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The Top Five: Breaking down the Las Vegas race

Five thoughts following Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway…

1. The Game Done Changed

Brad Keselowski sounded the alarm bells last year when he said NASCAR hadn’t let one manufacturer get so far ahead of the others since the 1970s.

He was talking about Toyota, of course. And with only minor rules changes coming into this year and Chevrolet rolling out its slick new Camaro, Keselowski was worried the Fords might “take a drubbing,” as he put it last November.

But after seeing Fords finish sweep the podium at Atlanta and then take six of the top 10 spots Sunday at Las Vegas — including another dominating win by Kevin Harvick — Keselowski said he is feeling differently.

“My initial reaction is — without a full data set — it seems to imply the field has been evened out a little bit,” Keselowski told me as he walked down pit road. “Or at least the balance has been shifted.”

Keselowski believed Harvick’s strong performance at the end of last year was in spite of the Fords not being on an equal playing field (his words) as the Toyotas. But now, he said, “We got to an equal playing field, and he showed to be as strong as he probably should have been last year.”

So what changed? Well, many people have been pointing the finger at the new inspection system (which was initially called “Hawk-Eye” and then “The OSS” and now the “Optical Scanning Station,” but for our purposes we’ll call the “black tent”).

Does most of the credit go to the black tent? Keselowski gave an initial yes, but he cautioned it’s still too early to know for sure.

“We felt all along if the cars were held to the gold standard — which is the submittal (of the car’s specifications that get approved by NASCAR) — then the playing field would be level,” he said. “And we didn’t feel like that was the case last year, which is why we pushed really hard for this system so everyone was racing what they were supposed to be racing.”

2. Big OSS

Along those lines, Harvick noted the rules might not have changed, but the enforcement has. The black tent — “Big OSS,” as SiriusXM host Jim Noble called it — has made for “a totally different interpretation of the rules,” Harvick said.

“There was a lot of things with the splitters last year that some people were doing and people weren’t doing,” he said. “There’s not rules changes per se, the rules were really different and how teams interpret them.”

There’s a common splitter now, which teams all purchase from the same supplier. So that can’t be manipulated in the same way.

Aside from that, the rules haven’t changed much. So it’s sort of fascinating to see how teams approach the big black tent.

As you recall, Martin Truex Jr.’s team failed three times before qualifying at Atlanta. But then the 78 car was one of the first teams to make it through before the Atlanta race inspection.

Similarly, Jimmie Johnson’s team got through pre-qualifying inspection at Las Vegas easily, but then failed three times Sunday morning before the race (which forced them to start in the back and resulted in the ejection of the car chief).

It was quite common in the last couple years for teams to loudly whisper about NASCAR’s laser inspection station being inconsistent. To this day, many swear the LIS would occasionally spit out bogus numbers.

“Last year, there were so many (times) that you’d go through tech and you’d go through with the same car that you didn’t change — and the numbers were different,” team owner Tony Stewart said. “We didn’t change anything on the race cars, and numbers were drastically different.”

But that’s not the case with this new system so far. Teams are getting through easily, and when they don’t, it’s because they’re pushing the limits — not because NASCAR’s equipment is inconsistent.

Just look at Johnson’s team on Sunday. You can’t fault Chad Knaus for trying everything he could to get Johnson some more speed, but you definitely can’t fault NASCAR for enforcing the limits, either.

Rules are rules. As long as officials apply them fairly to everyone, no one should complain.

3. Johnson’s comeback

As the laps wound down in the first stage, Johnson was in serious danger of going two laps down under green — the continuation of a nightmarish streak for his team dating back to last fall.

As it turned out, Johnson and Knaus pulled out some of the magic that made them so special over the years, salvaging a 12th-place finish on a day that initially looked ugly.

Johnson acknowledged he had to change his approach on Sunday and get back to basics.

“At the end of last year and even in Atlanta, I was trying too hard,” he said. “Just giving 100 percent and driving the car where it’s at and bringing it home is what I need to start doing.

“I have been trying to carry it, and I’ve crashed more cars in the last six months than I have really in any six-month stretch or whole year stretch. (I was) just trying to drive it 100 percent and not step over that line.”

It worked, although Johnson indicated Hendrick Motorsports is still behind — and it’s not all just because the new Camaro is in its infancy.

