Catchfence

The sport saw racing it needs in April; now it returns to Talladega and this time it has a new restart procedure that has added some competitive muscle to the racing. Not that Talladega particularly needs double-file restarts – it is almost the only track where the entire field can be single-file stretching out over a mile and they were catch the leader and fight him. Even so, two-abreast restarts can prevent the breakaway seen at the end of the Winston 500 in April.

This is one of several issues and incidents worth noting as the Winston Cup cars and the Trucks hit NASCAR’s ultimate superspeedway.

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NASCAR has come under fire for not waving the yellow on the final lap after John Andretti got slammed into the inside wall on the frontstretch coming to the white flag. It is reminiscent of the last-lap crash at New Hampshire and it opens up the same issue – the fact that NASCAR sees the folly of having scoring loops instead of the start-finish line determine the running order/the outcome.

This is the reality the sport could see coming the day NASCAR panicked after that 2003 New Hampshire race and decided it would not allow racing to the line anymore – at least it would not be allowed with the yellow waving. It panicked because Michael Waltrip that September 2003 day didn’t slow down – that motorcycle incident recently reeks of irony – while others did. Instead of penalizing Waltrip, NASCAR changed the rules, and the sport is worse off for it.

NASCAR deep down I think knows this rule doesn’t work; the day they return to racing to the line is the day NASCAR shows it’s begun to figure it out.

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A recent discussion point in the NFL has been the strikingly high number of uncompetitive teams the 2009 season has seen. The NFL has nothing on a dearth of competitive depth compared to the Trucks, a series that enters Talladega with just nine winners in 21 races (not a bad number, but hardly great) and with three winless drivers in the top ten in points. Matt Crafton is second in points and is winless. David Starr and Rick Crawford (returning to his home track this Saturday) dwell at the bottom of the top ten and are both winless.

Even more striking is that 11-15 in points have a combined eight top tens between them. The disparity in laps led in the top-fifteen is also striking – Ron Hornaday has over 1,000 laps led while no one else has 400 – only Kyle Busch, a part-timer in 19th in points, has more than 400 laps led (765 entering Halloween).

Talladega has been a break from the competitive rote of the Winston Cup cars over the years and it has begun to establish this reputation in the Trucks, though in the series’ first three races there has been the mystifying tendency of the leaders to hug the bottom lane all the way around and the outside lane outside the top ten unable to get a run to overtake the low lane – this, though, was broken in 2008′s final 20 laps and led to a jaw-dropping thriller of a finish.

Toyota has won 12 of 21 races so far and I see no scenario where someone other than a Toyota wins this Talladega round.

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For Jimmie Johnson the object is strictly survival, even though he’s certainly strong enough to win at Talladega. Having said that, it’s worth noting that Johnson hasn’t done well there, with crashes in 2006 and in April and a very mediocre top-ten last October. He won’t of course have to worry a whole lot about losing the draft – he’s done that before and gotten back on the lead lap anyway because of the Lucky Dog, so I expect Johnson to be in full points-mode all Sunday.

This is part of what makes Talladega an oasis for the sport – for almost the only time this year we get a race where it’s not just about the Hendrick or Roush or Gibbs cars – finally we get a race where the other teams can actually beat the sport’s triopoly.

Of course the one everyone will be watching is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who used to be a contender at Talladega and who finished second here in April’s melee. No doubt we’ll also get an excessive number of replays of Carl Edwards’ tumble on the final lap and the resultant higher fencing and maybe also his nauseating lectures about restrictor plate racing, as if his words are worth a damn.

Given the totality of Junior and Edwards’ season collapse, it may not be enough for Talladega to salvage something for them.

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Here is the totality of political correctness and why it needs to be crushed – Bob Griese had to apologize because during a football telecast he remarked that Juan Montoya was out getting a taco. Given the ubiquitousness of tacos, equating the remark as somehow insensitive was an insult on the part of whoever made Griese apologize.

I’m hoping Taco Bell does a pitch with Montoya to illustrate the stupidity of equating such a remark with insensitivity.

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Not that I’m much of a Montoya fan. Described as a loose cannon in the preseason, he continues to live up to this description with his belligerent racing at Martinsville. It remains a wonder that he’s anywhere close to title contention.

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But these and other issues await Talladega for some kind of resolution. And for a change it should be racing that can rival the NFL in ratings.