Perhaps the biggest dance in the Chase, Talladega, will get underway tomorrow in what could be the most eventful race of the season. You always hear sports writing types referring to a big playoff event as the “big dance” and I am quite sure there are many in NASCAR Nation who mark this date on their calendar. It’s a mixture of Mardi Gras, Super Bowl The Final Four and a little bit of the Fear Factor mixed together. It’s a HUGE party and there’ll be a lot of dancin’ (as they say in these parts) goin’ on.
“The Talladega Flip.” Everyone will be keeping their eyes out for the “Big One.” As I mentioned earlier this week, this track is famous for huge wrecks. Between restrictor plates slowing cars down, and the “Car of Tomorrow” equalizing drivers, the potential for there to be large packs of drivers and one mistake “collecting” several at one time is great. The difference is we’ll be less likely to worry about one of them getting seriously hurt.
“The Foreign Foxtrot.” Canadien-born Jacques Villanueve makes his Nextel Cup debut tomorrow, to the chagrin of many drivers and fans. Oh, nobody really dislikes the guy like they might Colombian driver Juan Montoya, they just question the wisdom of the former open-wheel champ making his maiden voyage here. Running here will qualify Villanueve to apply to run at Daytona, so he has to start here at a restrictor plate race. Scotland’s own Dario Franchitti debuted in an ARCA event Friday night. This is also Toyota’s first year at Talladega, and did they ever make a big noise today with four, count ‘em four (!) Toyota drivers qualifying for the top five spots in the line-up.
“The Monster Mash.” Did I mention there’d be lot of wreckin’? A big factor will be all these drivers out there with differing race agendas. Chase drivers Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart (who’s finished 2nd 8 times here), and Jeff Burton would love to put the sad memories of Kansas behind them with a win or solid finish here. These are just three of twelve drivers vying for the great Nextel Cup. Then you have another collection of drivers who are playing out the string with their old teams and will be looking for employment next year. Tony Raines is one journeyman driver who comes to mind, and then there’s others such as David Stremme (who may be taking the #10 car away from Scott Riggs) and there are rumors Jeff Green will be forced to move on. Speaking of Scott Riggs, his chances fo showing this week were cut off by his failure to qualify. The convergence of these two distinct camps could make for high emotions a la Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Petty and Kyle Busch vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a few big fender benders.
“The Budweiser Boo-galoo”. Talladega is famous for being the wildest party stop on the tour. I’ll bet worker productivity in Talladega is lower the day after a NASCAR event than January 1st. This is not a race I’d take my young kids to. There’ll also be Budweiser flying out on to the track if a hated (in these parts) driver like Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson wins it. If it were me, I’d wear a raincoat.
“Break (away) Dancin.” This could be “Separation Sunday” in the Chase. A poor showing by Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton or Kevin Harvick would doom any real shot these guys have a winning the title.
I’m really looking forward to this race. As a Toyota fan and a guy who generally roots for the underdog, I’m happy to see often-maligned Michael Waltrip on the pole, and Toyota cars qualifying so well. Count me also as a guy pleased to see open wheelers coming over to the NASCAR party. It says a lot of good things about the style of racin’ we all love.
It will be a fairly tame but fun affair in our home. I’ll be cooking up the sausage dogs, the soda will be cold, and the only dancin’ I’ll be doing will be with my beloved bride. Hey, we’re an inclusive sport now, to each his own, right?
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You were inspired tonight, babe! Great post!