Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Rating the Pepsi 500: 3 Stars ***

Everybody came home Sunday night unsurprised as Jimmie Johnson once again took home the trophy from Southern California. A normal California race that was made eventful late, earns a 3 Star Rating.

Coming into the event, Johnson was clearly the favorite to win on Sunday. Once he took the lead at any point in the race, he absolutely drove away from everybody else in the field, at one point having over a seven-second lead. The only reason Johnson didn’t lead 90% of the laps was because he consistently lost positions on pit road. Even in traffic he was able to move up better than anyone else. The #48 team definitely has Auto Club Speedway figured out.
Other than Johnson winning again and taking the points lead, the only other issue of the day was, once again, debris cautions. NASCAR made a great move last week in announcing that the start times will be moved up for next year. Now, the next move they need to make is to quit throwing debris cautions. Finally, a driver made my case for me this weekend.

“NASCAR threw a debris caution for no debris…that caused the whole next wreck on the frontstretch,” Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, said. “It’s disappointing we had a bad race because kind of a caution to put a show on for the fans…we have to keep the fans excited, but sometimes it ruins people’s days and today it was our day.”

Now I will ask you, NASCAR fans. Is this the kind of show that we want? Would it have been alright for the final 68 laps to go green and Johnson win the race anyway? Yes, I know Tony Stewart was spared a bad finish because of that caution, but in saving on Chasers day, NASCAR ruined three others. Kahne, Biffle, and Hamlin are all pretty much out of championship contention because of the debris caution Kahne spoke about earlier. Maybe, things could play out naturally and it would still come down to multiple drivers having a chance to win the cup at Homestead. I thought that was why the Chase was created in the first place. If everything is going to be controlled by cautions, let’s dump the Chase because a close points finish could be manufactured anyway. The way Stewart was running for a few weeks combined with what Johnson is doing would certainly have made for a close finish.

Alright, I want to thank Kasey Kahne for speaking out against the ongoing debris problem. Next week everyone comes back home to Charlotte. Now, Lowe’s Motor Speedway usually produces good racing, so long as Johnson doesn’t stink up the show. But, even if that happens, he has earned the right to blow everyone else away. He should not have to line up double-file with 20 laps to go because he was too far ahead.

7 comments:

  1. I wouldn't be so sure about Jimmie stinking up Lowe's this weekend....Kasey is rather handy around that place and will no doubt be fired up more than usual, lol

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  2. tezgm99 - Agreed. Johnson hasn't dominated Charlotte of late as he has California, but those are two of his best tracks. And yes, Kahne may very well be a factor in this one.
    Thanks!

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  3. Hey, good post. I agree that NASCAR should have let the race be ran the way it should be ran and fans like it for what it is and not what they're making it. Next week should be a good race, can't wait.

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  4. NASCAR is in a no-win situation with the phantom debris cautions.

    They need exciting finishes to keep TV viewers, but then when real wrecks are caused by the fake cautions, some teams get screwed.

    there have been plenty of races I've seen over the years that were so boring that I hoped a 'debris' caution would come out. I guess it depends on who is leading...LOL

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  5. Anonymous - Next week should be a good race. I like Charlotte. It's one of the best tracks on the schedule. Thanks!

    Gene - I guess maybe I am too much of a purist, but in all sports I prefer the event to take care of itself. Even in football, if the team I'm rooting for catches a break on a huge pass interference call, I'm happy, but overall I think I would prefer to see the team drive down the field and make their own plays, even if that means not catching every break.
    Thanks!

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  6. Nice post as always.

    Even though this debris caution caused a lot of torn up cars, I think it may have a good impact on the sport. The heat will really be brought on NASCAR again about the phantom debris cautions.

    I remember after Tony Stewart brought up the issue a few years back, t.v. actually started zooming in on the debris on the track to prove to us that it really was there...

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  7. gonger93 - They did start showing debris, and in my opinion it wasn't enough to stop the race. As many or more cars get torn up because the caution is thrown than there would if they just left things alone.
    Thanks!

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