Who I do question is the person or person's who requested said work be undertaken. I ask, from a fan's point of view, what was wrong with Bristol? The driver's love it but I doubt highly that you can sell 160,000 tickets to see more of what was (wasn't?) on display on Sunday. The great season of zzzz saunters on.

For once the Green, White, Checkers rule might actually have guaranteed the 'rightful' winner his win. Lap traffic might have come into play had the last caution flag not come out when it did. Denny Hamlin might, might, have caught Busch. As it was, he had no chance of catching Busch on that last restart. My heart rate actually slowed as the green flew that last time so sure was I of the outcome.

Hooray for Marcos Ambrose. A little street cred earned. It's a shame his engine developed a case of the hiccups late in the race but given how relatively little time he's spent in NASCAR and how thoroughly out of reach from everyone Busch put the win, I think it safe to assume that team and that driver are more than a little proud of their effort. For the first time in my life I think I'm right to say you read it here first: this cat can run with the so-called big boys.

"Phew", says Mark Martin. The accepted take on Martin is that he's a very smart racer. Given that, given his team's ability to build exploding engines and end up saddled with exploding tires coming into Sunday's race and given how well in-hand Busch appeared to have the race as it rolled on, I doubt Martin pushed things very much. I think that team was quite happy to bring it home where they did and start salvaging their season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr's excuse list grows. He points to a poor qualifying effort for his poor finish, qualifying 34th, starting at the back and coming home 14th. That doesn't really cut it as Jeff Burton had a poor qualifying run, starting 40th but still managed to come home in 8th position. This poor devil couldn't be feeling more pressure if he was sitting at the bottom of the ocean. I think if his name wasn't Earnhardt and his mug wasn't plastered on a million t-shirts (number one is sales....) he would be winning or at least running better. His folksy demeanor and pedigree obviously appeal to a lot, nay most, NASCAR fans, but if commercial work counted towards championships Michael Waltrip would be the Richard Petty of his time. Earnhardt Jr's halting manner of speech of late is either indicative of a distracted nature or a brain injury. I don't say that lightly or in jest. The man appears too ill-at-ease and fidgety during interviews these days. He doesn't look well.

California Dreaming.....Because I'm Asleep!!

I was so uninspired by the Cup race from California on Sunday that it's taken me until Tuesday evening to bother to put something together about it. The faults of this track are obvious and have been written of many times over. For big, heavy stock cars to put on a good show at a big track they need banking. Apparently the new fangled thing is progressive banking. Fine. Throw that in there too. Something. Anything. And I think it's time we cut the California fans some slack. I couldn't see myself returning to this track for one of the big shows after more than one visit to satisfy my curiosity.

How much of Matt Kenseth and team's effort was in response to the boo-birds (me included) who minimized their Daytona 500 win* last weekend? Only they know I suppose but that had to egg them on somewhat. Anyway, it shut a lot of us up.

It looked like early on that the Hendrick boys were going to walk away with it. Just to beat a dead horse the leader at this track is just set. He can walk away and leave the rest. Even the guys in the booth thought that Gordon was going to pass Kenseth. Passing? Not here.

This was probably one of the better finishes to a California race but still it was rather meh.

What happened to Jeff Burton? He's usually there at the end. It's tough to pass on that track but I don't think they're blaming that. Others moved up but they didn't. Even Michael Waltrip moved on up all day and his man Reutimann was right in front of him at the finish.

The crab car made its return to the sport on Sunday. I know the crews are doing it to to create a little extra downforce but I find it distracting.

I see a silly article on NASCAR.com about how some top teams are in trouble. One example they cite is Jimmie Johnson being way back in the points after a crummy Daytona finish and a ninth at Cali. Yes, he faded late but you can't really hold any to their Daytona finish. Plate tracks are such a crap shoot and when you add weather into the mix I think it's foolish to be drawing conclusions about the competitive health of a Cup team.

I just can't get excited about this entry. California, you bore me to tears.