“There is a piece of performance that is familiar from last year, so I think we have some work to do ourselves underneath the body with the chassis and the setup of the car,” he said, referring to an area where Hendrick fell behind in 2017. “… I think the body is definitely helping the car, we’ve just got some other stuff to sort out to go along with it and kind of find the sweet spot for the car, too.”

 

4. Fords Real, Tho

Part of the Ford boost so far this year has resulted in improved performance for drivers like Paul Menard (ninth at Las Vegas) and Aric Almirola (10th).

Fords are 1-2-3 in the point standings (Harvick-Joey Logano-Ryan Blaney) and eight of the top 13 after the first three races.

“The strength of the Fords has been nice,” Logano said. “Heck yeah. I am excited about it.”

So…are they for real? Though Las Vegas was a good indicator the answer is yes, drivers cautioned to hold off for a few more weeks before making any firm conclusions.

“You take all six races before the (Easter) break to realize (what kind of speed a team has),” Ryan Blaney said. “You come here and it is different than Atlanta. You kind of show your strength here. You kind of see where your short track stuff adds up at Phoenix and then we go to a big two-mile (at Fontana) and you really get an idea there.

“I think when the break comes and that off-weekend comes, you really know where you stack up.”

Kyle Busch said Vegas is indicative of who will run well in the future — but only the immediate future, not the whole year. He pointed to how his team started last season as a top-10 car but eventually improved to a frontrunner by the summer.

“I don’t think it’s a huge telltale, but it’ll obviously give you an idea of who’s going to be tough up through May,” he said.

Keselowski said each race is a data point, and there are only two real data points so far.

“One data point doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “Two data points doesn’t mean everything — but it does mean something.”

5. Stinking up the show?

It didn’t seem like Sunday’s race was the greatest display of NASCAR racing that has ever existed. Clean air was a factor (it even plagued Harvick when he was in traffic) and a single car led 321 of the 400 miles in the race.

But honestly, I’m not sure what NASCAR can do about that. Sometimes a car will just hit on something and kick everyone’s butts — which seems to be the case the last two weeks.

It’s not going to last forever, though. Sure, Harvick might go out and do this again at Phoenix — no one would be surprised if that happened — but it’s not going to be like this all season.

In fact, I don’t even think Harvick is going to pull a Truex and rack up an unfathomable amount of playoff points. One or two gains in speed, and everyone else will be right there with Harvick.

Now, if Harvick is still doing this by the time Texas rolls around? Then yeah, it’s going to be a lonnnnng year for everyone else.

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DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR picks: Las Vegas

DraftKings isn’t accessible from Nevada, where the casinos make sure you play there instead of online.

But even though I can’t play this week, that doesn’t mean you can’t. Here are some picks to consider when making your lineup:

— Kevin Harvick ($10,300): After winning Atlanta, Harvick looks fast again this week at Vegas. He had the second-fastest 10-lap average in final practice and had the fastest 15- and 20-lap average in numbers tweeted out by FOX Sports’ Darrell Waltrip.

— Kyle Larson ($9,800): Fastest in the January test session, where he and his team worked on their Vegas setup for two days. Then he put together the fastest 10-lap average for final practice. Larson is my pick to win the race and yet he’s only the fourth-most expensive driver.

— Denny Hamlin ($9,100) or Erik Jones ($8,300): Not sure who to go with here. Hamlin starts 19th, so you have position differential possibilities there (he was ninth-fastest in 10-lap average for final practice and fifth-fastest of eight drivers who made 20-lap runs). But Jones seems faster — he was eighth-fastest in 10-lap average and sixth in 15-lap average. The downside in picking Jones is he doesn’t always close out races and he starts 10 spots higher than Hamlin.

— Clint Bowyer ($8,100): Bowyer looked good at Atlanta, qualified 11th and had the 10th-fastest 10-lap average in final practice. He also comes at a very decent price.

— Ryan Newman ($7,100): Newman participated in the Vegas test session in January and was 11th-fastest in 10-lap average for final practice. His car seems better on short runs (he had the fifth-fastest single-lap speed Saturday) but the price is quite good here for a potential top-10 driver who starts 25th.

— Michael McDowell ($5,500): The new Front Row Motorsports driver showed up with speed this weekend. He had the ninth-fastest single lap in the first practice session Saturday, which is obviously far above what the team typically does. It makes me a little nervous to see him start 15th, because that could potentially cost you points if he doesn’t have a good race. But at this price, it’s hard to pass him up.

