The true tragedy of the 2009 Amp Energy 500 is that winner Jamie Mc Murray will be an afterthought. It’s a shame, because I submit that Jamie Mac is the classic example of the driver who’s often done all the right things, only to get caught up in someone else’s mess, or suffer some mechanical malady not of his doing. Congratulations to Mc Murray and his fans. I trust it will go a long ways towards securing him a ride in 2010, for I feel he’s deserving.
With that said, it’s the only positive thing I can say of this race. Watching a race at Talladega isn’t fun anymore.
The big story for the vast majority of this race was NASCAR handing down the edict that there would be no bump drafting in the turns, or drivers would be penalized. This came down during the pre-race driver’s meeting.
Could you imagine NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell video conferencing before Sunday’s games and announcing that no defensive player would be allowed to lay a hand on the quarterback because it’s too dangerous? Granted, NFL rules are headed down a slippery slope towards that, but at least THE MOST RECENT RULE CHANGES were announced BEFORE the season.
It’s just one more example of NASCAR changing rules and policy
on the fly. For Talladega Superspeedway, it’s just one more issue, on top of restrictor plates, yellow lines and the new car.
Perhaps I should just let one of the men who participated in this travesty speak his mind.
Here’s Ryan Newman:
“It was a boring race for the fans,” Newman said. “That (the wreck) is not something anybody wants to see, at least I hope not. If they do, go home because you don’t belong here.
“It’s just a product of this racing and what NASCAR has put us into with this box and these restrictor plates with these types of cars – with the yellow line, no bump-drafting, no passing. Drivers used to be able to respect each other and race around each other. Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison and all those guys have always done that. I guess they don’t think much of us any more.”
It’s time to re-think Talladega. It’s time for NASCAR to re-think a lot of things. The 450 mile parade, followed 50 miles of automotive madness left a very bitter taste in this fan’s mouth.
I’d have to agree with a "tweet" my wife told me about. It might have been more interesting to pull up a lawn chair by the freeway and watch the cars pass by. Were it not for this blog, I’d have just as soon watched The Vikings and Packers.
We’ve had good races this year. This wasn’t one of them. Talladega has become "Technology On Parade", followed by a demolition derby.
I am profoundly disappointed.
PHOTO CREDITS- Jamie Mc Murray with Richard Brickhouse by Todd Warshaw/ Getty Images for NASCAR. Talladega racing by Chris Graythen/ Getty Images.
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Well…that’s pretty much it for me this season of racing. I was so looking forward to Dega…I have always loved the racing. I am not a fan of the “big one” and Ryan’s topped Carl’s..and then geezz what a surprise..a “mini big one” at the green white… Dega has always been a breath taking “chess game” and I was always intrigued by the swapping of positions and the mind games the drivers played. BUT…as they have done with Bristol..NASCAR has managed to get their nasty little fingers into the race and watching the majority of the race was a real “channel surfer”. To see Ryan get out of his car was about the only high point of the race..and I had tears running down my face. Congrats to Jamie…Kudos to Jimmie…and good luck to NASCAR. I really want to say more…but words just won’t come to me…I am for once after Dega..speechless.
you were really crying after newman got out of the car? LMAO.
As you know Jim I have always tried to keep a positive attitude toward NASCAR and look for the good things that they do. Well yesterday the race at ‘Dega was a total joke and NASCAR deserves every last bit of criticism that will be coming in the next few days. The ONLY good thing that can be said is that once again the COT proved to be a lifesaver in a horrific crash, but then again that is about all that could be said good about it.
And @ canucme….why do you think it is so damn funny to have tears in your eyes when you don’t know for a few minutes whether or not Ryan Newman survived the crash or not?? I had tears in my eyes too and a terrible sick feeling until I heard him on the radio acknowledge he was ok.
Knock down turns 1 and 2 at Daytona and Talladega – replace them with turns 3 and 4 at Indy.
Take them back to 350cid with zero over tolerance
Remove restrictor plates
green white checkered – everyone 2 or more laps down off the track.
Note: I had to stop watching after Newman got out. That whole race was as about as stupid as the chase.
