Kansas is not as sexy as Talladega, I admit. It is not a Daytona, a Darlington, and it is no Indianapolis. I think having the race named after a series of sponsors instead of seeking a real identity might have something to do with that. Still, some big names have been among the 16 winners there since they first started up the engines back in 2001.
Gordon ran up front much of the day at Talladega before he was collected in the “Big One” on lap 137. He finished 39th, his worst finish of the year, 32 laps down, but held on to the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings.
There are things in life that just irritate a person. There are calls for me to worry about man-made global warming when I got snow falling outside in the month of May. There are three hours of television devoted to a two-minute horse race. There are entertaining races from Talladega, with big names leading, big names wrecking, only to have the thing won by Denny Hamlin.
From the wild knock out qualifying that netted Brian Scott the pole position to the crazy green-white-checkered race finish, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 45th annual Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Gordon led 173 of 400 laps at Richmond, but his quest for his first win of the season fell short. He finished second behind Joey Logano after a spirited four-car battle for the win during the final laps. Gordons leads the Sprint Cup points standings, five ahead of Matt Kenseth.
There is a reason we read the entire book, rather than rely totally on the CliffsNotes version. For example, the shortened description of Saturday night’s Southern 500 action at Darlington would read that Kevin Harvick dominated and went on to win his second of the season.
There’s nothing like a weekend at Darlington Raceway to remind you why you love racing. The excitement begins to build as you drive through the tunnel. As you step out of your car and gaze out at the grandstands, your mind begins to fill with the memories of all that has gone before and the anticipation of things to come.
