A Cold Day In July? I Liked The NASCAR Sprint Cup Race From Daytona.

Here is something you won’t read very often in my blog.  I watched the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 from Daytona last night.  I was not bored to tears.  I actually enjoyed the race.  Heck, I even watched the commercials (the Coke Zero drivers commercials were great and so was the Army commercial).  No, you do not have to check to see if this is a guest posting on my blog.  It really is me.

 

Maybe it was just that it was Daytona, but there was actually some racing and plenty of excitement too.  I hated to see Jeff Gordon get caught up in an early mess not of his making, but did not mind the 88 car getting involved in the carnage.  However, the four best cars the entire race were the cars that battled for the last lap win, and a true race fan can’t ask for more.

 

About the Tony Stewart/Kyle Busch last lap incident.  I don’t think Tony Stewart needs to beat himself up over it.  I am sure he did not like taking out Busch, but when Busch went to block him, Stewart has already cleared the back bumper of the Busch car.  I don’t think Stewart could have done anything to prevent Busch from spinning.  I admit that I have become more of a Tony Stewart fan since he became an owner-his whole attitude seems to have changed, but after watching the replay several times, I don’t see that he did anything wrong.

 

Busch took three of the hardest hits I have ever seen, all in just a few seconds.  Spinning and hitting the wall going 180 mph was scary, but the hit from behind my Kasey Kahne was unreal.  As high as he was lifted it is a wonder he didn’t break a hip when he landed.  Then to get hit a third time by Joey Logano was almost adding insult to injury.  The scary part of that hit was it was on the driver’s side and the driver’s side had already taken one big hit.  There was not much left of the car that is for sure.  For Busch to walk away from that wreck says a lot about how Sprint Cup series cars are built.  It says a little about youth too, and maybe a little more that drivers are athletes.

 

My friend Tony Anville emailed me and reminded me of the old saying “it will be a cold day in July,” but it was actually terribly hot in Daytona and it still was a good race.

 

Thursday night Matt and I went to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE for the Midwest Trifecta.  IMCA modifieds, MLRA/NCRA super late models, and ASCS sprint cars made up the show.  There was lots of racing, mostly good, some bad racing.  The early part of the modified feature was fantastic, and in the end Kyle Berck put on a clinic in going from 6^th to first in just a few laps.

 

It looked like Iowan Denny Eckrich’s I-80 luck was running true to form when he started last in a loaded heat.  However, Eckrich moved from 11^th to 2^nd in the heat and garnered enough passing points to start the late model feature on the pole.  Eckrich led most of the race, though Bryant Goldsmith did pass him in a late lap restart, and probably would have won the race if there had not been another caution.  The track really did owe Eckrich though.  The 50 car has been torn up more than once at the Nebraska track, and Eckrich broke a wrist in one incident involving, of course, Kelly Boen.

 

Yes, Boen-head was at the track Thursday.  To me he is a late model Dale Jr.  As always Boen drove beyond his (and car’s) capabilities, and he did bring out a caution with a 4^th turn spin late in the race.  As I have said repeatedly, the man does not have to do that.  He has the best equipment, and is as talented as any Midwest late model driver.  He does win his share of races, but would win even more if he did not disengage his brain when he climbs into his race car.

 

Surprisingly, neither John Anderson nor Kyle Berck was much of a factor in the late model feature.  Both easily won their heat races and it looked like another I-80 battle between the two.  Both ended up in the pits before the checkered flag was thrown.

 

We did not stay for the sprint car feature.  This time I am not dogging the winged warriors, it was 12:15 a.m. when the late model feature ended, and we had an hour drive home.  The show started at 7:15 p.m., and I am long past my days of being thrilled by 5-6 hour shows.  There were plenty of wrecks, including two major incidents, a John Hampl flip, and a Chris Spieker pinball that pretty much destroyed the 56 car.  For years it has seemed like safety crews at this track are beyond slow in cleaning up a wreck and the same holds true for lining up cars after a caution. 

 

The night before, the track at Independence, IA had a Deery Brothers late model and IMCA stock car show-2 divisions, 90 cars.  They completed their show in 2 hours and 50 minutes.  Yes, I-80 had another division and 138 cars, not 90.  Yes, one of the divisions at I-80 was sprint cars.  Still, both tracks started at the same time and one had fans on their way home before 10:00 p.m.  The other had fans leaving before any feature races were run, and quite a few were like Matt and I, leaving long before the final race of the night was completed.  Just my opinion and I know my opinion isn’t one the I-80 owners care to listen to.  But, since this is my blog, I will state it anyway.

 

Matt and I planned to attend the MLRA/NCRA show at Park Jefferson on Friday night, but it was rained out.  No, that did not break my heart-I am always worried about breaking my legs in the totally dark, well past useful lifespan grandstands of PJ.  I guess the race has been rescheduled.  Next Sunday we are going to Albion for a WDRL show, and tentatively to Ft. Dodge, IA  the next night for another WDRL show.  As Sgt. Hulka said in the movie ‘Stripes,’ I’m getting too old for this shit.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

~ by Ron Meyer on July 5, 2009.