Bristol ~ Racing The Way It Ought To Be!
An Opinion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 30, 2006
By C.C. Bell
Have you ever looked up the definition of the word respect in the dictionary or the word etiquette? Nowhere will you find the word “Bristol” associated with either respect or etiquette and yet for some reason several journalists are equating racing “respect” and racing “etiquette” with bullring racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. What nonsense.
Since my column comes out a bit later in the week, I have the added luxury of reviewing just about everyone else’s take on the race, and this week is no different. Usually I disagree with a good portion of what has been written which gives me added ammunition when putting forth my own views. Life is good!
An amazing thing happened half way through Sunday’s “Food City 500” at Bristol Motor Speedway. I finally determined, from my perspective of course, what constituted a truly “great” race and I finally understood the true impact television was having on some of the sports really great racetracks, many which are no longer on the circuit.
From a broadcasting point of view, tracks such as Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, Martinsville, Richmond, and Bristol can be frustrating for many new to the sport. Not only are these tracks shorter than the television friendly, mile and half, “D” shaped ovals that have become so prevalent they are also older and have unique personalities of their own that challenge drivers and therefore tend to rack up caution flags periods, and the dynamics of the racing itself is very different. Understanding the difference in the dynamics is the key to understanding what makes racing at Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington and Richmond so popular, not to mention a test of a true fan’s attention span.
How many times on Sunday, when the race had been restarted after a caution period only to have another caution flag thrown almost immediately, did you find yourself saying, “Oh, come on, guys?” Frustrating I know, but when you remember that going one or two laps down at Atlanta, Texas, or heaven forbid, Daytona or Talladega, puts a virtual end to your favorite driver’s day, and then you think back to those who lost a lap or two at Bristol finishing not only on the lead lap, but higher in the points standings, and what you end up with is a lesson in real racing.
It isn’t “pit strategy”; it isn’t getting the “free pass” or “lucky dog”. It’s hard charging, reflex driven, bumper butting, big dog type racing that showcases the best of a driver’s ability both mentally and physically. And if you’re not suited to that type of racing, you just shouldn’t be out there as a driver or a fan.
And covering a Bristol race has got to be more challenging that covering a race at Michigan or Kansas. After all, most of the time we are actually watching racing instead of nonsensical segments specifically filmed to fill long drawn out parade laps. I’ve often wondered if they’ve ever had a cameraman fall asleep at his post?
For me personally however, I realized that what elevates a particular race to that category of greatness is how much I laugh while the race is going on. No, not the “Woohoo! So and so just obliterated his car on the inside retaining wall” kind of laughter, but the “Atta boy!” kind of reaction when a driver executes a slick move that you know rattled another driver to the point of having to grab hold of his car in an effort to avoid that wall. Or when the occasional radio transmission reflects a driver’s pleasure that he was in fact able to save his car from that wall, and those much-ballyhooed “paybacks” delivered by drivers who felt they’d been wronged earlier in the race. And yes, even those who have been touted as patience personified who climb from their cars after an on track incident and engage in a supposedly uncharacteristic shoving match.
Or perhaps its simply because this type of “real” racing doesn’t lend itself to the ever invasive micro-managing by NASCAR. Like five year olds running willy-nilly through the grocery store, even race officials must get to the point when they say, “Oh, forget it.” And we know how tough that is for them to do, don’t we? In short, this is the closest we’ll get to our father’s kind of racing.
So let’s get to some of the highlight’s from Sunday’s “Food City 500” at Bristol Motor Speedway and review a couple of other interesting stories.
I’ll Be Back ~
And he was. The biggest story going into Sunday’s race was the return of supposedly “chadsized” Chad Knaus. Certainly it had to be disappointing for his driver who was leading the points race to start fifth but perhaps it was but a harbinger of things to come.
Even before Mother Nature took control of the entire weekend forcing the cancellation of qualifying and the award of the pole to last years champion Tony Stewart, the most successful crew chief so far this season was being unceremoniously shoved aside. At times this past week referred to as “fill-in” or “replacement”, former “interim” crew chief Darian Grubb seemingly slipped back into the role of an unknown as Knaus once again took control of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson. And it all went down hill from there.
