Atlanta RacinDeals

EXCITING RACING: Spring Atlanta in
2000 and 2001 prove the point that an otherwise boring race can be salvaged by
an exciting last 20 laps. If the last few laps are as exciting as those we saw
Sunday, then no one will remember the follow-the-leader going-in-circles racing
that’s been  happening in the first 90% of the race.

NUMEROLOGY: If you’re into that
sort of thing, the number 3 was all over the place in Atlanta.  Third
Winston Cup start, third race since Dale Earnhardt died, third lap under caution
for the third race in a row, etc.

SAINT DALE: Come on folks… if
people are praying to Dale Earnhardt, something is major wrong. I know he was a
great race car driver, but as far as I know, there’s only one Person in the
history of the world Who answers prayers.

It still disturbs me that people are
elevating Earnhardt to "god" status.

TEAM ORDERS: Hey Jerry? Do you know
now who’s the top driver at Hendrick Motorsports? If you’re gonna throw the
race, at least throw it a little more convincingly.

THE PHOTOS: More and more
newspapers and journalism organizations are joining in the so-called "First
Amendment" argument over the autopsy photos of Dale Earnhardt. In their
quest for a Pulitizer Prize (not to mention newspaper sales), the Orlando paper
that started this mess continues to insist that an "independent" review of the
autopsy is needed.

OK. If that’s true, then an independent
forensic pathologist should be found, not one paid for by the Orlando newspaper.
Their doctor certainly isn’t independent if they’ve retained his services. If
anyone should be asking for an independent review of the autopsy, it should be
the Earnhardt family.

FEAST TO FAMINE: Last year, the
Winston Cup drivers took up more than their share of spots in the Busch Series.
This year, the Series needs those drivers just to fill the fields.

What happened? Part of it could be a
result of so many Cup drivers knocking out Busch drivers last year.  When
high-dollar teams are knocking out smaller dollar teams, and costing them
sponsorship dollars, you don’t have to be a CPA to figure out that
the numbers are eventually going to go against those smaller teams.

NASCAR didn’t help things either when they
increased the compression ratio of Busch Series engines this year. With that
increase, the cost of engines skyrocketed, again, knocking out the smaller
teams.

HANS ME THE MONEY: Boy, there’s
nothing like a fatality to bring in the money. The maker of the HANS collar has
been raking in the dough since mid-February. I’m not sure why his device is
getting all the press, as opposed to Simpson’s method of accomplishing the same
thing, only without the bulk. The media says that Matt Kenseth didn’t have any
problems getting out of his car Sunday, and I guess since he did get out of the
car without burning alive, that’s true to a certain extent. But I’ve seen
drivers get out of burning cars a lot faster than that.

BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A SEAT?: I’m
surprised the Bruton Smith didn’t make sure that the front stretch grandstands
were sold out before opening up the rest of the seats.  It has to be embarrassing
for a promoter and NASCAR to show that many empty seats at the start of a race.