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Bubba Wallace’s story, star power attracts Vegas sponsor

Bubba Wallace has quickly become one of NASCAR’s breakout stars, and his No. 43 car has another new sponsor this week: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The trendy casino hotel in heart of the Strip initially had planned to skip sponsoring a car this year after appearing on Daniel Hemric’s Xfinity Series car last year. A different marketing strategy for 2018, which focused on its recent room remodeling, wasn’t going to include NASCAR.

But after being presented with a chance to sponsor Wallace and researching his story, the rookie driver’s appeal changed their minds, Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas chief marketing officer Tom Evans said via phone.

“We started seeing what Bubba was doing and the opportunity he had out there,” Evans said. “… We thought, ‘This is such a unique opportunity with such a unique person. How can we make this happen?’”

The Cosmopolitan views itself as somewhat of an underdog because it’s surrounded by mega casinos and is “the small kid fight that has to fight a little harder to get our share of the market,” Evans said.

“We thought, ‘If we were going to do this, his story and our story and how we align ourselves with being that underdog really makes a lot of sense,” he added.

Talks were started in late January and a commitment was made right before Wallace’s second-place finish in the Daytona 500 — timing Evans was obviously thrilled about.

“From a marketing standpoint, I couldn’t be any happier,” he said. “If I waited a day, I might have been in trouble.”

Aside from having the logo on the car and getting exposure for the resort that way, Evans said the Cosmopolitan was happy to “have access to Bubba and be able to meet him and talk to him.” In addition, it gives the resort’s 5,000 employees someone to root for.

“Whenever I’ve shown someone that logo painted with the 43 on the car, there’s such a pride that goes along with it,” he said.

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Whoa, what’s up with Michael McDowell at Las Vegas?

Here’s a list of drivers who had a slower single-lap speed than Michael McDowell in Saturday morning’s practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin…

That’s what happens when a driver has top-10 speed in practice, which was the case with McDowell. He had the ninth-fastest lap in the first of two Saturday practices, following up on his 15th-place qualifying effort Friday.

What’s going on here? A few things, McDowell said. Ford Performance is giving the team more help, the technical alliance with Roush Fenway Racing is paying off and McDowell has chemistry with his new team.

“Where it’s coming from is I feel like I’ve got a group of guys who believe in me and have given me all the tools to do what I think I can do,” McDowell said. “That’s a big part of it.”

McDowell said his teammates — not just Front Row’s David Ragan, but Roush’s Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — are all working well together. But even the No. 34 team didn’t expect to be quite this high up on the speed charts heading into Vegas.

“We were hopeful we could be close to the Roush cars and we could be lingering in those teens to 20,” he said. “Definitely we have a little more speed this weekend than we anticipated to have, but it’s a long year.

“You’ve got to ride it when it’s good, because we know it’s not always going to be like this. It’s a dogfight out here, but it’s fun when you’ve got fast cars.”

Of course, single-lap speed doesn’t mean McDowell is going to have a top-10 finish in the race. Of the 19 drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps in the Saturday’s first practice, McDowell was 16th.

But this weekend is feeling good so far for a driver who was not long ago facing the driver unemployment line. McDowell was let go from Leavine Family Racing last fall with no prospects for 2018.

“Performance makes things better, but if you put your happiness in performance, you’re very miserable in this sport because only one guy wins every week,” he said. “I’m thankful to have a job and I’m thankful to be in the garage. There was definitely a time last year when I didn’t think I was going to be here.”

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12 Questions with Bubba Wallace (2018)

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The 12 Questions series of interviews continues with Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., who is in his rookie season driving for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Cup Series. This interview was recorded as a podcast, but is also available in transcript form.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

Once every blue moon. I don’t dream about it every night before I go to bed.

Do you have nightmares about crashing or some crazy thing?

No. I had a dream two or three weeks ago that I was finally racing again. So it was like, “Yeah, that’s cool.”

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

Yeah, it does. For example, I reached out to (Denny) Hamlin to say, “We’re all good?” He’s not good. But I did my part, so it’s like, “OK, I’ve got nothing to worry about.” (Note: The drivers apparently spoke a few hours after this interview was recorded.)

It could have festered if you didn’t.

