Times are Changing
by Jeff Phipps-Staff Writer
03/06/2008

Times, they are a changin'. Thanks, Brian France, for killing the growth of the audience by trying to 'grow' the audience. For three consecutive weeks I have been in fire stations where watching rerun movies or lame news programs or playing X-Box are preferred to watching the race on TV. It's like being in a family room where everyone wants to watch American Idle (intentional spelling) instead of (insert our favorite sporting show here). We are in South Carolina, less than a 2-hour drive from Darlington. Who'd a thunk it? Good job, BF; I hope you are proud of youself.

Way back in 1998 I visited my best friend Chris in Las Vegas at Nellis Air Force Base. I drove over to the speedway and took a look around. It was impressive. This Vegas weekend got started without me. Work kept me away from any of the hype leading up to the races.

The aforementioned X-box was in play at my FD for the start of the Nationwide Series race. I left there, headed to my part-time gig with EMS, listening on the radio as the race unfolded. When I got the Fire/EMS station, then end of some nondescript '90s movie ruled the TV but my phone started ringing off the hook. "Do you think Mark did it on purpose?..." was the question emanating from the earpiece. "Do what?..." was my response. Looking at the replay, I see Martin with momentum making contact with Keselowski. I don't think it was an intentional move. 48 wins in Busch/Nationwide cars and the man was humble. Class, personified.

I didn't see the start of the Cup race as I was out riding my motorcycle on a gorgeous Lowcountry day. I did notice that Jimmie Johnson was not up to par. When he started to complain that the car was off, I couldn't help but wonder which part Chad Knauss had tried to 'work in the gray area' for an advantage. Suffice it to say, 29th wasn't the desired outcome. Oops...try again, Chad.

Midway through the race, Tony Stewart smacked the wall hard between turns 3 and 4. The first words from my mouth were "...the window net is not down." I said it out loud twice but the commentators just kept jabbering about the SAFER Barrier and other inconsequential nonsense. Stop talking so much! Pay attention to what is happening out there; you have a monitor in the booth, use it. Fortunately, Tony climbed from the car with a grimmace, walking from the wreck to an awaiting SUV for the ride to the infield care center. My wife asked why that happened. I surmised that he was ambulatory and alert, able to be transported without an ambulance. This eliminated the need to put an ambulance up on the track, endangering the EMS crew. Maybe they (NASCAR) read my opinion last week about the safety of emergency responders at the track. I could go into the ramifications of potential injury and transport criteria after a mishap but that is another topic altogether. Someone remind me to talk about that on an off weekend.

A late restart rendered what is likely the most savage impact the new platform has seen. Jeff Gordon dealt the inside wall a thunderous blow at one of the roadcourse/emergency vehicle access openings. A shining tribute to just how tough the car is, Gordon emerged unscathed. The driver compartment retained its shape while the periphery dissipated energy as advertised. Say what you will about the COT but it surely appears to be a racy and very safe unit.

As the race unfolded it became evident that Carl Edwards wasn't satisfied with his SoCal backflip. Li'l E had nothing for the lead, settling for second. As strong as the Toyota contingent appeared early, nobody could prevent the Roush-Fenway 99 team from checking out to victory lane for the second week in a row. Anyone who has ever palyed cards knows that a pair of 9s beats a pair of 8s every time.

That's my opinion, but I could be wrong. What do you think?

A side note. There'll likely be no Atlanta opinion from me as I will be at the culmination of Daytona Speedweeks for Bike Week and several of the AMA Professional Racing Series season openers, including the Daytona 200. I'll be watching the bikes run every bit as fast as the Cup cars did a few weeks ago. Too bad there isn't a Catchfence page for that genre of racing...

Questions? Comments? Contact Jeff Phipps at jp_racefan@hotmail.com

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