Twisted Sheet Metal and How A Race Should End
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I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and as always, a cordial “Howdy” to our assigned
reader of NASCAR stuff. Did we all have fun at Daytona this past weekend? If
nothing else, having Friday and Saturday night races made for a very relaxing
Sunday. Ah, but now it is Monday and we’re still doing the Holiday thing. I do
wish everyone a very Happy Independence Day, so please allow me to toss in a
little note from John Adams, our second President, back in what we now refer to
as Revolutionary times. Sadly, I doubt that many of you reading today even
begin to understand what the American Revolution was all about and how you and
I benefit greatly from it today. Click on the picture to enlarge.
And
with that, we’ll end today’s lecture and talk about racing… which is not what
the 4th of July is all about. As always, I thought that Daytona
International Speedway did a very nice job of not only promoting patriotism,
but honoring this nation’s most recent recipients of the Medal of Honor… or the
Congressional Medal of Honor as most call it, though I was informed that is a
misnomer. Either way, those folks have done things that I’ll never do and have
been rewarded with the highest honor bestowed by our government and to my mind,
that’s what matters… not what we opt to call the medal.
NASCAR
has from its inception been a staunch advocate of patriotism, and in these
troubled times, it’s nice to see that remains the case. One of these days, I’ll
start a little war of my own and we’ll discuss that “other flag” that is no
longer supposed to be flown… but not today. Today it’s the Stars and Stripes
Forever, and thank you Mr. Sousa for that inspiring march!
This weekend’s races were both laden with wrecks, as all restrictor plate
races are prone to be, but this year, not a single car made a trip into the
catch fence or Heaven forbid, the grandstands. Instead, at the end of the races
on both Friday night and Saturday night, there was a pile of jagged and torn
sheet-metal and no-longer-functional engines, measuring well into the 8-figure
multi-million dollar range. To the best of my knowledge, all drivers came away
unscathed… this time… and the team owners get to pay the bills for all the
damage. My only thought there, since NASCAR refuses to even consider doing away
with restrictor plates even though they have proven for almost 30 years to be
totally ineffective at either slowing or grounding the cars, would be to have
NASCAR pay for all the damage incurred on the plate tracks. That seems fair to
me. How about it Brian?
Gentle
readers, that was just a bit of a digression from what I came to talk with you
about today, but that happens when they race on the big tracks. Just about
everyone reading this already knows my thoughts and opinions on plate racing,
yet I always feel the need to reinforce them whenever the opportunity arises.
Moving
right along, did everyone enjoy the ending of Friday night’s Xfinity race? For
those that missed it, or preferred to forget, I’ll enlighten or remind you. As
noted, it was a wreck-strewn race at best, with 8 cautions in its 103-lap
extended distance. That averages out to just over 12 laps run between cautions.
The penultimate yellow flag waved on lap 98, and every race fan knows what that
means in NASCAR… Green-White-Checkers. (That’s 2 laps, not 3 as too many assume
without counting) The janitorial crew spent almost 4 laps cleaning up the most
recent mess, and the green waved again on lap 102.
The
cars completed that lap and took the white flag… and here’s where it got messy.
Well behind the leaders, someone spun out on the backstretch and soon attracted
a lot of company, as generally will happen in a plate race. The leaders were
within sight of the checkers and no yellow had waved… and then, there it was.
Yellow ended the race… leaders Aric Almirola and Justin Allgaier ran neck and
neck, or would have if they were riding horses, all the way to the finish.
Remember, the wreck was on the backstretch and the race for the win is to the
checkered flag in the frontstretch tri-oval.
NASCAR
explained that when the wreck grew in proportion, they were afraid they might
have to roll emergency equipment to the scene and to do so, cars on the track
must be slowed. This brought about a very sad ending to the race, and it’s the
second time we’ve seen this exact drama play out in the Xfinity ranks this
year. The “crowd” at the track and the viewers at home all watched a great race
to the checkered flag, saw that Justin Allgaier crossed the line first and in
most minds, that was the end of the race.