If you watched the prerace show a segment was on the wives of the drivers and how they feel when their husbands strap in the car. One of them was Ryan’s wife Krissie. It was ironic to see Ryan tumbling in the horrible wreck..and not knowing if..or how badly he might be hurt. AND YES..when I saw the wreck unfolding I found myself screaming NO NO NO!! outloud…I find no pleasure in the rollover flying through the air wrecks…and when Ryan popped out of the car (well slowing popped) I found myself applauding. If that makes me strange..well it’s my world and welcome to it.
Who’s to blame for this fiasco? NASCAR all the way! This track was Big Bill’s baby. The only thing most people agree about the COT, is that it’s safe.
I would love to see them block off the bottom 25 rows of the stands. Something they could do at no loss, with current crowds.
Take the plates off, & let them race. The speeds shouldn’t be too much higher, & the throttle response would be such that they might actually be able to race rather than just ride.
If you want to know what’s hurting NASCAR. My answer is NASCAR. There’s a lot of difference between resolute, & bull headed.
Maybe this thing we watched will have some positive to it.
This is going to cause such a fan, & media firestorm. That even they must realize “Band Aids” aren’t going to cut it.
one more note/question – bump drafting was supposedly tolerated by until the drivers meeting before the race, I Think.
Why was Waltrip sidelined and not Johnson during practice? I’m pretty sure nascar monitors the driver frequencies. Was Johnson crying for Mikey to stop hitting him or was Johnson working with Waltrip. Was nascar picking someone not relevant to their beloved chase to make an example out of?
well said Josie.
Like Newman said if that kind of thing is what you are looking for – stay home – the racing world doesn’t need you.
Sorry – horribly paraphrased. lol
Something else that NASCAR needs to take a serious look at is the wing. While producing down-force forward. It seems to produce lift when going backward. If they can’t come up with a way to keep the cars on the ground. Then they shouldn’t be running on this current track configuration at even current speeds.
It’s not like Stewart- Haas doesn’t have a state of the art wind tunnel they could rent to find some answers.
At least Ryan Newman has the kudo’s to stand up and say, this race stunk!!.. My wife summed it up pretty good, it’s time to drop Tallageda from the schedule since they can’t figure out how to race there. The double yellow line is a joke, thought up by the Nascar advertiser speacialist, Michael Waltrip. Even his brother is against it. The no passing rule they put forward this weekend was a total joke. The drivers never really wrecked in the corners anyway!! Always on the straight sections. Same as yesterday. France, Hilton and the rest of the drunk gang need to find new careers. And yea, I’m done watching for the season. The “anointed won” will win his fourth “chase” championship. He will never be a true champion though. 10 races does not make a champion to this fans eyes.
Kudo’s to McMurray. Roush is keepind David Ragen why? Its time to take about 15 degrees of banking away from the parade track. NASCAR is making such a mockery out of its racing. I guess its NASCARs version of the Fairness doctrine and Hate crime legislation rolled into one (lets not offend anybody and move to a Vanilla society.) Get rid of the COT over the off season, have them build cars like the (COT) Nationwise cars and lets start from scratch. And for the teams that will whine about the cost of rebodying cars, get over it, buck up and get crackin’!!!
@ Canucme. Are you human? When Ryan took off like an airplane, due to that damn wing when turned backwards, he went at least 20 feet into the air!! When he landed on Harvick it saved the drivers cage. Later in the accident when he landed again on his head I saw the roll cage collaplse!! Did you see that, or to busy cheering? I was scared that I had seen another driver die on the track. The roof of that roll cage collapsed on the second hit. Had Harvick’s car not softened the blow of the “flyover” on the first hit, Newman may not be here today. So, just go away, this sport does not need you.
Perhaps it’s time for the owners to stand up…and not enter the 4 restrictor plate races. What would NASCAR do then? Look at what a cost savings that would be to teams…no preparations for those races and no torn up race cars. Just a thought.
