The Final Word – Indianapolis was the best darn broadcast of the year

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August 1, 2011

There are times when everything just comes together. Sunday was one of those times, as ESPN began their portion of the season with the best broadcast of the year. They had a track that lent itself to a majestic visual display, cameras located in positions that presented the action in a most appealing and thrilling fashion, and a result that kept you watching to the final lap. In short, the Brickyard 400 was as good as it gets.

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”257″][/media-credit]Talent is good, but daddy’s money is pretty good, too. It gave Paul Menard a leg up in getting his racing career underway, but that did not come with any measure of respect from the fans. After Sunday’s victory, his first in Sprint Cup, on that particular track, the lad has finally arrived. Ham and eggers don’t win at Indianapolis, and now he sits in one of the wildcard positions for the Chase. Right at this moment, life is pretty darn good for Paul Menard.

Good finish to the event, thanks to a late charge by Jeff Gordon who picked his way through the field to wind up second. It was good to see both Regan Smith and Jamie McMurray right behind to provide each with a strong result. Dale Earnhardt Jr is now 10th in the standings, with a 19-point cushion over Denny Hamlin, who with a win looks very strong to wind up claiming that other wildcard spot.

Did anyone hear Rusty Wallace on Sunday? Me neither. 15 minutes away, and a day before, he was part of that horrid Nationwide broadcast from Lucas Oil Raceway. The venue and the announcers, along with camera location, can and do make a difference. As much as I like ole D.W. and the team of Petty and Dallenbach, I liked what I heard from Allen Bestwick, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett. Now I’m trying to think of when the last time was I had anything good to say about the ESPN coverage. I think the answer is…never.

From Indianapolis the boys venture east to Pocono, a track that is a rounded corner triangle that I always believed was configured in a way that should provide more entertaining racing on television than it has. Maybe the good folks at ESPN have finally discovered how to present the action in a fashion that will remind us of what we saw this past weekend. It is a venue that has had nothing but A-list winners for more than a decade. It is a list that includes such names as Gordon, Biffle, Hamlin, Stewart, Edwards, and Johnson.

While Edwards, Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and the Busch brothers look comfortable to make the Chase, there are others still digging to make sure they are there at the end. There are no shortage of story lines to follow, so there are plenty of reasons for hard core fans to be watching. The secret now is to present something on television that causes even the more pedestrian among us to stop and give it a look. Enjoy the week.

Agreeing With Dale Jr.; The speedway was made for Indycars

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SM Staff

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August 1, 2011

Once again, NASCAR went to the hollowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and I find myself agreeing with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. According to Twitter feeds during the race, Earnhardt said over his team radio that the speedway was made for Indycars. Of course, Earnhardt was talking about pit road, but his observation rings true. The great Indianapolis Motor Speedway is not a stock car track.

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]For most of the day, fans must have fought sleep. While the great Indianapolis 500 is a spectacle not to be missed, the Brickyard 400 is a snoozer. It came down to a fuel mileage race. Wow, we get that at Michigan and Pocono. How nice. And we had a surprise winner again. Of course, the class of the field didn’t win, and the so-called aero push led to runaway leaders, so there wasn’t much excitement. It was nice to see Paul Menard finally win a race, but many fans felt like Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth had the best cars, or did they?

Just like at Darlington (and many other venues this year), fuel mileage was king. If your car was able to stretch fuel and not pit as the laps ran down, you could win. Put Mr. Menard in that category. And to make things worse, we get to go to Pocono next. Why? It is woefully obvious to me that stock cars need to run at tracks with banking. It’s just the way things should be. Sure, Martinsville isn’t banked so much (exactly the same 12 degrees as Indy), but its small size welcomes close racing. Not so at Indy .

The attendance tells the story. NASCAR and IMS seemed to be happy that attendance only dipped 2,000 from last year. The place holds 257.000 people and it was only about 54% full (NASCAR’s estimate of 138.000 was probably generous). You could see the empty seats all around the speedway. So the question is why does NASCAR continue to run this race.

It was a great thrill, and probably still is, for the NASCAR drivers to run at Indy. Many had dreamed of running there and have to be a rush to do so once a year in a stock car. Unfortunately, the show isn’t so great. Much like the two road races run every year, the races just don’t fit in what stock car racing is. In the effort to make NASCAR racing a national sport, we go to tracks that just aren’t suited for stock cars. While places like Darlington, Rockingham, and North Wilkesboro were suited for this brand of racing, they were pushed aside to go into California, Chicago, New Hampshire, and other places that don’t fit the norm. It’s like playing football in Wrigley Field. Something’s wrong with it all.

And yet we continue and will continue for the foreseeable future. As attendance continues to decline in places where stock car racing is only partially appreciated, the end game will eventually come. It’s just a matter of time. But what Dale, Jr. said today is known by most everyone competing. Stock car racing needs banking and a wide pit lane. And someday, everyone will get the message. Maybe.