Post by Diamondback on Oct 9, 2006 8:21:24 GMT -6
Ok, I am totally hooked on the Tally highlights at Nascar.com. I just can't. Stop. Watching.
I did notice something in one of the replays, and it made me think about what some of the drivers said and how they reacted after incidents they were in, which in turn got me to thinking about the Chase.
First, some general comments.
The pundits and press have said for weeks that this race would make or break the hopes of some drivers, and it did. (I'll comment on that later). What surprises me about the points right now is the gap from 1 to 10. I felt as though this would be the race where one or two drivers would have been eliminated. That failed to happen. Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, 9th and 10th respectively, are 185 points behind Burton in first. Keep in mind that Kahne was almost 300 points behind the leader last week, and you can consider the points to be wide open right now.
Now, on to what I noticed while watching the replays.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
He had every reason in the world to climb out of that car at the end of the race and cuss Vickers like a dog. Instead, he climbed out with a smile on his face, hugs and handshakes all around, and turns to the camera and says hey, you win some, you lose some, and we lost one. It was just a racing deal. Didn't point the finger, didn't make excuses. Cut and dried. We lost, we're moving on.
Love him or hate him, he deserves respect for that, and he'll get it from me. It's been a long time since I've seen something like that happen, and I think it speaks volumes for his maturity. He knew that his team lived up to thier end of the deal by giving him a car capable of winning, and he lived up to his end of the deal by putting it in a position to win, so there was no reason to get his panties in a wad about it. And he didn't. Kudos.
Jeff Gordon.
Had a car capable of winning, until getting it mangled in the melee late in the race. Runs through the post-wreck interview checklist (Team gave me a great car, feel sorry for them and the sponsors, etc.), then tears into Nascar for not properly policing the "outrageous" bump drafting going on. Well, I remember that Benny and Wally agree that Carl's car broke loose as if it had been hit. What they failed to recognize in the replays was the car that was behind Edwards at the time. It was Jimmy Johnson. Excuse me, Mr. Car Owner? You're calling on Nascar to penalize your Championship contending car for bump drafting in the corners. You still want to take that stance? Moving on.
Jimmy Johnson.
Irony? or Karma? The instigator of "The Big One" gets instigated one mile from the finish line as he's making a pass for the lead, and goes on in an interview to explain that he can't understand why he was "wrecked by a teammate". Maybe you should invite that "teammate" to team meetings. (fyi, Vickers was banned from Hendrick Motorsports meetings after his on track run-in with Gordon a few weeks back.) You got wrecked because there was an accident. The fact that he was a teammate was coincidental. If you (or anybody, for that matter) thinks he did it on purpose, you're fooling yourselves.
No being of sound mind would a.) Start an accident that could collect himself as easily as anyone, especially when b.) two of the drivers involved are Chasers, and c.) one of them is a teammate when d.) you know you will be hunting a new ride at season's end. That doesn't look good on a resume.
The reason he survived the incident was that the leaders spun to his inside. If they had been in the corner, they would have come across the track into traffic, and we would have been lucky to see five cars make the finish.
So, going back to what I mentioned (much, much) earlier...
Although everyone is still mathematically in the hunt, some teams seem to be handling the ups and downs better than others, and I think that will play an important role in who is successful over the next few races. My take on the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The Good: RCR, Jr, Kahne, Kenseth.
The Childress teams had strong cars this week, and managed to stay out of trouble. The 29 team seems to have shrugged off the motor failure from a couple of weeks ago, and continues to pick up top 10's. They'll need this to stay close. 31 team caught a bad break at the end of the race, but Burton, much like Jr., seemed to have already put it behind him by the time he had lowered the window net. To me, that bodes well for those (three) teams. As for Kahne, he got the kind of day he needed, factoring in his success at the coming tracks. He's way back, but I think he has a good chance of making up some serious ground, but quick. Kenseth continues to be Mr. Consitency. I still think he'll be the one everyone is chasing when they get to Homestead.
The Bad: Martin, Hamlin
Not necessarily bad, just "in the middle". Martin went into Talladega expecting to be eliminated from the chase due to an accident. When you are in that frame of mind, that's usually where you find yourself at the end of the day. That, to me, keeps him out of the "good" column. The fact that he did get lucky and managed to keep his nose clean keeps him out of the "ugly" column. As for Hamlin, I haven't seen the meltdown, but I haven't seen him do anything either. He's just kind of "there", and that's why he's "here".
The Just Plain Stinkin-Up-The-Joint Ugly:
Hendrick Motorsports.
This entire organization needs an attitude adjustment if they want the Cup, and right now. No more finger pointing, no more ousting teammates. You're creating a media circus that is distracting you from the task at hand. Charlotte could be a blessing in disguise for these teams, as the 24 and 48 have always been strong here, but they're going to have to get in the right mindset to capitalize on it. I hope they do. I desperately want to see a Homestead race where any of the 10 Chase drivers has a shot to win the Cup.
