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The Final Word – Thank God we have Talladega coming up on Sunday

Written by

Ron Thornton

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Charlotte has come and gone for another season, so what can one say about the race that was. Well, “thank God that is behind us” comes to mind. I can not remember if it was sponsored by Nyquil or was simply the To Hell With A Cure for Insomnia 500, for me it turned out to be NASCAR’s version of English Premier League soccer. That is, best watched with PVR in hand.

Lap after lap of whatever and who cares. It was like watching a NBA game in the end, with the final few minutes about as exciting as it gets. Brad Keselowski wins, Kasey Kahne runs second, and Matt Kenseth extended his lead over Jimmie Johnson to four big points in the Chase standings. Did anything else much matter? I expected more from Charlotte, I expect nothing from ABC/ESPN, and not a single new fan was captured from what was presented in the television version of the contest. Thank God we have Talladega coming up this Sunday.

Talladega is coming up, Martin Truex Jr. is off seeking a new ride after Michael Waltrip Racing officially announced its contraction due to NAPA fleeing the scene. Brian Vickers is gone for the rest of the year as he deals with a re-occurrence of blood clots in his leg, but should be good to go in the seat of the MWR #55 for 2014.

NASCAR continues to seek the answers needed to make the racing more exciting. They returned to Charlotte a couple of days after the Saturday night race to see if the advent of more rear down force or more turbulent air might help shake things up. If the announce team can not make things more exciting, then the product itself has to improve.

Rating Charlotte – 5.5/10 – Something has to change, or those not true fanatics are going to continue wandering off to other stimulants or reducing their NASCAR experience to Daytona, Talladega, and Bristol.

If you do not like NASCAR, I understand. If you do not like Talladega, you really are a soccer fan. 40 plus cars sweeping by in aircraft formation three wide with just inches separating any of them in any direction at 200 miles per hour. One sneeze away from disaster. We will be watching this Sunday to see if such a sneeze might hamper the runaway bid of Kenseth and Johnson. Call your friends, call all those who usually do not watch, tell them this is what NASCAR produces each and every week. If we are lucky, Martinsville might actually keep them watching.

You can’t blame a guy for dreaming. Enjoy the week.

Comments

6 responses to “The Final Word – Thank God we have Talladega coming up on Sunday”

  1. jj Avatar
    jj

    Why is it that every anti-Hendrick guy that writes in about everything and every subject has been asked about NA$CAR has to bring up Jeff Gordon and being added to the chase? You would have to be a fool, and I think that is what we are seeing, not to think that he had been screwed out of the chase. Had it been Kenseth, Edwards or a lot of other drivers that got screwed, you would be singing a different tune.
    Your biggest gripe is against Jeff Gordon, not about whatever the subject about NA$CAR that is being asked. You don’t need to identify yourself as a non-Jeff Gordon fan, your choice of words identify you.

    Reply
    1. Ron Thornton Avatar
      Ron Thornton

      I agreed with the inclusion of Gordon. They just could not get innovative enough so Bowyer would have felt his penalty.

      Reply
  2. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    I could not agree more. Given the farce that this Chase became when NASCAR added a 13th spot for Gordon – I am not a Gordon fan, but no matter, they could have let Brad back in on a “Champion’s Provisional” or whatever – my reaction would have been the same. This from a guy who has followed the sport since Tiny Lund led a quintet of Fords to victory in the 1963 Daytona 500. I will DVR Talladega, not watch it live, because I am fed up with the way NASCAR manipulates the rules to fit the whining of sponsors, owners and manufacturers. As you say, the fun is watching 43 cars “doe hannel to doe hannel” for 500 miles. Thant and I can skip all the stupid ads.

    Reply
    1. Ron Thornton Avatar
      Ron Thornton

      I do not watch any race live any longer, but start the PVR about 2 hours in. No ads, no Rusty, no Brad… If the race turns into a snoozefest…no problem…I just move ahead by 30 second jumps. Hell, remember Paul when the advertisers even tried to make an entertaining spot. If they no longer care, why should we?

      Reply
  3. john Avatar
    john

    Yup I’m a soccer fan cause I don’t care for the single file snoozefest of ‘dega followed up by the big one. (or in the alternative the giant pack of cars where no one can move forward or backward) Truth is people just watch for the big one and that is fun to see. But a crap-shoot lottery like ‘dega has no place in the chase.

    Reply
    1. Ron Thornton Avatar
      Ron Thornton

      All I know is, John, it is the first race in a while I am actually looking forward to. Yes, that is sad.

      Reply

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