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The story if the week in NASCAR was not who won the race or "races" last weekend in Kentucky, but what went on after the race. Apparently traffic was so ensnarled that spectators were caught in traffic for hours and were gridlocked from leaving the track.
I have been going to NASCAR races for a number of years and typically when there is an excess of 100,000 people at a venue there will be traffic issues. Moreover, when the venue is hosting its first NASCAR Sprint Cup race, there is bound to be some logistics that need to be readdressed.
The racing in Kentucky was not bad. In fact, it was comparable to many of the races we have seen this year. Yet even those who did not attend the race had to weigh in on their disappointment with both the racing and the traffic.
NASCAR has made some great changes over the last few years and they have made changes that have not been so good. The point is that rather than sports where ownbers lock out players to horde revenue, NASCAR is trying new things years after year to address popularity and make the sport more fan freindly for those who attend the races.
I was at Atlanta in 1992 for Richard Petty's last race. The traffic was really bad. You didn't hear too much about it then becuae the internet was not so prevalent. I was at the last real Southern 500 in Darlington. The traffic was insufferable, but that was before NASCAR'Jimmie Johnson decade began.
Fans have changed and so has the framework that made NASCAR a nationwide phenomenon back in 1979 when the first Daytona 500 was broadcast flag to flag throughout the country. Lest we forget the man who was shot dead in traffic outside of Daytona because he was cut off in traffic leaving the speedway.
Kentucky Speedway and NASCAR will address the traffic issues and may next year or the year after those changes will ease up the traffic around the speedway just a little bit, but what the traffic does not do is lessen the level of competition on the track or take away from the laps that our favorite drivers are vying for the win. If you weren't at the race, get over it. The traffic was not your issue, the racing is. If you have an issue with the racing make a statement and back it up. If you can not do that, move on to F1 or something else.
Kentucky was a decent race. Not the best one this season, but not the worst. Points positions were jumbled up a little bit and we have a great battle brewing for the 2011 Chase for the Championship.
Pos Driver BPts Points Ldr
1 Carl Edwards 12 416 0
2 Jimmie Johnson 11 392 -24
3 Kyle Busch 17 379 -37
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5 364 -52
5 Kevin Harvick 13 362 -54
6 Matt Kenseth 13 342 -74
7 Ryan Newman 8 340 -76
8 Clint Bowyer 9 336 -80
9 Kurt Busch 5 336 -80
10 Tony Stewart 6 328 -88
11 Mark Martin 2 324 -92
12 Greg Biffle 3 311 -105
13 Denny Hamlin 5 304 -112
14 Jeff Gordon 11 299 -117
15 Juan Pablo Montoya 5 296 -120
16 A J Allmendinger 3 295 -121
17 Paul Menard 4 291 -125
18 Kasey Kahne 5 286 -130
19 Martin Truex Jr. 8 282 -134
20 Marcos Ambrose 3 281 -135
Rain couldn't put a stop to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway in California for the Auto Club 400 this weekend. Kyle Busch led the most laps in dominating fashion, but at the end, it was Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson who took the checkered flag in first and second.
Kyle Busch was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver with any luck at the race, finishing third. Denny Hamlin went out early with a bad engine at lap 105 and Joey Logano finished on the lead lap in 25th place. Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five. Newman took over second in the point standings while Kenseth jumped to tenth in the points. Kevin Harvick's win vaulted him into the top ten in standings while Carl Edwards sixth place finish gave him the points lead.
There are mixed feelings about the way all the NASCAR rule changes have altered racing for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, but the general feeling is that most fans are happier this season than they have been. The new points system is shaking out, and most of the usual suspects are finding their way back to the top of the standings, but others are fighting a battle from the back of the pack after poor starts to the 2011 season.
The biggest surprise in the top ten in points is Paul Menard. For years Menard has moved through out the Sprint Cup garage on the coat tails of his family sponsorship. Menards has always been a big money sponsor and in the last few seasons has carried the young driver from Yates Racing to Richard Petty Motor Sports and finally to Richard Childress Racing for 2011. After eight years of Sprint Cup experience and a strong owner, Menard is making the most of his opportunities and racing smart and hard
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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series jumps back across the country to California before returning to the east coast for several races. The Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway will run on Sunday, March 27th. For some drivers this is one of the more important races of the year now that the 2011 owners points will take affect following the race. A bad finish or trouble on the track could amount to falling out of the top 35 for some.
For some of the under funded teams that start and park when necessary, that option is no longer open to them for this week. Five drivers hovering around 35th in the owner's points are separated by only 10 points. When every point matters, running a few laps and parking is out of the question
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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series swings back to the west coast for a run at the Auto Club Speedway for the 15th Annual Auto Club 400 Sunday, March 27, 2011. The race is schedule for a 3 p.m. start time. Juan Pablo Montoya continued his good start to the 2011 season by taking the pole with a speed of 184.653. Struggling Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton also qualified in the top ten and will start on the inside of the fourth row.
Qualifying for Sunday's race was not without surprises. Recent heavy rain in California caused some track weeping and delayed the cars from hitting the track on time. Sprint Cup point leader Kurt Busch could only muster enough speed for a middle of the field start in the 23rd starting position while Jimmie Johnson who has owned the last several races at Auto Club Speedway could only find enough speed for sixth row start
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The new NASCAR Sprint Cup Point system is still shaking out. There have been many surprises including Paul Menard sitting securely in the top ten as well as some drivers we would normally expect to see in the top ten or 15 falling so far behind, it looks as though their season could be in jeopardy. Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were expected to pull the weight for Richard Childress Racing, but Burton and Bowyer are sitting way back in 24th and 29th respectively. Jamie McMurray was expected to make a run for the chase after stacking up one of the highest points totals in the last ten races of 2010. McMurray sits way back in 26th.
Under NASCAR's old system a driver could make up around 150 points per race. Under the new system, a win along with leading the most laps will allow a driver to make up a maximum of 47 points. Under the new NASCAR point system, will we see some of the dramatic comebacks like the top three season comebacks under the old point system
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After the fourth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season the new point system is beginning to shake out. While some expected names are back on more familiar ground, some others are surprising the statisticians this season.
Surprise number one is Paul Menard. For years, it has been assumed that he bought his way in, but eight years of Sprint Cup experience and a solid team at Richard Childress Racing are paying off. Menard sits solidly in fifth in the points on the back of four top twenty finishes, including two top tens and one top five
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So I have got a big opinion on what went on just minutes prior to the Nationwide Series race at Bristol on Saturday. Jennifer Jo Cobb vacated her seat five minutes before the race citing that she was never told that owner Rick Russell planned to start and park the car after wrecking at Las Vegas.
A lot of her fans came to her defense and slammed 2nd Chance Motorsports calling the owners liars. The harassment was so bad that the race team had to shut down their Facebook page. There was also a rumor that the personal phone numbers of Russell were given away. Cobb said she didn't know who did that
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Jimmie Johnson finally came back to life this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City, but his race leading 164 laps were not enough to overcome Kyle Busch as Busch once again swept the racing action at Bristol.
Busch held off both pole leader Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson to win his 33rd race of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Career to tie Speedy Thompson on the all time wins list. The top five was rounded out by Roush Fenway driver Matt Kenseth and Richard Childress Racing's rising star Paul Menard who solidified his early season points luck with another top five. Menard also lead a career high 35 laps to come in at the top of the list for RCR, just ahead of team mate Kevin Harvick who found trouble when traffic piled up behind a Jamie McMurray mid race
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