Just as the race was going to green, Johnson realized he had a tire going down. As he attempted to get to pit road, Johnson made contact with the #41 of Reed Sorenson. His pit crew over anticipated and jumped the wall too soon, was penalized and instantly Johnson was three laps down and never a contender. After running into the back of Matt Kenseth on lap 126, Johnson slid up the track and smacked the wall. He finished 30th.
And I don’t believe I heard Darian Grubb’s name mentioned once.
“Rebar” The Door ~
The boys in the booth went into hyper drive, again, which at Bristol is pretty redundant.
In addition to being reminded, yet again about DW’s racing in the Busch Series in July, we were treated to a tidbit about the racing surface at Bristol. It’s old.
Less than 50 miles into the race, and after several blown tires, Darrell Waltrip put forth the opinion that the rebar that supports the concrete surface of the racetrack was the cause of the tire failures. OK, I understand the track surface is worn, and I understand that the track has been ground on occasion, but I have trouble visualizing rusty ends of rebar sticking up through the track surface unnoticed by anyone. And if that was the case, then why didn’t it continue throughout the day? I’m confused.
Tony’s Worst Enemy ~
Once upon a time it was said that Tony Stewart’s worst enemy was himself. A couple of years ago, a noted race broadcaster gleefully adopted that mantle and, though less venomous than before, still just spouts off whenever Stewart comes within a foot of another race car.
So it came as no surprise that when Stewart caught up to the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet of Martin Truex, Jr., who at that very moment was attempting to convey his displeasure with Jeff Gordon over an earlier bump and spin and virtually blocking the track, not to mention scrubbing off speed as he crowded into the left side of Gordon’s car, the #20 made contact with Truex and sent him spinning into the inside retaining wall prompting said broadcaster to state that Stewart had punted Truex out of the way. Uh, huh.
Meanwhile, thankfully another saner voice was attempting to explain that under the circumstances Truex was throwing a bit of a temper tantrum and Tony Stewart really didn’t have much of a choice. Technically, Stewart just flat ran out of racing room and if Truex continued harassing Gordon, all three of them were fixin’ to get run over. Makes sense to me and I feel certain NASCAR and DEI will explain that to Martin Truex, Jr. complete with accompanying video and a reminder that there is almost always more than just two cars on the track and if he wants to continue to be one of them, don’t do that again.
Busch League Pass ~
Great balls of fire! The discussion about Kurt Busch has reached epic proportions. Depending on your point of view, either Busch dropkicked the nicest man in racing out of his way due to sheer meanness, or he performed a Herculean feat just to spite Kevin Harvick. One or two have even said he did exactly the right thing and he did it well. Which he did.
While I still have little faith in the “new” Kurt Busch, he certainly deserves no criticism for his masterfully executed move on Matt Kenseth. Nor should Kenseth be upset over it. It was a textbook Bristol move and Kenseth should have seen it coming. As a matter of fact, I think he did, as it looked like he was fighting his car in an attempt to stay in front of Busch. But as Busch stayed on the back of the #17 of Kenseth, it was obvious that Busch was not only faster but had a much better handling car at that time. He set Kenseth up, nudged under his rear bumper and moved him over so smoothly it caused Kenseth to simply wiggle.
Whether or not Matt Kenseth would choose to use such a move to take the lead at a short track is solely up to Kenseth. But if he chooses not to and he can’t stay far enough in front of someone who won’t hesitate to move him over in what is now a time-honored tradition, he certainly has no room to complain.
While Busch was almost eloquent in his post race interviews, during one interview he did display a little irritation when questioned about the ongoing verbal dispute with Kevin Harvick, whom he inadvertently pulled into a second place finish after passing Matt Kenseth. But he stepped over the line when he mentioned how proud he was to be driving the famous #2 Miller Lite Dodge formerly driven by Rusty Wallace and Kevin was driving the #3, as if to say that explained the problem. It hit me wrong and I dare say it hit a lot of people wrong.
Which could answer the question of why Kurt Busch was booed by so many after winning at Bristol for the fifth time. Jimmy Spenser isn’t the only one who never forgets.
