Watching qualifying today for this weekend's UAW Ford500 at Talladega, the one thing that stuck out to me was all the Toyotas at the top of the qualifying board.
7 of the top 10 starting positions will be Toyotas, with one Ford, one Chevy, and one Dodge mixed in.
I would imagine a lot of chase drivers taking a conservative approach in qualifying to have a better race setup has a lot to do with it, but 13 of the top 15 drivers are go-or-go-homers this week, and no Toyota will be starting in worse than 9th. Michael Waltrip getting only his 4th career Pole in 686 races is evidence that most of the "Big Boys" are sandbagging, but C'mon, this was ridiculous.
Is Toyota putting all their eggs in one basket and suddenly trying to focus only on restrictor plate races? I doubt it!
Or was this week's qualifying efforts a perfect example of chase drivers and top 35 points drivers just going through the motions and focusing on preparing the car to run better for the long haul. Likely!
It just strikes me as odd that Toyota has such a different apporach than the rest of the manufacturers for this race, and that the other "All-American Racetrack" this side of Daytona will very few American cars in the top 5 rows when the green flag waves.
You be the judge. Your thought and opinions on the race are appreciated.
Cartoon Courtesy of Mike Smith, award-winning editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, and many others.
Texas, did you see that Kurt Busch and, I think, David Reagan had their times disqualified for failing postrace inspection? Strange happenings here. I do think the Chevys were holding back or they were in race trim and not trying to qualify well. Tomorrow should be interesting.
Well, I'm not to worried about the Toyotas. They all have to qualify and they have their qualifying setups on, while the regulars are in race setups. Once the green flag drops those Yotas will be dropping back and wanting a caution fast to make adjustments.
Yeah. I just saw that about Busch and Regan. With this being the first COT race on a superspeedway, i wouldn't expect so many to lay back early, because of the unknown on how much more difficult it will be drafting and bmump-drafting than the old car. Looks like a lot of potential for a "Big One" early on.
one bad- congrats on finally getting your blog to work. If that caution doesn't come fast, it could be trouble for Toyots, and for anyone stuck behind them.
tex...try putting this under NFL...you only got a few comments, so may be that's why it's not showing up under recently commented. :)
Your categories are fine, it's just that may be you need to test it out a bit to see if there's a problem by putting it in NFL.
This one isnt the one i was referring to lisa. My last one "Why Do You Love Your Team" had the most comments on Thursday, but never showed up anywhere. i kept having to go back through my profile page to catch when people commented so i could respond.
canuck. thanks for stopping by. Yes, it is easier to get your message across when u can add pics for reference.
As for the cartoons, that guy(mike smith) does a new one every Thursday. Exchanged emails with him a couple times and he's "all for" anyone here or any other site using them (free advertising for his work). Talented guy and comes up with some hilarious ones.
WEll he is certainly a talented guy! Keep em coming!
Dodge, I hope no one is hurt and certainly no one dies. I love my racing and every time there is a crash I fear for that driver's well being.
The front being full of the go or go home guys. Consider JV is up in 6th place for the start. Consider many of the chase drivers were worried about being around him.
Granted They might have their race setup on the car but I was thinking they know they have the provisionals so the chase drivers decided it would be safer to lay back untill after the big one with JV and then charge to the front after the dust settled.
I would imagine most of the entire field's spotters will be watching JV and Montoya more that their drivers cars.
Just an average sports fan. Enjoy in order of favorites: NFL, NASCAR, College Football, MLB, College Basketball.
NBA, and NHL are currently on my "Overrated, Overpaid, and Overhyped" list.
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