Excitement, thy name is sure not Fontana. Not usually. There is a reason the idea to bring the Cup folks out to the Auto Club Speedway was abandoned after just seven seasons. It is bad enough to be a yawner on television, but when that is the perception live and in person, you have got a problem.
The damndest thing happened right after I submitted this for publication. The penalties came down after Las Vegas. Kevin Harvick’s team got hit. Hard. Talk about having to go back to the drawing..er..keyboard.
If you missed the action from Las Vegas, allow me to bring you up to date. If you read my column from last week regarding Atlanta, consider yourself fully informed. Enjoy your day.
Kyle Larson, driving his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Chevy, brought home the prize in the Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He dominated the field and would lead the most laps, 142-of-200, before finally capturing the checkered flag.
Ryan Blaney topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford with a time of 28.963 and a speed of 186.445 mph.
The general consensus is that Atlanta was a boring race. I disagree. Let me share as to why. There is no debate that Kevin Harvick had the best car, that based on performance his was the auto that should have won. However, when drama was needed we had weather and strategy apparently conspiring to beat him. Would it rain? Would Denny Hamlin be in front at the right time when the heavens opened up?
36. Damn, and I was so looking forward to saying nothing but positive things this season. 36. That is the number of entries slated to run at Atlanta on Sunday. 36. The last time we had that small a field, it was 1996 in Martinsville. Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon were the race winners at that venue. 36.
