Frustration Abounds At Phoenix
It’s been a rough day in North Texas. They told us it was coming and they were right.
The cable went out immediately which was a first. Thunder sounded faintly in the distance as the rain started. Then the satellite went out. Ultimately it didn’t matter because the power was next to take a powder as the thunder reached deafening levels and I ended up with a 76 pound dog named Elvis in my lap. Funny the things that come to mind when you’re sitting there and your world has basically reverted back to the early 1900’s.
The first thing I always think of when the power goes out is that it would be good time to run the vacuum only to realize I can’t. Then I thought, well it’s Tuesday and I really need to get started on my column. Of course, the desktop computer was out and the laptop has a battery life of zip, so what the heck I’ll tackle a job I only do twice a year since it requires a lot of time and a steady hand. But first I have to get the dog off my lap and he wasn’t having any of it.
That dog brought back some memories though. As I petted and soothed, I remembered my next-door neighbors kids who occasionally came over after school when they were younger. If they got home before Mom and a storm rolled in, they always knew they could come to our house and I’d tell them the same thing I was now telling the dog. “It’s OK. It’s just Davey and Neil, Fireball, Alan, Tiny and the Flock boys racin’ up in heaven, beatin’ and bangin’ and tradin’ paint with all the rest of the good ‘ol boys.” I’d get out the books and show them the old pictures and tell them about the great tracks. By the time the last one married and left home, Dale, Adam and Kenny had joined them, followed far too soon by my brother.
Unfortunately, Elvis wasn’t as easy to distract but the storm finally subsided and I was able to pry his elbows out of my rib cage, crawl out from under him and tackle the chore of washing my antique glass collection. Off in the distance though, I could hear the faint sounds of the next wave coming in. And I began thinking of just what I wanted to write about this week if I ever got the chance.
One good thing about my column coming out later in the week is that I’m able to peruse all of the race news that hits the first day or two following a race. The three most popular subjects this week concerned Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. I really didn’t want to jump into the Jeff Gordon/Earnhardt debate but knew I had to. Tony’s issues are easy for me respond to. Denny, well Denny I just felt a little sorry for.
With the thunder still a ways off and the rain down to a drizzle, I let the dogs out for quick run not knowing when they’d get another chance. Elvis didn’t want to go so I stepped out onto the patio and coaxed him out. Then I walked him around the yard because he didn’t want to leave the safety of the patio and that’s when I saw the “lake” that had formed in a pasture about a hundred yards from the house. A lake that only forms after heavy rains and experience told me it was heading directly for the house. Terrific.
About a third of the way through the antique glass the second series of storms hit with a vengeance so I grabbed the old yellow tablet, curled up in a chair I knew would detour Elvis and decided I’d write the old fashioned way. And because the day already seemed longer and more stressful than normal, I’d start with Denny Hamlin.
“But it took 300 laps to do it, and it shouldn’t have.” ~ Denny Hamlin on his great comeback
Denny Hamlin was as stout as stout could be until he got nailed for speeding down pit road on lap 99. He was forced to restart in 30th place and proceeded to show rookies and veterans alike just what racing is all about.
After plowing his way to a third place finish, he was asked for his opinion on the performance of the Car of Tomorrow and with great diplomacy said, “To be as nice as I can, it’s frustrating.” Denny would make a great politician.
Everyone said that this would be the first “real” test of the Car of Tomorrow but I didn’t see much difference from what we saw at Bristol or Martinsville. It is still unstable, goosey almost. During qualifying runs it had a tendency to break loose, wobble, even skip until the driver gets control of it again. The side draft seems just as disruptive to the CoT as that “other” car, the one now referred to as the car of yesterday, but at least we haven’t heard of any instances of smoldering foam at Phoenix. And despite the much heralded close finishes, the majority of the racing supports those detractors who never understood the finer nuances of the sport that made it more than just cars driving around in circles, and now that it what it has become. At some point, should the CoT become the only car model racing in the NASCAR Nextel Series, then perhaps they will finally give up the illusion and strip the cars of their Chevy, Ford, Dodge and Toyota decals. In other words, give up the ruse and slap “NASCAR” on the front bumper, wherever that actually is.
