Having to watch the Coca-Cola 600 on FOX, I felt as though I had been put under sedation….oh wait…no, I felt as though I sat through 3 1/2 hours of golf…darn it…. I’m getting my television programming all mixed up!
Everyone’s heard it before after a bad basketball, football or baseball game… “That game sucked!” Well, who hasn’t said, at times, “that race sucked!!” Don’t get me wrong – I love NASCAR racing; This just happened to be a case of a “boring” race in my opinion, and bad coverage didn’t help.
I missed not being able to talk with my followers/FB friends with “Oh my gosh! Did you see that move?” or Did you see all the bumping and banging going on….AWESOME!!!” or “Did you see that save?” Unfortunately, these outbursts have riddled down to the following – which I witnessed on Facebook and Twitter – from race fans:
“….green flag pit stops again??!!!!”
“Zzzzzzz…….”
“…wish someone would throw a boulder out onto the track…”
“If they don’t start having more cautions I am turning to bowling…”
“…got to stay awake for this boring mess of a race…”
“…another commercial?????”
Status update on Racingal’s FB Fan Page: “This Coca-Cola 600 is going to be a long race tonight folks! It’s all about endurance…” Comment by fan: “Are you talking about the drivers or those of us watching at home?”
Instead I sat there, as well as everyone else watching the race, and listened to good ‘ole DW (bless his heart) praise Danica Patrick on well she slaps the wall, how much of a learning experience this is for her and how well she can handle that car… all while being three laps down, running in P30…blah, blah, blah. Even worse, we continue to hear how Hendrick Motorsports had Brad Paisley perform in concert just for them once they reached that 200th Victory. Did you know that? Brad Paisley performed distinctly for Hendrick Motorsports. Ok…it’s burned into my memory for years to come. Thanks, DW.
Someone at FOX needs to gather informative, statistical information for our beloved commentators to have on hand so they have facts about drivers in which they can hold a discussion. They search for things, grabbing at anything they can think of, even repeating information (Hey, did you know Brad Paisley performed distinctly for Hendrick Motorsports?) only because there is no action on the track…Hey, did you see how well Danica handled herself when she slapped the wall?…. Now would be a great time to talk about teams, drivers in need of sponsorships, how the driver got into racing, etc. There is so much more the broadcasters can cover, but for some odd reason, they just refuse to do so…. and I just don’t get it! Maybe because every little detail they speak of needs to have a sponsor? (This portion of Racingal.com’s blog is sponsored by Pepto Bismol, used to treat diarrhea, heartburn, and upset stomach in adults and children 12 years of age and older.)
Ok, I think I got my point across….
The most exciting action I saw was on pit road when Brad Keselowski clipped Tony Stewart and spun him. Tony then spins the car around and does a sideways burnout to get his car back into his pit box. That, my friend, was some true dirt racing abilities shining through. I thought for sure that would have been called the “Move of the Race” from FOX, but instead it went to the No. 48 pit crew gasman for holding onto the gas can before Jimmie drove off with it. Granted – there were 31 lead changes throughout the race, but is that all that’s left to the excitement now?
Even as the race went on, Brad Keselowski’s spotter started singing to the driver….
As the theme for this season’s NASCAR racing is all about setting records, – the race ended in a record three hours, 51 minutes, 14 seconds at a race-record average speed of 155.687 mph. Race winner Kasey Kahne won by 4.295 seconds ahead of second place finisher Denny Hamlin. In the world of racing….that’s a big distance between two cars. There were only nine cars on lead lap – and no cautions for collisions. Out of the five cautions, four were for debris. Travis Kvapil’s contact with the Turn 4 wall on Lap 170 was he only caution labeled as an accident.
Has NASCAR developed the perfect aero package? As I see it the cars just might be TOO equal. They might be running the same speed or can’t get enough momentum going to pass. The downforce is greater now, and the drivers are able to handle the cars better. Or is it that the crew chiefs are getting smarter? Have the drivers just become better drivers and do a lot more of give and take than they use to? Or are the drivers being cautious as not to wreck and take a major hit in the point standings?
With that said, let’s not forget that all four Cup manufacturers will introduce new racecars for the 2013.
It’s going to be a long “wait and see” until then.
Up next, NASCAR heads to the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway.