I did notice something in one of the replays, and it made me think about what some of the drivers said and how they reacted after incidents they were in, which in turn got me to thinking about the Chase.
First, some general comments.
The pundits and press have said for weeks that this race would make or break the hopes of some drivers, and it did. (I'll comment on that later). What surprises me about the points right now is the gap from 1 to 10. I felt as though this would be the race where one or two drivers would have been eliminated. That failed to happen. Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, 9th and 10th respectively, are 185 points behind Burton in first. Keep in mind that Kahne was almost 300 points behind the leader last week, and you can consider the points to be wide open right now.
Now, on to what I noticed while watching the replays.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
He had every reason in the world to climb out of that car at the end of the race and cuss Vickers like a dog. Instead, he climbed out with a smile on his face, hugs and handshakes all around, and turns to the camera and says hey, you win some, you lose some, and we lost one. It was just a racing deal. Didn't point the finger, didn't make excuses. Cut and dried. We lost, we're moving on.
Love him or hate him, he deserves respect for that, and he'll get it from me. It's been a long time since I've seen something like that happen, and I think it speaks volumes for his maturity. He knew that his team lived up to thier end of the deal by giving him a car capable of winning, and he lived up to his end of the deal by putting it in a position to win, so there was no reason to get his panties in a wad about it. And he didn't. Kudos.
Jeff Gordon.
Had a car capable of winning, until getting it mangled in the melee late in the race. Runs through the post-wreck interview checklist (Team gave me a great car, feel sorry for them and the sponsors, etc.), then tears into Nascar for not properly policing the "outrageous" bump drafting going on. Well, I remember that Benny and Wally agree that Carl's car broke loose as if it had been hit. What they failed to recognize in the replays was the car that was behind Edwards at the time. It was Jimmy Johnson. Excuse me, Mr. Car Owner? You're calling on Nascar to penalize your Championship contending car for bump drafting in the corners. You still want to take that stance? Moving on.
Jimmy Johnson.
Irony? or Karma? The instigator of "The Big One" gets instigated one mile from the finish line as he's making a pass for the lead, and goes on in an interview to explain that he can't understand why he was "wrecked by a teammate". Maybe you should invite that "teammate" to team meetings. (fyi, Vickers was banned from Hendrick Motorsports meetings after his on track run-in with Gordon a few weeks back.) You got wrecked because there was an accident. The fact that he was a teammate was coincidental. If you (or anybody, for that matter) thinks he did it on purpose, you're fooling yourselves.
No being of sound mind would a.) Start an accident that could collect himself as easily as anyone, especially when b.) two of the drivers involved are Chasers, and c.) one of them is a teammate when d.) you know you will be hunting a new ride at season's end. That doesn't look good on a resume.
The reason he survived the incident was that the leaders spun to his inside. If they had been in the corner, they would have come across the track into traffic, and we would have been lucky to see five cars make the finish.
So, going back to what I mentioned (much, much) earlier...
Although everyone is still mathematically in the hunt, some teams seem to be handling the ups and downs better than others, and I think that will play an important role in who is successful over the next few races. My take on the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The Good: RCR, Jr, Kahne, Kenseth.
The Childress teams had strong cars this week, and managed to stay out of trouble. The 29 team seems to have shrugged off the motor failure from a couple of weeks ago, and continues to pick up top 10's. They'll need this to stay close. 31 team caught a bad break at the end of the race, but Burton, much like Jr., seemed to have already put it behind him by the time he had lowered the window net. To me, that bodes well for those (three) teams. As for Kahne, he got the kind of day he needed, factoring in his success at the coming tracks. He's way back, but I think he has a good chance of making up some serious ground, but quick. Kenseth continues to be Mr. Consitency. I still think he'll be the one everyone is chasing when they get to Homestead.
The Bad: Martin, Hamlin
Not necessarily bad, just "in the middle". Martin went into Talladega expecting to be eliminated from the chase due to an accident. When you are in that frame of mind, that's usually where you find yourself at the end of the day. That, to me, keeps him out of the "good" column. The fact that he did get lucky and managed to keep his nose clean keeps him out of the "ugly" column. As for Hamlin, I haven't seen the meltdown, but I haven't seen him do anything either. He's just kind of "there", and that's why he's "here".
The Just Plain Stinkin-Up-The-Joint Ugly:
Hendrick Motorsports.
This entire organization needs an attitude adjustment if they want the Cup, and right now. No more finger pointing, no more ousting teammates. You're creating a media circus that is distracting you from the task at hand. Charlotte could be a blessing in disguise for these teams, as the 24 and 48 have always been strong here, but they're going to have to get in the right mindset to capitalize on it. I hope they do. I desperately want to see a Homestead race where any of the 10 Chase drivers has a shot to win the Cup.