Editor’s Note: Hey Race Fans- the loud and proud resident rabble-rouser John “Dawg” Chapman is on hand today to provide a double dose of Bump Drafts. ‘Round these parts, we welcome a variety of view points, and Dawg today opines on a phenomenon that occurs twice a season as racers prepare that exotic beast known as the road course.
Take it away Dawg….
I’m really looking forward to Watkins-Glen this weekend. Why?… Because I think the racing is going to be great? No not really. I think it’s going to be good, but probably not great.
What I do think is that it’s going to be different. NA$CAR is trying to whip up the hype for their Chase. You know all about the Chase, right? It’s their “NFL fighter.” For the last 10 races of the season, 31 drivers and their sponsors will be completely ignored. Sounds like a brilliant marketing strategy to me.
To prepare us for this exciting finish, they have given us the most mind numbingly boring stretch of races imaginable. We had Chicagoland, then to give us time for our hearts to settle down they gave us- that’s right- an off week, followed by Indy, where the parade lap lasted 400 miles.
Next up was Pocono. NA$CAR and its TV partners, or in light of the contract they jumped into, maybe I should say, TV hostages, have finally admitted that to jazz up the numbers, they need wrecks. Well last week the drivers cooperated in spades. Don’t expect this to be the norm at Pocono.
This brings us to “The Glen.” Right off the top, the racing will a change from the cookie cutter parades we’ve become used to. If this wasn’t enough, we get something else to watch….
The so-called “Road Course Ringers” come out.
In times past, the bulk of the NA$CAR regulars were pretty average on the road courses. We had a few stand out drivers, like Rusty, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. These guys usually managed to snag the wins, but the ringers had some magnificent runs. Runs that for a variety of reasons fell just short. One big stumbling block for them has been pit stops. They are usually working with unfamiliar patchwork crews. This often serves to counter the driver’s skill.
Even now, with many more drivers showing road course improvement, the ringers have had some great finishes. Who wasn’t excited when Marcos Ambrose was able to push the Wood Bros. #21 to a third place finish, Scott Pruett had a second and fourth and P.J. had a fourth for A.J. to name just a few.
Two of the best are Boris Said and Ron Fellows. Joining them among the cast of the unusual suspects this week are P.J. in a second Robby Gordon entry, he could even have another mission besides trying for a good finish, who knows? Then there’s Said, who doesn’t love Boris and “The Said Heads?” Ron Fellows, arguably the best of the bunch, Brian Semo “Have No Fear, Brian is here,” Andy Lally, a very talented Sports Car guy,
Max Papis a.k.a. ”Mad Max”- probably the best nickname, since Buckshot. Let’s hope he has better luck with it.
Do I think one of these guys will win? No I don’t, but seeing them out there trying will make watching a little more enjoyable.
Another added bonus could be that with 46 cars entered- if things fall right- we could see 43 cars starting that actually came to race, rather than just collect a check.