Dega has always been my favorite race to watch, unfortunately this year I was completely disappointed.I know I read an article this morning saying the single file racing had nothing to do with the warning about bump drafting is wrong, it was all about the warning, even the commentators were saying it. Between telling the drivers what they can and can’t do ON THE TRACK and the main focus on Hendrick Motor Sports drives, Unfortunately NASCAR as well as some of the TV stations are ruining racing for everyone, but the Hendrick Motor Sport Fans. I am and always will be a JR fan, but the fact that ABC couldn’t even talk with 2nd place Kasey Kahne or 3rd place finisher Joey Logano after the race, but found time to speak with 3 people other than the winner – Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, truly shows where NASCAR is coming from. My husband and I have been fans since the late 70’s and we are slowly loosing our patience with NASCAR – they might as well just have the chasers race the final 10 races, cuz what they are doing to the rest of this guys is ridiculous.
Way to go NASCAR, you ruined another one. They are their own worse enemy. I was scared for Newman. And Ryan said in his interview after the wreck, something about does anyone in NASCAR have a degree in engineering like he does?
trashadega !!!!! what to talk seriously about fixing nascar ???
flat tappett camshafts, box stock run as it comes no magic work done sold across the dealers parts counter factory produced heads that come on a production engine. put a blade on the trunk for a spoiler [ notice these cars fly when running backwards with the wingee ] and last but not least a real spec that stays at the perscribed height sitting still or moveing for the front end clearence. dump the bump stops no body can drive these cars on bump stops once they get loose thats
it your gone!! oh and a fix for the racing dump the chase add bigger purses to each race make the championship thing a trophy and braging rites put the money on the line every week –
its called incentive to win !! you won’t see antbody just rideing around anymore.
p.s. what to try bump stops weld you street cars shocks so there locked and can’t move then go out and drive it !!!!
I have been complaining about plates for …. let’s see, 20 years. I have said, cut down the banking and throw out the plates. All NASCAR says is we will consider anything EXCEPT cutting down the banking. Why? If their interest is safety, isn’t that the obvious solution?
Anyway, Jim, you should have watched the Vikings destroy the Packers – great game, great vindication, great redemption, great story. Dega race? Not so much.
You got it right on. For the 4th race in a row I watched football. nas$car has become unwatchable. They might as well handcuff the drivers before they get in their cars before the race. I did however watch the highlights of the wrecks later. They’ve turned Talladega into a joke. I used to love nas$car. My 25 year love affair is done.
@ Lisa, Thanks, didn’t realise Kahne finished 2nd and Logano finished 3rd.. And I watched the entire sad race.. But I sure saw the interviews for Martin and Johnson.. Sad, sad, sad coverage of the race top 3..
Question Posed: I thought it was a Nascar rule that the top three winners of each race be available for interviews for the broadcast after the race. Well, arn’t the broadcasters required to interview the top three racers? I stopped going to the races because it’s all geared toward “the chase”. When I spend several hundred dollars to go, I don’t give a darn about “the chase”. I just want to so “a race”. Nascar does not get this at all..
Here’s a good solution. The drivers act in solidarity. Once the race starts, they lineup in single file order based on qualifying or reverse points or whatever the drivers decide. They then drive the entire race in single file order without a single pass. Just before taking the white flag, 42 cars hit the garage and take DNFs. The contrived leader then continues around the track solo to take the checkered flag.
Having been to the last three Talladega races, I wonder if the television viewer is experiencing a different event than the fan in the stands. There were boring moments for sure, but 188 laps of three or four wide would be hard to endure. I don’t understand why some fans think NASCAR needs to do something different at Talladega. The cars are crashing and the drivers are surviving. The engineers are doing their jobs.
I don’t think there is a blood lust among the fans at the race. The track is so damn big, the wreck has usually finished before you realize it has happened unless it is right in front of you. What makes Talladega exciting is the two and three wide freight train, and watching technicians like Dale Jr., Kyle Busch, and others attempt to master it. The race isn’t always pretty, and the racing is risky at times. But, I don’t think you can make a non-emotional argument that Talladega is any more dangerous than any other track (a wreck at one of the road course comes to mind). Talladega wrecks may look more dramatic, but any physicist will tell you that a direct hit into the wall at Bristol is just as dangerous as flying through the air at Talladega or Daytona.
NASCAR racing is dangerous. If it wasn’t risky, it probably wouldn’t be interesting to watch. I hope NASCAR continues to race at Talladega.
hawk,
excellent points. the racing at the plate tracks has been this way for more than 20 years. all these kool aid drinking nascar haters read some of the columns and then jump on board. they have no thoughts of their own. it is cool to hate nascar right now and pretend that you have been a fan since the 70s. sickening.