NASCAR
however, had a different thought. The way the rule is written, when the yellow
comes out… even on the last lap of the race… the field is “frozen” in time at
that point. It looks good on paper, but for practical purposes, this scribe
will always maintain that actually freezing a multi-car field at a precise
second in time is impossible. Too many variables enter into the equation, and they
are all dependent upon human intervention. In this case, the caution, if at all
necessary, was put out far too long after the wreck to do much but confuse both
fans and drivers. The leaders of the race were already streaking to the
“start/finish” line and there were absolutely no obstructions between them and
it. As noted, at the line, it was Allgaier just ahead of Almirola, yet in the
end, the win was given to Almirola on the strength of a “frozen field.”
Author’s note: 12 years ago, in
May of 2004, your scribe wrote a column for Insider Racing News entitled “Fresh
Tomatoes and Fields Should Not be Frozen.” The
following is one short paragraph from that article, describing my feelings on
“freezing the field.” Nothing has happened in the intervening years to change
my mind.
“Perhaps that
scenario might work if there were some divine intervention that was able to
establish the precise second that all action on the field ceases to count, but
alas, God seems to be busy elsewhere and probably cares very little about who
is leading whom at some immeasurable point in time.”
Rather
than go through the machinations of checking unseen and possibly mythical
scoring loops, photo evidence, yada, yada, yada, there is a much simpler way to
handle this problem when it occurs. In the circumstances of Friday night’s race
or any others that present a like situation, just revert to “Saturday night
rules...” go back to the last GREEN FLAG LAP! There you have a definitive
placement at the start/finish line. Never mind trying to convince the world
that one of two or even three drivers was the winner at some obscure spot on
the track. Let the "start/finish" line live up to its name and make
the call for you. (ASA used to have a rule that called for 5 consecutive green
laps before a race could end, but they didn’t race on giant tracks with
restrictor plates. I can see all manner of problems arising from that idea.)
In all
honesty, I had to look up who was ahead at the last green flag lap. I guess it was
David Ragan, but it doesn't matter. Whoever led the last green flag lap (which
in this case would have been the lap ending with the white flag, lap 102)
should have been the winner on Friday night... no question in my mind. As it
is, there are too many questions in too many minds. That is not the way to run
or end a race in what purports to be an "elite" racing series. I
can't cite another sanctioning body that decides winning and losing in such an
arbitrary way. I felt that way back in 2004 when we first saw this, and I feel
that way today. I know I'm not alone in that, but sadly, no one that matters
will listen or care. It is what it is... so tell me, why are there so many
empty seats these days that even creative coloring can't hide them?
That
little guitar means it’s time now for our Classic Country Closeout. (And the
crowd goes wild)
First
up, we have another request from my young protégé, Jeremiah Thalheimer. The
next race he’ll be working is in Idaho, so he wanted to hear a song… Classic
Country yet… about Idaho. Um… DUH! I did find a great old song, done by Ed
Bruce and filmed in Idaho. Here is “The Last Cowboy Song.” I do have an
idea though. How about Jeremiah writes more articles and he can play his own
songs? Sounds like a plan to me.
As long
as we started with a cowboy song, I guess we’ll stay there. Surely, there’s
nothing more Classic in Country Music than the songs of cowboys in the old
West. The one I’ve chosen next is an old saw, sung here by Doc Watson. Here is “When
the Work’s All Done this Fall.”
As
usual, there is no lack of songs about this week’s topic. The problem is
deciding which ones to play and what artist should perform that choice. “Little
Joe the Wrangler” has been heard by anyone that ever listened to
Country, and it’s been sung by so many good singers it’s hard to choose, but
the version by the Sons of the Pioneers is excellent and it’s Bob Nolan at his
best.
This
song has been done by many great artists, and in truth, this wasn’t the biggest
hit release of “Shifting Whispering Sands.” That honor belonged to Rusty
Draper, but this one by Jim Reeves has always been my favorite. Please enjoy…
We just
can’t listen to songs of the old West and not hear one from Tex Ritter. This is
one I have on his “Sing Cowboy Sing” album. (The original release) It’s always
good to go out with a happy song, and I think even those not inclined toward
Classic Country will enjoy Tex’ version (The only version ever worth listening
to) of “Jingle, Jangle, Jingle.”
(Snuck
an extra in here. Jim won’t notice. It’s a live performance of “Cattle
Call” by Eddy Arnold. Shhh!!)
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay
