|
March
2, 2010
Las Vegas Making the Grade: Great Track, Average Race
By
Dennis Michelsen
The
big danger for a great race track is that one team will nail
the setup and stink up the show! Saturday at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway we were treated to a fantastic Nationwide Series
race but on Sunday the Cup race played to mixed reviews. There
was good racing back in the pack on Sunday but up front Jeff
Gordon dominated the show. Can you imagine if those two phantom
cautions would not have come out? Jeff Gordon might have lapped
all but three cars! Since the reconfiguration the racing has
been great in other racing series but the Cup races have been
average at best. While some could say that is an indictment
of the new Cup car design I think it was just a case of a
team nailing the setup and stinking up the show. This was
the classic example of a great track but an average race Sunday
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Race
Grade C+
Obviously
that rodent Digger from Fox Sports chewed up the wiring for
the caution lights causing two embarrassing phantom cautions.
This race provided some drama with late race pit stop decisions
but overall it was average at best. Perhaps this was a case
of the track being like an Elvis impersonator for a mile and
a half race track. It looked like an exciting track to race
but once the action started you knew you had a poor copy of
the original. Thank you very much.
Television
Coverage C+
After
a great start to the season at Daytona the Fox Sports presentation
has slipped the last two races. The director chose to go to
Jeff Hammond for a report about tachometers and speeding penalties
while racing was going on at the time. Late in the race as
Jimmie Johnson was about to pass Jeff Gordon for the winning
move they cut to commercials. Couldn’t you have stayed
with the action for two more minutes?
Green
Flag Passes for Lead: 7
F for
Juan Pablo Montoya
Three
races into the season and he is insulting his new teammate
Jamie McMurray? Sure you can be upset with your guy for taking
you out of a race, but it might be better to do it with more
class. Suggesting your teammate is over driving because he
is trying to impress people that he can drive is a failure
of Teamwork 101.
D for
Crew Chief Steve Letarte
Sometimes
the worst position to be in for a late race caution is being
the leader! If you take two tires and everyone else takes
four that could be bad news. If you take four tires and everyone
else stays out or takes two you can find yourself back in
traffic. But when you clearly have the best car in the race
you should never beat yourself on tire strategy!
C for
Paul Menard
Breaking
news…Paul Menard is turning into a pretty good race car
driver! Maybe getting excited about a 17th place finish is
over doing it a bit but the improvement we have seen from
Menard is noticeable. Last year we only saw him in the top
20 on six occasions and this year he is 3 for 3 on top 20s!
Could we see the first non-restrictor plate top five finish
soon?
B for
Jeff Gordon
When
you completely dominate a race you deserve the highest grade
unless you let the win get away. Sunday at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway Gordon had the win but a late poor decision on pit
road cost him dearly. But Jeff Gordon also didn’t fight
his teammate hard enough to hold on to the win so he gets
docked a full letter grade!
A for
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus
The
scary thing is that the last two weeks when they won they
didn’t have the best car! How many wins can the No. 48
team grab this season? They seem to be getting even stronger
each season defying the usual thought that it is hard to repeat
as a champion because of all the distractions. We are indeed
seeing the best team ever in NASCAR!
Join
RaceTalkRadio.com for the most in-depth coverage of the ARCA
Racing Series and NASCAR on the Thunder Crew every Tuesday
night at 8pm ET. Also tonight the best short track coverage
around is featured on Speed51 Radio at 6pm ET.
|