Canucme – yeah, the racing at plate tracks has been this way for 20 years – THAT IS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM! The plates do not make for good racing, they do not make for safe conditions for the drivers or fans. And I am not a newbie, I have been following the sport since 1985 and was around for Bill Elliott’s 215 mph lap in 1987. I also remember Bill making up nearly 3 laps under the green flag in 1985. Could that happen with the plates?
Even if you don’t care about safety, (and you apparently don’t), you have to admit the racing stinks! Jimmie Johnson asked Chad early on if running half-throttle would hurt the engine. JJ clearly was not trying to race at all – and he finished 6th! If that’s racing, it’s no wonder NASCAR is losing fans.
I have been reading alot of feedback from various places on the internet the past 2 days and a question comes to mind. Why is it that BECAUSE nobody got hurt that everything is just fine? Almost accepting any of the wrecks that happen at this track regardless of whether a car flips or not. I took no joy in watching Newman fly through the air yesterday. More like horror actually. I really thought we lost another driver due to him being crushed by the roof. That to me is not acceptable. This fundamental thinking of everything ok and crashes to be acceptable needs to change.
I have been to 5 races at Dega and 4 races at Daytona which is odd in that I live 65 miles south of Daytona Beach, that being said I love these races. The high speed chess match that is played out on them rivials any 4th quarter drive to score the last minute touchdown to win the game. What was on display Sunday in Alabama was simply aweful. How may times do we here that these are the best drivers in the world? LET THEM DRIVE THEN!!!!! Good by nascar until Daytona 2010, Dega was your last chance to keep me interested and you failed. NFL here I come and NASCAR you will get another chance on Feb 14 2010. Try to fix this by then.
rachel,
you tune into them every sunday for the past 25 years. why would nascar change anything. im suprised you have been a fan for so long and don’t graps the concept. nascar doesn’t care about the racing. they haven’t for almost 10 years now. it’s the show and entertainment value they are looking. the 30 second clip on sportscenter of the 39 going upside down is priceless to them. guys who don’t follow the sport will talk about it when a car goes upside down. so with this sort of show they are trying to bring in new fans. it’s obvious that the self proclaimed old timers like you are glued to the tv every sunday regardless so they don’t have to cater to you. now stop pretending that you hate it.
p.s. i don’t believe you have been a fan since 85. no offense.
johnp,
i missed your comments. i just saw it now. you couldn’t hear steve post in the background on the track pa system talking to tony gibson and informing the crowd that ryan was fine. you were probably too busy crying. p@##y.
who is the real canucme?
janine,
my name is slim shady. i just use canucme online.
@cancume.. Lol.. Not worthy of a reply..
johnp. maybe you should keep kleenex in your purse for the next race.
@canucme, are you always so rude or just to race fans with a heart?
@Canucme. You’ll be doing me a favor if you get off the insults and name-calling. I don’t mind a debate, but I’ve let this go a little farther than I usually do.
This is a racing site, folks. Let’s try to keep this from degenerating into your typical thread on FOXsports.com.
Thanks in advance.
Nascars meddling has ended the championship race. They can’t keep extending the race distance and then expect a credible result with deserving drivers having to make an extra pit stop that should not have been needed. Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon each got collected in the BS G-W-C that should never be employed on a superspeedway (it always ends in a wreck). Congratulations nascar, I won’t be a fan much longer. I doubt there’s anything you can do to keep me or others like me interested at this point. So take you “cheating champion” and crown him again. Pat yourselves on the back for a safe car that never flips over. Keep counting that cash. Just do it without me.
@Canucme. Congratulations, you’ve been officially blocked.
Love the post title. I’m not laughing either. Just disgusted. Have been ever since NASCAR began chasing mainstream fans. The commenter mentioning that NASCAR doesn’t care about the long-time fans rings true – we are tuning in every week. I agree with Ryan.
I love the idea of a boycott – even better, the suggestion to skew the race with a single file. But it’s not gonna happen. To much at stake for the driver.
What it’s going to take is for the fans to speak a language France & the race sponsors understand. We can do more with our loyalty than just build the sport – we can bring it back.