SOZ on RTR - Tale of Two Showers - (And Other Idling Thoughts) by Michelsen

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Tale of Two Showers - (And Other Idling Thoughts)

8/4/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)

Thousands of locations are fighting over the rights to host a NASCAR weekend. Why? Do they want to reap the financial windfall of hosting a race? No they want to end a drought! Only NASCAR can host tracks in two different cities and end up with rain affecting both locations in the same weekend! The way NASCAR managed the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races showed that they do know how to run race events. (That skill was questionable after the debacle in Indy just one week earlier) They say you can't do anything about the weather but that is not true. You can prepare to deal with the weather and this week NASCAR came well prepared!

Rain Tire Test Counts

Having rain tires to use in Montreal this weekend saved the day! After the fiasco at Indy can you imagine how NASCAR would have felt if they only got ten laps on the board for their big International fling? Everyone was cringing knowing these rain tires were six years old. Goodyear would have never heard the end of it if the old tires chunked or wore unevenly or failed to work at all. But we all learned an important lesson at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend. Faster is not always better when it comes to racing! Yes the pace of the race slowed severely but the racing we saw was pretty darn exciting. Only Marcos Ambrose's ability on a sloppy track tried to stink up the show! Yes there are things teams and NASCAR need to work on if this racing in the rain experiment is tried at the Cup level. But the race experience we got up in Montreal proved that NASCAR can indeed can make lemonade when life serves them lemons!

Race Time Reset

Obviously NASCAR does not use any weather expert input or even a Farmer's Almanac to decide start times of races. Up in Montreal it was insane to have the race start after 2pm ET. Any track that lacks lights should have their start time no later than 1:15pm local time! Climatologists will tell you that during the summer months the most likely time to see storms is between 4-6pm. If you start the race in the 1pm hour you will have almost 3 hours of racing time under your belt before the afternoon heating showers develop. Football fans know their games are going to start at 1pm ET every Sunday afternoon and they can plan in advance. NASCAR fans have to synchronize their lives with the ever changing start times of races. Starting races at the same time and early enough to beat the summer showers makes sense! It is time for a race time reset.

And Then There Were 14

If we have learned one thing this season it is to NOT right people off too soon when it comes to the Chase for the Championship. But after Pocono on Sunday it is fairly safe to say the Chase is down to just fourteen drivers fighting for twelve spots. This week Kevin Harvick is on the inside with Matt Kenseth back on the outside of the top twelve! Just eleven points separate Kenseth from twelfth place Clint Bowyer. It is just another thirty-five points back to fourteenth place David Reagan. While not mathematically eliminated there is now a gap of over 100 more points to fifteenth and sixteenth place. Add in the fact that Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers have not shown they can stay consistent for more than a race or two and it seems rather clear that we are now down to just fourteen Chase pursuers!

So what did you think about the race weekend? Tune in Monday night on RaceTalkRadio to "Doin' Donuts" at 8pm ET. See if your opinion agrees with Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen.

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