The Picture of Patience ~
If patience is a virtue, then Jeff Gordon has a lot of people fooled. Oddly, much was said prior to the beginning of this race about Gordon’s incredible display of patience. So imagine the shock on everyone’s face to see Jeff Gordon come flying out of his racecar, helmet on, with his hands raised in the air, running full force into Matt Kenseth in a attempt to knock Matt down. Shades of Allison/Yarborough? You bet, and refreshing as all get out.
Gordon’s tenacity and steadiness on the track can’t be dismissed but he’s certainly had his share of dust ups with other drivers. Think Gordon vs. Gordon, Gordon vs. Stewart, even Gordon vs. Wallace. I’ve always felt the yellow line rule at Daytona and Talladega was instituted because Jeff Gordon was establishing a history of being patient to the point where he would then drop below the yellow line and pass for the win. And not just those two tracks either. He is quite accomplished at using that move just about everywhere he has raced.
But should Jeff Gordon be penalized for his actions? No, not unless you first ask the question, “What if it were Tony Stewart?” Then act accordingly.
Otherwise, strike it up to short track racing at Bristol and great television.
And Finally: Rulebook? We Don’t Need No Stinking Rulebook! ~
The “Car of Tomorrow” rolled out for yet another test, this time at Bristol. According to Brett Bodine who was in charge of Monday’s test, “It’s nothing more than a learning day.”
Saying that it would give teams the opportunity to compare what they raced Sunday to the new “Car of Tomorrow,” which is scheduled to debut in 2007, Bodine stated that the teams could expect the 2007 rulebook covering the “Car of Tomorrow” sometime this week and then the teams “will have a clear idea on how to build the car and mass production should begin.” Well, this explains a lot.
Five years in the making, a ton of money, pressure applied to owners and teams, dictating that this is a “done deal boys,” get ready to scrape all your obsolete sheet metal, and yet there’s no rulebook governing production? Somehow, I would have thought that would have been a good place to start.
But as I said, I’m confused.
Come to think of it, when it comes to NASCAR I stay confused most of the time.
Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum
You can contact C.C. Bell at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By C.C. Bell
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.
An Opinion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 30, 2006
By C.C. Bell
Have you ever looked up the definition of the word respect in the dictionary or the word etiquette? Nowhere will you find the word “Bristol” associated with either respect or etiquette and yet for some reason several journalists are equating racing “respect” and racing “etiquette” with bullring racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. What nonsense.
Since my column comes out a bit later in the week, I have the added luxury of reviewing just about everyone else’s take on the race, and this week is no different. Usually I disagree with a good portion of what has been written which gives me added ammunition when putting forth my own views. Life is good!
An amazing thing happened half way through Sunday’s “Food City 500” at Bristol Motor Speedway. I finally determined, from my perspective of course, what constituted a truly “great” race and I finally understood the true impact television was having on some of the sports really great racetracks, many which are no longer on the circuit.
From a broadcasting point of view, tracks such as Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, Martinsville, Richmond, and Bristol can be frustrating for many new to the sport. Not only are these tracks shorter than the television friendly, mile and half, “D” shaped ovals that have become so prevalent they are also older and have unique personalities of their own that challenge drivers and therefore tend to rack up caution flags periods, and the dynamics of the racing itself is very different. Understanding the difference in the dynamics is the key to understanding what makes racing at Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington and Richmond so popular, not to mention a test of a true fan’s attention span.
How many times on Sunday, when the race had been restarted after a caution period only to have another caution flag thrown almost immediately, did you find yourself saying, “Oh, come on, guys?” Frustrating I know, but when you remember that going one or two laps down at Atlanta, Texas, or heaven forbid, Daytona or Talladega, puts a virtual end to your favorite driver’s day, and then you think back to those who lost a lap or two at Bristol finishing not only on the lead lap, but higher in the points standings, and what you end up with is a lesson in real racing.
It isn’t “pit strategy”; it isn’t getting the “free pass” or “lucky dog”. It’s hard charging, reflex driven, bumper butting, big dog type racing that showcases the best of a driver’s ability both mentally and physically. And if you’re not suited to that type of racing, you just shouldn’t be out there as a driver or a fan.
