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.
Showing posts with label kurt busch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kurt busch. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
March Atlanta Race - Busch Whoops Field
It's getting more and more difficult to defend NASCAR to the uninitiated let alone entertain questions about the sport. And it's not as if there are long lines of the NASCAR-curious. I get the feeling NASCAR management has wrung just about every new fan out of the big wet towel that is the North American sports-minded audience. Perhaps I'm being swept along in the seeming flood of "What's wrong with NASCAR?/What can we do to fix NASCAR?"-themed articles, blogs and comments but I'm more inclined to list my gripes with the Cup series these days than rave about how fantastic the racing has been this year.
It hasn't.
The race at Atlanta wasn't a bad race but it wasn't a great race. No doubt about it, Kurt Busch and his boys put a whoopin' on the field and on his own car. Did you see the right side of the #2 after the race? That much should appeal to the grassroots. By Kurt's own admission the run-in's with the wall came at moments in the race when he abandoned his strategy of racing the track instead of racing his competitors. Maybe Kurt bought into the weekend's theme that the Atlanta track has become the "new" Darlington with its reported lack of grip and worn surface? I think he deserves all the more credit for winning if the conditions were that bad.
What a shame then that he had to diminish his win with that silly reverse victory lap. This I expect of someone like Michael Waltrip but not a past Champion. In a series that now rivals professional wrestling for shtick, gimmicks and cringe moments this was a new low. On one hand the broadcasters present a picture of the drivers as fearless warriors, risking life and limb in the quest for glory. On the other hand they come across as mindless corporate shills mugging for the camera awkwardly playing "Garage Band". I'll forgive Kurt Busch this episode as a misguided attempt at originality in a homogenous sea of bland.
One positive thing to say about the teams performance is the point that a driver or a team or a car does not have to be 'off' by much to be really off. Aside from a strategy call win last year the #2 team had very little to show for their efforts at the end of the year. There 43 teams each week all clambering over each other to get to somewhere. Not all of them are striving to get to the top judging from the start and parker's. (Overheating? Really? I think the Bliss team's first item to work on is their imagination.) In a sport measured in terms hundredths and thousandths of seconds there are an enormous number of cracks to fall into. And it doesn't take too much to fall out of sight. My point being is it very difficult to succeed at this level of racing. Kurt Busch didn't forget how to drive. They were just a little off. And no knock on the skill and determination of any driver or team that becomes entirely dominant but it is much more interesting and exciting to see teams rise and fall over the course of weeks and months and seasons. Seems the Busch (elder) team is on the rise.
Lastly, I've developed a new rule of thumb for anticipating the level of excitement to expect during a race, restart, etc. It's an inverse rule. The more the broadcasters (Yes, Fox, I'm looking at you) go bananas and claim the proceedings are "fixin' to get good", the less likely it is something exciting will happen. On matters other than technical I regard the opinions of Mike, Larry and Darrell on par with those of politicians. Luckily they still maintain a chemistry which is enjoyable.
It hasn't.
The race at Atlanta wasn't a bad race but it wasn't a great race. No doubt about it, Kurt Busch and his boys put a whoopin' on the field and on his own car. Did you see the right side of the #2 after the race? That much should appeal to the grassroots. By Kurt's own admission the run-in's with the wall came at moments in the race when he abandoned his strategy of racing the track instead of racing his competitors. Maybe Kurt bought into the weekend's theme that the Atlanta track has become the "new" Darlington with its reported lack of grip and worn surface? I think he deserves all the more credit for winning if the conditions were that bad.
What a shame then that he had to diminish his win with that silly reverse victory lap. This I expect of someone like Michael Waltrip but not a past Champion. In a series that now rivals professional wrestling for shtick, gimmicks and cringe moments this was a new low. On one hand the broadcasters present a picture of the drivers as fearless warriors, risking life and limb in the quest for glory. On the other hand they come across as mindless corporate shills mugging for the camera awkwardly playing "Garage Band". I'll forgive Kurt Busch this episode as a misguided attempt at originality in a homogenous sea of bland.
One positive thing to say about the teams performance is the point that a driver or a team or a car does not have to be 'off' by much to be really off. Aside from a strategy call win last year the #2 team had very little to show for their efforts at the end of the year. There 43 teams each week all clambering over each other to get to somewhere. Not all of them are striving to get to the top judging from the start and parker's. (Overheating? Really? I think the Bliss team's first item to work on is their imagination.) In a sport measured in terms hundredths and thousandths of seconds there are an enormous number of cracks to fall into. And it doesn't take too much to fall out of sight. My point being is it very difficult to succeed at this level of racing. Kurt Busch didn't forget how to drive. They were just a little off. And no knock on the skill and determination of any driver or team that becomes entirely dominant but it is much more interesting and exciting to see teams rise and fall over the course of weeks and months and seasons. Seems the Busch (elder) team is on the rise.
Lastly, I've developed a new rule of thumb for anticipating the level of excitement to expect during a race, restart, etc. It's an inverse rule. The more the broadcasters (Yes, Fox, I'm looking at you) go bananas and claim the proceedings are "fixin' to get good", the less likely it is something exciting will happen. On matters other than technical I regard the opinions of Mike, Larry and Darrell on par with those of politicians. Luckily they still maintain a chemistry which is enjoyable.
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