In a rare stand-alone day for the Nationwide Series, they went south of the border. For this occasion, we present to you The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, spaghetti western style with a Mexican flavor. Enjoy!
THE GOOD
Kyle Busch: as the winner of this race, he gets first billing. His car got stronger as the race went on. Three wins in a row will get you in this spot every single time.
Richard Childress Racing: another strong run by the RCR cars (6th and 7th).
Marcos Ambrose: had a strong car all day, as evidenced by starting from the rear of the field due to replacing a faulty clutch. Had a little run in with Boris Said that ended up knocking Said out of the race.
Stephen Wallace: Rusty's kid scored his first career top-10 finish in the Nationwide Series on the most difficult road course in the series. Perhaps he can use this race as a springboard to get stronger as the season winds along.
Adrian Fernandez: overcame a wreck that could have knocked him out of the race to finish 15th, the highest placing Mexican driver. When he emerged from the pits after the wreck, he was 35th. Much kudos to Fernandez and his crew.
Honorable mention: Scott Pruett, Patrick Carpentier, Carl Edwards.
THE BAD
Race fillers: you guys know who you are. The guys that run a lap or two then go into the garage for mechanical "issues." Or the guys that go a lap down 3-4 laps into the race. How about this for a solution: limit the field to 36 cars, with no more than nine Cup regulars running at any one race? We don't need to turn this series into Sprint Cup Light.
Boris Said: sorry, my man, but I've gotta put you into this category. What happened between you and Ambrose was a racing thing. You got loose and Ambrose had nowhere to go. I'm sure when you look at the replay you'll see things the same way I do.
THE UGLY
Kertus Davis: that was a horrible crash he suffered on Lap 1. Glad he's okay. The impact was such that it moved the cement retaining wall back three feet. The crash brought out a red flag, one of two on the day.
ESPN: frankly, their coverage was horrible. Snafus, bad commentary, you name it. And what was it with the constant pimping of Carl Edwards? WTF? Are you ESPN or TMZ? Makes me long for the days of TNT's coverage.
Boris does seem to be whining a tad too much - but I suppose we don't know for sure that Marcos didn't punt him - there were so few cameras covering the race we never had a second angle of the incident.
And that leads to your point about the coverage. VERY weak. You can excuse them missing Busch's pass of Pruett for the win in real time - but to have not had a second camera on the lead cars was simply incompetent. The pass of the day, and we missed it.
My addition to the bad or ugly section would be NASCAR officials, for throwing the whole-course yellow at the drop of a hat (literally). At least late in the race, they stopped being such lily-livered panty-waists and let local yellows take care of the small stuff.
Photogr, I was happy for Ambrose having the day he had. Hopefully this will turn his season around. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Dave, I have a special treat for ESPN later on. Stay tuned. From what I saw, Said got loose and Ambrose had no room to check up. That's what local yellows are for on road courses! I thought the only time you throw a full course caution is if the track conditions are unsafe for the drivers (such as what happened on Lap 1 when Kertus Davis crashed after sliding on oil he had spewed around the course). Thanks for the read and the comments.
Hanahan, thanks. I didn't think it was possible for Crusty to get worse, but he did. Hopefully ESPN will replace him with Dale Jarrett.
Boris was a touch upset about it wasn't he....but I agree with you. It looked like Boris either got loose or ran wide and had to lift off a shade and Marcos had nowhere else to go.
I thought I was watching a destruction derby there for awhile... I was sure happy to see them race to the finish.
Once Busch made it to second with a few laps left, I had a feeling he was going to end up in victory lane. It was interesting to watch him initially force the issue with the first place driver and then use his head and back off, waiting for his chance to surprise him. That was also Busch's first RC win. I guess that was supposed to be a black mark against him on his resume... Oh well!
Tez, that's what I saw on the replay--Said got loose and Ambrose had nowhere to go. One of those racing things. Thanks for reading and the comment.
Hey Dwindy! It sure was a wild race for awhile! It was akin to the refs swallowing their whistles in the last few minutes of a critical game. As for Busch, his car got stronger as the race went on. He took care of the car at the start of the race and wasn't racing anyone. When someone was faster than him he let them go. It's no longer a black mark. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Boris said in turn one Ambrose hook him, it was the little turn 2 if they count it as a turn, and they both were in the grass when he hooked him to spin. Ambrose did nudge him before that to make him spin to the grass, but that is racing on road courses. I will do frame by frame on this and others. Taped delay over here and the eyes are closing.
Now on to ESPN, Not having the pass for the lead when Kyle took it was the worst, lets talk about another cup driver who is leading the points Clint and miss the pass. The announcer talking about pits and gas etc during the live action is bad. Show some of the Nationwide drivers and stop doing segments on the cup drivers like Carl.
Let the fans see the rookies and maybe NASCAR will pick up more fans for drivers to root for beside the same old ones. Cheers
Forensic, thanks! And congrats on winning the Trifecta again! The Mexico race was boring because ESPN made it boring. Too many damn commercials! And particularly when lead changes were taking place! It was a constant yakfest between Rusty Wallace and Ray Evernham. Get some new, unbiased blood in there. Also, I would have liked to see some profiles of the NS regulars.
Shrub is as strong as a 100 year old walnut tree. ESPN..and Crusty Wallace..LOL..They talked all about Carl. When he went to his "Home Depot" said Rusty. Carl was at Office Depot. Guess the Office paid ESPN off..
Boris needs to watch the replay before he says he is going to take someone out. I like Said..But enough Said..
Hey Jon 464 You couldn't have said it better. A pretty good race with very poor broadcast! I can't remember ever hearing when a car was having problems, 6-8 things theorized in the same sentence...or could it have been driver error?