As to Phoenix being the first “real” test? Uh-uh, no way. The CoT has now had three tests that seemingly haven’t proved a whole lot, but the tracks aren’t tracks that I would call high-stress on a racecar. Bristol and Martinsville might have been a good test for the body construction if the drivers hadn’t been so worried about the delicate nature of the splitter and the wing. It still has a long way to go, and only ten more races before it meets its “first” real test. Talladega in the fall.
And I didn’t think Talladega could get any scarier.
“----------------------------------------“ ~ Tony Stewart on his finish at Phoenix
Tony Stewart declined interviews and left Phoenix International Raceway last Saturday night after not only posting a second place finish, but also after completing what has to be considered the slickest, most beautiful pass on a racetrack, ever.
After restarting the race with 20 laps to go, Tony Stewart sliced his way between the #24 of Jeff Gordon and the lapped car of Martin Truex, Jr. to retake the race lead. If a piece of paper could have slid between those cars I’d have been amazed. But Tony Stewart, as always made it look easy.
So as we’ve seen several times before, after leading the most laps and obviously being the most dominate car, some piddley thing costs Tony Stewart the win. Understandably this tends to irritate Tony Stewart and rather than vent to a microphone shoved in your face the minute you exit your car, Tony Stewart has learned to simply leave. The fact that he placed third and according to the suits is required to face the media firing squad, er, press conference afterward, well you’d think they would have learned by now that if Tony Stewart doesn’t care to talk, then you should consider yourself lucky. But no, they turn it into fodder and revert to the tired line that Tony Stewart is petulant and uncooperative. Besides, this isn’t the first time it’s happened and I doubt it will be the last. Right or wrong, Tony Stewart is Tony Stewart and we’re lucky to have him so give it up already.
Of course, if they had paid closer attention to the comment Tony made right before he went out to qualify perhaps his actions wouldn’t have come as such a surprise. I’ll have to paraphrase it as I didn’t get it verbatim, but when he was asked about his “retirement” comment, his off the cuff response was something to the effect that maybe NASCAR should make racing fun again.
There are probably more than a few fans that would agree with him.
The Great Debate ~ Jeff Gordon and “the flag”
I sifted through the columns, articles, blogs and comments extensively in order to gain incite as to how people felt when Jeff Gordon rounded PIR Saturday celebrating his victory while flying the colors of Dale Earnhardt. Oddly it came down to three definitive groups. Those who thought it was a wonderful gesture on Jeff Gordon’s part, those who thought it was a deplorable act of conceit by Jeff Gordon, and those who finally decided that if it was OK with Dale, Jr., then it was OK with them. Well, that’s what makes this country so great. We’re all entitled to our opinions.
But I’ll admit, when they radioed Jeff and said they had a flag for him, I knew. I just knew and started saying, “Oh, no. Oh, no, no no.” It bothered me, but strangely I wasn’t sure why. Then upon seeing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leaning into Jeff’s car and obviously not only congratulating Jeff but thanking him as well, though it made me feel a bit better, I still for some reason didn’t trust the motive behind it. But I just wasn’t sure why.
Then I read the first line in a column written on Sunday by Mike Harris for the Associated Press. It states, “The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team has kept a flag bearing the late Dale Earnhardt’s famed No. 3 in its hauler since last July, just awaiting Jeff Gordon’s next NASCAR Nextel Cup Win.” Nine months that flag has been in that hauler. Waiting. Just waiting. Waiting for that inevitable time when it will be flown as a symbol to all, that a great achievement by one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers had been matched. That, in any definition, is pre-meditated. I realized that I wasn’t surprised by what Jeff Gordon did, and that’s why I think it disturbed me the way it did.
I’ve never been a big fan of Jeff Gordon, but I’ve always respected his talent. There is no question that he will go down in history as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers. But I feel his judgment in this instance was flawed. It would have been a greater tribute to the man he says he misses racing even today, to have simply acknowledged the accomplishment, and gone on to discuss how he won the race.
After all, this was simply tying Earnhardt’s race wins, not exceeding them. I feel, had he chosen to wait and show the same respect after win number 77, the impact of the moment would have made everyone feel a bit more comfortable and many of those who are not Jeff Gordon fans would have perhaps taken it purely as a tribute to Dale. This way Jeff Gordon’s shares the podium with a man no longer able to compete with him.
Between the two, the one who showed the very essence of class in this situation was Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Once again, that didn’t surprise me either.
