Sofa Sideline – The Mystery of Bristol
One does not have to look far to see what creates the magic
surrounding this great event. It is obviously not the favorite race track for
some of the drivers, but for the fans it’s "the one!" What brings it
alive is the crowd. I don’t think there is a more energetic, alive bunch out
there. From the friendly "booing" of the backstretch crowd for messing
up the wave, to the wildly, delirious cheers for the driver of the number 8 car,
everyone is just plain having fun!! What a spectacular sight it is to see
thousands of camera flashes going off all at once as the cars roll onto the
track. Pre-race I saw one guy take a picture of a giant shopping cart out on the
track, and I thought why would you want a picture of that. The Clydesdales yes,
but the cart? But then, its part of the race experience at Bristol, so why not.
Sitting right in front of me had to be one of the most
fanatical Tony Stewart fans I have ever seen. Needless to say, her night was
made. Tony took the lead with 67 laps to go, with a good, clean pass coming off
the second turn. I’m sure everyone was waiting for him to "dump"
Gordon, but Tony just worked him a few laps, and took him easily. Harvick came
on at the end, but it never looked like he had enough to overtake Stewart.
Rounding out the top five were Gordon 3rd, Rudd 4th, and
Wallace 5th.
This was one of those Bristol nights where there seemed to be
an abundance of cautions – 16 in all. The frustrations and concerns of some of
the crew chiefs and drivers is evidenced by the following quote heard over the
radio, "hard tires, one lane, boot ‘em or be booted" is the name of
the game. Good clean passes are hard to come by, so a little nudge is always the
easiest route. Unfortunately it takes its toll as shown by the large number of
cautions. It took quite awhile for the race to settle down, but then as always
the case, toward the end of the race, it starts up again. It was a shame to
watch Johnny Benson get sent sailing by Bodine, or Ricky Craven suddenly lose it
and hit the back stretch retaining wall?? And the reflexes and reaction time of
Robert Pressley left a lot to be desired.
I think Kurt Busch is one of the rising stars, but it didn’t
appear he had a handle on the car all night. He was in and out of the pits, and
every time someone had to pass him, you cringed not knowing what might happen
– it was pretty hairy. John Andretti – same thing??
And what was it that happened after the checkered, when all
you saw was Ricky Rudd hitting the wall, and Dale Jarrett doing a spin to avoid
hitting his teammate? Apparently Rusty Wallace (due to brake problem) got into
Rudd and he hit the wall. Needless to say it was a pretty eventful night.
One interesting note: Pre-race, tossup as to who received the
most "booing" from the crowd – Stewart or Gordon; post-race an awful
lot of cheers for Tony Stewart. My, my we are a fickle bunch – but then that’s
all part of the sport.
Other notes:
Congratulations go to Kevin Harvick for a spectacular
weekend. After being two laps down in the Busch series race on Friday night, he
came back to win, and he finished second in the cup race on Saturday night. What
a great year, and what a future. You may rival Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart one
day (soon)!
Also, congratulations go out to Greg Biffle for a great win
in the Craftsman Truck Series on Sunday. (I think he needed that one.)
A few words about the Earnhardt report – I’ve read both
positive and negative assessments from the many journalists out there, and from
the "lay person’s" perspective, I thought that NASCAR did a good job
in attempting to provide an explanation of what happened. For me personally,
seeing the blood on the belt and in photos of the seat area inside the car, it
just brought it all home – Dale’s gone. That’s all I kept thinking. And
then the video of Johnny Benson’s hit and his head just snapping back brought
on a reality check. These guys put their lives on the line every week for our
entertainment.
There’s a passion that comes with racing – the drivers
love it and the fans love ‘em for it. So, NASCAR and everyone involved – let’s
continue to strive to do everything possible to make these drivers as safe as we
can. Tony – please wear some type of head and neck restraint! No one is
invincible.
On tap for this weekend is Darlington – should be a great
race!
That’s it.