And covering a Bristol race has got to be more challenging that covering a race at Michigan or Kansas. After all, most of the time we are actually watching racing instead of nonsensical segments specifically filmed to fill long drawn out parade laps. I’ve often wondered if they’ve ever had a cameraman fall asleep at his post?
For me personally however, I realized that what elevates a particular race to that category of greatness is how much I laugh while the race is going on. No, not the “Woohoo! So and so just obliterated his car on the inside retaining wall” kind of laughter, but the “Atta boy!” kind of reaction when a driver executes a slick move that you know rattled another driver to the point of having to grab hold of his car in an effort to avoid that wall. Or when the occasional radio transmission reflects a driver’s pleasure that he was in fact able to save his car from that wall, and those much-ballyhooed “paybacks” delivered by drivers who felt they’d been wronged earlier in the race. And yes, even those who have been touted as patience personified who climb from their cars after an on track incident and engage in a supposedly uncharacteristic shoving match.
Or perhaps its simply because this type of “real” racing doesn’t lend itself to the ever invasive micro-managing by NASCAR. Like five year olds running willy-nilly through the grocery store, even race officials must get to the point when they say, “Oh, forget it.” And we know how tough that is for them to do, don’t we? In short, this is the closest we’ll get to our father’s kind of racing.
So let’s get to some of the highlight’s from Sunday’s “Food City 500” at Bristol Motor Speedway and review a couple of other interesting stories.
I’ll Be Back ~
And he was. The biggest story going into Sunday’s race was the return of supposedly “chadsized” Chad Knaus. Certainly it had to be disappointing for his driver who was leading the points race to start fifth but perhaps it was but a harbinger of things to come.
Even before Mother Nature took control of the entire weekend forcing the cancellation of qualifying and the award of the pole to last years champion Tony Stewart, the most successful crew chief so far this season was being unceremoniously shoved aside. At times this past week referred to as “fill-in” or “replacement”, former “interim” crew chief Darian Grubb seemingly slipped back into the role of an unknown as Knaus once again took control of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson. And it all went down hill from there.
Just as the race was going to green, Johnson realized he had a tire going down. As he attempted to get to pit road, Johnson made contact with the #41 of Reed Sorenson. His pit crew over anticipated and jumped the wall too soon, was penalized and instantly Johnson was three laps down and never a contender. After running into the back of Matt Kenseth on lap 126, Johnson slid up the track and smacked the wall. He finished 30th.
And I don’t believe I heard Darian Grubb’s name mentioned once.
“Rebar” The Door ~
The boys in the booth went into hyper drive, again, which at Bristol is pretty redundant.
In addition to being reminded, yet again about DW’s racing in the Busch Series in July, we were treated to a tidbit about the racing surface at Bristol. It’s old.
Less than 50 miles into the race, and after several blown tires, Darrell Waltrip put forth the opinion that the rebar that supports the concrete surface of the racetrack was the cause of the tire failures. OK, I understand the track surface is worn, and I understand that the track has been ground on occasion, but I have trouble visualizing rusty ends of rebar sticking up through the track surface unnoticed by anyone. And if that was the case, then why didn’t it continue throughout the day? I’m confused.
Tony’s Worst Enemy ~
Once upon a time it was said that Tony Stewart’s worst enemy was himself. A couple of years ago, a noted race broadcaster gleefully adopted that mantle and, though less venomous than before, still just spouts off whenever Stewart comes within a foot of another race car.
So it came as no surprise that when Stewart caught up to the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet of Martin Truex, Jr., who at that very moment was attempting to convey his displeasure with Jeff Gordon over an earlier bump and spin and virtually blocking the track, not to mention scrubbing off speed as he crowded into the left side of Gordon’s car, the #20 made contact with Truex and sent him spinning into the inside retaining wall prompting said broadcaster to state that Stewart had punted Truex out of the way. Uh, huh.
Meanwhile, thankfully another saner voice was attempting to explain that under the circumstances Truex was throwing a bit of a temper tantrum and Tony Stewart really didn’t have much of a choice. Technically, Stewart just flat ran out of racing room and if Truex continued harassing Gordon, all three of them were fixin’ to get run over. Makes sense to me and I feel certain NASCAR and DEI will explain that to Martin Truex, Jr. complete with accompanying video and a reminder that there is almost always more than just two cars on the track and if he wants to continue to be one of them, don’t do that again.
