A Future Begins At The Track of Dreams

The brickyard has long been known as the place of dreams. It didn’t change today. Today it saw a young man who has struggled and fought the naysayers to chase his dream. He never lost his faith and his family never lost their faith in him. A familiar face moved that dream forward last fall when Richard Childress added team number 4. That addition to the legendary RCR stable would set up today’s dream come true for Paul Menard. Because today Paul Menard made his dreams come true with a win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]Although Menard was a long shot to win. He did so with strategy and fuel mileage and consistency. He conserved when he had to conserve. He raced hard when he had to race hard. He over came the obstacles. He fought the temptation to be intimidated by the 24 of Jeff Gordon coming fast in his mirror. He stayed steady and he ran his line

He won one of the crown jewels of NASCAR, by being Paul Menard. He was quiet on the radio. He was composed in victory lane. His emotions were his to share and he choose to share them with the people who got him there not the people who were undoubtedly surprised that he arrived. “This one is for my Dad.” He said calmly. When asked about the 24 in his mirror, he said, “Beating Jeff Gordon at Indy is a big deal”.

It was a dream day for others as well. Teams that didn’t run well and haven’t run well, 6 in the top 10 had a below average day and yet the fuel strategy game fell their way. Teams like Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth all benefited from late race fuel strategy calls.

But the track of dreams also brings disappointments for some. It is inevitable after all. For everything that is gained something is lost. In this case it was a race that many who ran well all day ended up not a part of due to fuel mileage. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson commented on those who got good finishes because of the strategy, “You hate that running bad gives those guys an advantage.” Gustafson’s driver finished 2^nd after making up 11 seconds in 12 laps.

Tony Stewart led late only to have to stop for fuel. Jimmie Johnson who ran strong all day in the top 10 finished a disappointing 19^th. Dale Earnhardt Jr who took the lead on pit strategy after over heating with debris on the grill and led the race for 6 laps midway but finished 16^th. The list goes on.

The one resounding comment that was heard from every driver was, “Congratulations to Paul and Slugger Labbe. They worked hard for it. It’s good to see it come their way.”

The race itself was rather nondescript. It was intense for the final 19 laps or so. But it was not really exciting. The broadcast was well a bit over dramatized. The new anchor in the pit studio, Nicole Briscoe was over dramatic in her starring role debut. And the entire broadcast had the feel of theatrical production rather than a race.

The whole weekend was somewhat that way. The Camping World Trucks normally exciting and fun to watch ran a snoozer on perhaps their final showing at LOR/ORP. But it had its bright spot. We got to see a champion behave like a champion.

Truck Series winner Timothy Peter’s, however showed an extreme lack of judgment when he proceeded with his celebratory burn out while there were still two trucks on the front stretch. To his left, dead in the water and out of gas a few yards from the start finish line was Ricky Carmichael unable to go any further. To his left was Austin Dillon, trying to finish the race after contact with Todd Bodine. To continue with the burn out while putting others at risk was simply not acceptable. Granted he won the race and was entitled to his celebration but wait until the track is clear.

The incident between Todd Bodine and Austin Dillon on the final lap was troubling. Todd Bodine ran Austin Dillon into the wall. He made no bones about it and took complete responsibility. He said, “I didn’t see him. If I were him, I would be mad at me too.” Austin Dillon showed his roots when he said, “I don’t know what happened there. I have to talk to Todd first.” How refreshing! A Champion who acted like a champion and a potential champion that acted like a champion, is it any wonder the Camping World Truck Series is so much fun to watch. But fun or not it doesn’t change the fact that Todd’s spotter obviously didn’t tell him that Austin was there. Fortunately, Todd Bodine has exceptional truck control and was able to prevent the situation from becoming more serious. This incident was only the beginning of the “unusual” happenings at LOR/ORP that could have had serious results in terms of driver safety.

The Nationwide Series also ran at LOR/ORP. This race had perhaps the scariest incident of the year. Justin Allgaier lost a fuel line and the fire under the car grew with each passing lap. Crew Chief Jimmy Elledge called him in when he saw the fire on the monitor.

The fire itself was scary enough. But what Allgaier’s wife reported happened next on Twitter was terrifying. “I’m so angry w/ the firefighters… Got to car & told crew “not my job” so crew guy took fire extinguisher and it didn’t even work!” she reported. “I’m thankful Justin was okay and for the 32 guys for pulling him out of car!” She concluded.

So not only did the fire officials refuse to help Justin out of the car, they didn’t have fire fighting equipment that was functional to try to put out the fire. Surely, this incident did not get lost in all the confusion about lining up for the restart?

The young man’s life was at risk. The oil in the engine was reportedly over 300 degree’s. The front of the car was a rolling ball of fire. Yes he had on a fire retardant suit. But there was no way for anyone to know at that point that the engine would not blow up or that the fire was not much wider spread than it appeared and it appeared severe.

This situation was severe enough that NASCAR needs to step up to the plate and make their driver’s safety first initiative a mandatory requirement for all tracks. No driver should ever be at the mercy of help coming or not coming because of the location of the vehicle that is on fire. No driver should have to depend on his team or team mates to help out of a burning vehicle. It is simply unacceptable.

Regardless of what happened on the track with the restart, Justin Allgaier should have been the primary concern of everyone on pit road. His safety and his exit from that car should have been the foremost thought and focus for everyone, officials and safety workers. Every one of those people within the reach of a fire extinguisher or him should have been there immediately to assist him out of the vehicle and to put out the fire.

Officials wear fire suits too. Yes I understand that they are impartial. But saving or assisting a driver from harms way is part of their job. It’s why they monitor lug nuts and pit stall positioning. I will lay you odds that if Justin had been out of the box there would have been an official there to issue the penalty. Yet when he needed them to be proactive and help him, they were conspicuous by their absence.

The hype and the spectacle that is Indy has come to an end. The bricks have been kissed. The trophy has been awarded. And the haulers have begun their trek homeward. The new week has begun. Crew Chiefs have replaced their notes with Pocono and the work begins in earnest to find the way to victory lane again, this time at the tricky triangle. For some this will be a night of celebration and champagne. For some it will be a night of if only’s. But one constant remains, on nagging thought on the minds of every driver and team. How do we squeeze a gallon from a drop and when will we race for the checkers again. Only time will tell and then only if NASCAR will allow the secret to be told.

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Congratulations to Timothy Peters and his Red Horse Racing Team on their victory at LOR/ORP.

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski and his Penske Racing Team on their NNS victory.

And major congratulations to Paul Menard and his RCR team on their win of the Brickyard 400. It is always inspiring and uplifting to see someone make their dreams come true. Enjoy it Paul. You earned it. “Remember today, for it is the beginning of always. Today marks the start of a brave new future filled with all your dreams can hold.”

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.