Boris really came across as a responsible adult when he publicly threatens to wreck another competitor. What happened to "it is just one of them racing deals"? These cars are much too lumbering to dive into spots low in the corner and have them stick...and more than a few spins were casued, as Borises was, by the following driver. In my view and everyone, the car to the rear has the burden to avoid contact, but it doesn't mean a driver can close the door when you are already through it. Maybe use your Mirrors Boris! You were all over the track all day...whose fault was that?
BTW...NASCAR/ESPN thwarted my boycott attempt by making the race unGodly long. I missed laps 66-80 because there were so many caution laps. On a 2.5 mile track, can anyone explain why there was ever a full-course caution? The Lucky Dogs here gained a whole bunch! I am sure Scott Pruett should have been allowed to win, but NASCAR chose to close it up again for no good reason. I was hot when I read Kyle won, because I know how it was done and it P's me OFF! NASCAR still cheats!
Last edited by BeaverNut on April 21st at 11:47 AM.
jon
Is there any intelligent life form as part of ESPN's race day coverage.
From what I can see they basically hired a bunch of stiffs to analyze and to proffer up something that they think'd be enlightening without really offering up much insght as to what's happening on the track.
Adrian Fernandez ........dimunitive in stature but yet he's got some pedigree.
Boris Said ...."Why I can't I get it right ? "
tophatal .........
Last edited by tophatal on April 21st at 11:52 AM.
Noahspop, Shrub may be slight of stature, but you're right, he is strong and can drive the wheels off the car. Wonder how he would do in F1? Thanks for the read and the comments!
Moseby, he got worse when I didn't think he could get worse! Thanks for reading and commenting!
BeaverNut, what Said did in confronting Ambrose's crew chief was BUSH LEAGUE. He should have let his OWN crew chief handle that. I hope Ambrose kicks his #### to next week. I'm with you, where were the local cautions? They threw a FULL-COURSE caution for a piece of tape on the track! WTF was THAT about? At most, it should have been a LOCAL caution! And the timing of the full-course cautions stunk to HIGH HEAVEN because they allowed Kyle Busch to catch up (he was WAY behind and most likely wouldn't have won if not for the full-course cautions). Thanks for reading and the comments.
Tophatal, glad you can drop by for a visit. ESPN's coverage left a LOT to be desired. Fernandez was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Hornish crashed into him. One of them racing deals. He did well to finish in the top 15. Boris Said needed to be b-slapped by Marcos Ambrose. Thanks for the contributions!
jon'
Whoever it was that needed to be slapped. It obviously wan't done hard enough.
As to what portends to the future this season for NASCAR. They can't be too happy that Danica is garnering so much of the limelight at this juncture. I think that over the next few months they'll try to see if they can get on of the females within their organization to race in a Cup event just to say that they're doing something positive with the regard to the gender issues within the sport.
Tophatal, FREAKING hilarious! That cartoon says it all! The guy in the cartoon is probably more of the typical NASCAR fan.
Danica winning is a BOON for the IRL as a whole. And NASCAR doesn't have a female driver that's ready to step into Cup any time soon. The IRL has a golden opportunity to lure away disaffected NASCAR fans. Chrissy Wallace is being touted as The Next Great Female NASCAR Driver, and she is at least 3 years away from being ready for Cup. I think because of her last name (and the IRL) she'll be rushed into Cup and she'll be eaten alive. I compare her to a last-place team that has a phenom waiting in the wings that could turn its fortunes around *in the future*, but isn't ready for the big time.
I sometimes think that some of the coverage by the press isn't always wanted helpful as its civilians now get tried. The repetitive nature of the stories and the overall poor reporting isn't what we ought to be expecting of the press.
As to the professionalism of doing this is what most definately leads me to believe that trivialism is what sells.
Tophatal, good insight. I know for myself, I don't want fluff. I just ask for good, factual reporting. I suspect it's part of the ESPNization or dumbing down of the culture.
jon' When you've got the likes of Berman , Scott, Kornheiser , Stephen A and Skip Bayless trying to be insightful . It really portends how weak the journalists are over there are in Bristol ,Ct.
They're not worth a damn at all !
jon' With regard to the Chrissie Wallace. Don't be surprised if NASCAR tries the Bill Lester experiment with her. NASCAR's idea of dealing with minorities is being done on how it best serves and meets their overall needs. Considering the African American presence within the sport is still somewhat minimal on all fronts.It's any port in a storm for the hierarchy for NASCAR. They no longer really serve the needs of their most ardent fans. They've become a financial behemoth whose only concern is the bottom line and the almighty dollar. They'll screw and are screwing their fans in whatever way that they can.
Tophatal, I fear that NASCAR will push her into Cup before she's ready. If she's good enough to get into Cup, at the right time, I'm all for it. She's got LOADS of potential, but she needs to cut her teeth for a couple of seasons in the Truck Series. Then she needs to spend a couple of full-time seasons in Nationwide. She won't be ready for Cup IMO for another 3-4 years.
I am from Central California. I am passionate about sports, particularly the NFL and NASCAR. My favorite teams are: Panthers (NFL), Lakers (NBA), Flyers (NHL), and Dodgers (MLB). I am also a Kevin Harvick fan in NASCAR. I am a Fresno State honk. (I'll admit it!) And I am also a fan of MMA. Jackie Robinson to this day represents what is right about baseball. I also enjoy discussing the relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) issues of the day pertaining to sports. I will never understand why televised poker is so popular. Who wants to see a bunch of people sitting around a table, muttering to themselves? I do my best to keep politics out of my sports discussions. That is why I recently created a nonsports blog, cencalscribe. blogspot.com. That is where I post my nonsports topics.