Busch League Pass ~
Great balls of fire! The discussion about Kurt Busch has reached epic proportions. Depending on your point of view, either Busch dropkicked the nicest man in racing out of his way due to sheer meanness, or he performed a Herculean feat just to spite Kevin Harvick. One or two have even said he did exactly the right thing and he did it well. Which he did.
While I still have little faith in the “new” Kurt Busch, he certainly deserves no criticism for his masterfully executed move on Matt Kenseth. Nor should Kenseth be upset over it. It was a textbook Bristol move and Kenseth should have seen it coming. As a matter of fact, I think he did, as it looked like he was fighting his car in an attempt to stay in front of Busch. But as Busch stayed on the back of the #17 of Kenseth, it was obvious that Busch was not only faster but had a much better handling car at that time. He set Kenseth up, nudged under his rear bumper and moved him over so smoothly it caused Kenseth to simply wiggle.
Whether or not Matt Kenseth would choose to use such a move to take the lead at a short track is solely up to Kenseth. But if he chooses not to and he can’t stay far enough in front of someone who won’t hesitate to move him over in what is now a time-honored tradition, he certainly has no room to complain.
While Busch was almost eloquent in his post race interviews, during one interview he did display a little irritation when questioned about the ongoing verbal dispute with Kevin Harvick, whom he inadvertently pulled into a second place finish after passing Matt Kenseth. But he stepped over the line when he mentioned how proud he was to be driving the famous #2 Miller Lite Dodge formerly driven by Rusty Wallace and Kevin was driving the #3, as if to say that explained the problem. It hit me wrong and I dare say it hit a lot of people wrong.
Which could answer the question of why Kurt Busch was booed by so many after winning at Bristol for the fifth time. Jimmy Spenser isn’t the only one who never forgets.
The Picture of Patience ~
If patience is a virtue, then Jeff Gordon has a lot of people fooled. Oddly, much was said prior to the beginning of this race about Gordon’s incredible display of patience. So imagine the shock on everyone’s face to see Jeff Gordon come flying out of his racecar, helmet on, with his hands raised in the air, running full force into Matt Kenseth in a attempt to knock Matt down. Shades of Allison/Yarborough? You bet, and refreshing as all get out.
Gordon’s tenacity and steadiness on the track can’t be dismissed but he’s certainly had his share of dust ups with other drivers. Think Gordon vs. Gordon, Gordon vs. Stewart, even Gordon vs. Wallace. I’ve always felt the yellow line rule at Daytona and Talladega was instituted because Jeff Gordon was establishing a history of being patient to the point where he would then drop below the yellow line and pass for the win. And not just those two tracks either. He is quite accomplished at using that move just about everywhere he has raced.
But should Jeff Gordon be penalized for his actions? No, not unless you first ask the question, “What if it were Tony Stewart?” Then act accordingly.
Otherwise, strike it up to short track racing at Bristol and great television.
And Finally: Rulebook? We Don’t Need No Stinking Rulebook! ~
The “Car of Tomorrow” rolled out for yet another test, this time at Bristol. According to Brett Bodine who was in charge of Monday’s test, “It’s nothing more than a learning day.”
Saying that it would give teams the opportunity to compare what they raced Sunday to the new “Car of Tomorrow,” which is scheduled to debut in 2007, Bodine stated that the teams could expect the 2007 rulebook covering the “Car of Tomorrow” sometime this week and then the teams “will have a clear idea on how to build the car and mass production should begin.” Well, this explains a lot.
Five years in the making, a ton of money, pressure applied to owners and teams, dictating that this is a “done deal boys,” get ready to scrape all your obsolete sheet metal, and yet there’s no rulebook governing production? Somehow, I would have thought that would have been a good place to start.
But as I said, I’m confused.
Come to think of it, when it comes to NASCAR I stay confused most of the time.
Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum
You can contact C.C. Bell at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By C.C. Bell
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.
