Talladega was sweet. That was the kind of action that captured my attention as a kid, watching Wide World of Sports. As Jim McKay so iconically put it all those years ago, “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition.” That was Sunday at Talladega.
Welcome to Talladega, the most entertaining race track in NASCAR. We watch something you and I haven’t got the guts to do, or just maybe we have enough brains not to. Fender to fender, side by side at 200 mph, and you sit in wonder that they have not wrecked yet. When they do wreck, something considered more of an eventuality than anything else, it often is spectacular.
We truly are in a sweet spot in the NASCAR schedule. Last Sunday (and Monday) it was Bristol. This Saturday night they race at Richmond. We conclude April with the test that is Talladega. Action good enough to convince anyone who enjoys pure entertainment to become attracted to the sport.
Kyle Busch: Busch overtook Kyle Larson late to win the Food City 500, which concluded on Monday due to weather delays. Busch led 200 laps and picked up his second consecutive win.
Texas. That may have been the worst NASCAR race I ever watched. If not, I hope I never remember a worse one. Indianapolis in 2008 might challenge it, but that was due to having to throw out a caution every 10 laps to prevent the damn tires from exploding.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick started second and sported the best car for much of the day. But two pit road incidents, a loose lug nut and a penalty for too many crewman over the wall, cost him the win. He still finished second and is fourth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.
If you are going to watch ‘em race in Texas, you better have a PVR in your hand. My God, that was boring. I mean, with more than half the field lapped in the opening segment and more than 12 seconds between first and second, we were sure not talking about racing wheel to wheel.
A week off with no races to forecast or summarize. Funny, I did not get the shakes or suffer any other negative reactions. That probably is not a good thing for NASCAR.
Martinsville, Virginia, was a place where a fan could go and learn a few things. First of all, NASCAR is not for snowflakes. Too many of them, and they have to move the race to Monday, as they did last week.
