NEMECHEK GETS A WELL-DESERVED WIN

Probably the person who most deserved to win a race took the
checkers first today at New Hampshire.  Joe Nemechek, who’s looking for a ride next
season, got his career first win in the Winston Cup Series.

That makes two weeks in a row we’ve had first-time winners. I have
to say, the change is refreshing.

With all due respect to Nemechek, the fans were cheated with the
finish under yellow. In all likelyhood, if NASCAR had a green/white/checker rule for
Winston Cup, Nemechek would have won it anyway.  But NASCAR’s insistance on only
running the number of laps advertised led to another win under caution.  I’m sure
Nemechek would rather have won it under green and removed all doubts about who earned the
win.

DW GETS THE SHAFT

On another subject, NASCAR has basically eliminated the Past
Champion’s provisional, as we saw when Darrell Waltrip was .005 seconds off in his
qualifying speed. 

When they created the Past Champion’s provisional, everyone called
it "the Richard Petty" rule.  That’s because NASCAR, at the time,
understood how much the sport needed it. But last year, Waltrip was awarded the
provisional quite a few times.

That led the press to start hounding Waltrip and NASCAR, asking why
he should be getting special treatment just because he was a past champion.  The
press even started saying that Waltrip was "taking" the provisional, which was
out and out wrong. Waltrip was eligible for it, and because of that, NASCAR granted
it to him.

But NASCAR, in some misguided effort to appease the press, changed
the rule this year. Yeah, they still technically have the past champion’s provisional, but
it’s treated really more like a regular one. If you’re outside the top 25 in points, then
that provisional goes against the allocation that NASCAR grants you at the beginning and
at various times of the year.

And this same press has still hounded Waltrip about the
provisionals. Quotes he made about the provisional were taken out of context and basically
used against him in "hit" pieces. Out of frustration, Waltrip basically said
that he wished they’d do away with all provisionals entirely. The press looked at this and
said "oh, you’ve used all these provisionals and now you want to deny them to
everyone."

Mark my words: the first time Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Dale
Earnhardt, or even Bill Elliott misses a race because NASCAR has eliminated the champ’s
provisional, you’ll hear the roar of the fans from three states away…especially if it’s
Dave Marcis who gets the spot.