I look at the (Matt) Kenseth and (Joey) Logano deal (from Martinsville). You really take notes from that. But you’re gonna be racing these guys every week, hopefully for the next 10, 15 years.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

“You’re a role model,” or “You’re very inspiring.” A kid came up to me at Daytona and was like, “I’m gonna be the next you.” It was like, “Holy cow, that was cool.” Through all the emotions I was going through right then, I’m like, man, no time for that. “Nice to meet you.” Carry on. (Laughs)             

4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?

I’ve been thinking about when we go to Fontana, like we get Kevin Hart out. That would be awesome.

I’m bummed I didn’t meet Charlize Theron though (when she was honorary starter at Daytona).

You never met her?

No. I’m a brunette guy, obviously Amanda (Carter, his girlfriend) is a brunette. But (Theron) has always been my top blonde. Ever. Like ever since I was like 10.

And she’s there at Daytona…

She’s there, and yeah…no. Peyton Manning was there though, so (Tennessee) Vol For Life.

I told Amanda that Charlize was there and she was like, “Cool.” She didn’t like it. (Laughs)

5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?

(Laughs) No. Absolutely not. No.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career.

What is this shit that you have? (Laughs)

I looked on Racing Reference, picked a random race and you have to tell me where you finished. This is the 2015 Texas spring race for the Xfinity Series. 

(Makes random thinking noises.)

Are you good at remembering races?

I remember that one. It wasn’t a good finish. Or was it? I don’t know exactly where I finished because if it’s not top 10, then it’s just like, “Eh, top 15.” I think I was 20th or something. I think I blew a tire. I think that race rained out and we ran the next day. No? (Note: He was thinking of the Texas fall race that year.)

This is a top-10 finish, I’ll give you a hint.

Oh wait, that must have been the fall race. I’m sorry. I finished seventh?

Sixth.

Sixth. Oh, go figure.

I picked a sixth because of all your sixths last year. You started eighth. You led three laps and Erik Jones won. And I swear on my life this is completely random, but after I already picked this race, I realized Austin Dillon finished in front of you and Denny Hamlin finished right behind you.

(Laughs) That’s pretty funny.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I have to go Lil Weezy (Lil Wayne).

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

I’ve seen this question, and…who has the most punchable face? This is funny. I couldn’t think of one right when I’d seen it. That’s tough. I don’t know.

Some people just have annoying faces, it doesn’t necessarily mean…

Yeah, I’m just trying to think. Who has that one face? I’ve seen people that have that face, but nobody in the garage.

9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

It’s a toss-up between Tom Hanks as being the crew chief or the motorhome driver, because Tom Hanks is just awesome. He’s like that older guy that you’d want driving your bus, who’d just take care of everything. But then he’s so knowledgable and I feel like he has so much strategy to be the crew chief.

But I’ll put him as motorhome driver, have LeBron be the crew chief. Shit, that leaves T-Swift up to being the spotter. Ah man, that’s a tough one.

The thing about T-Swift is that she might get over-excited.

I know. My spotter Freddie (Kraft), he’s from New York, and our first race together, he was super excited, yelling, and I was like, “Dude you have to chill out because we’re gonna wreck.” Because I got excited. So I think I went through that emotion, and now I’m OK.

So if she got excited, I would be like, “Alright, cool, just try to calm down please.”

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

So I’ve never been able to take a poop in any public place.

Not a port-a-potty or anything?

Oh hell no. Absolutely not.

Is it because of the comfort of your own toilet or the cleanliness of your own toilet?

Both. I have maybe gone once or twice when I was little and I can’t remember. But I never did in middle school, never did in high school and I’ve never done it at a racetrack. Ever. Unless I have a motorhome. Motorhome, it’s all mine.

Can I tell you something? In about 10 years you won’t be able to hold it as well.

No, I will hold it.

11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?

We were just talking about this at dinner last night. I have always been scared to do a backflip — rightfully so, because I could manage to land on my neck and die. We went on a cruise, and we were in the water launching people off our shoulders, and I just freaked out and flailed my arms in mid-air. I just couldn’t do it.

So then a month ago, we went to a trampoline place in Charlotte and in the foam pit, I did it. I’m like, “OK, I know what to do, your legs is all the momentum that you need.” So I kicked really hard and I actually perfectly landed on my feet for a backflip. I’m like, “Hell yeah!” I’m not ready to do it on hard surfaces, though. It’d have to be lots of money.

12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Corey LaJoie. Apparently he used to give you a ride to school for two and a half years, and he claims it cost him an extra 20 minutes off his day, every day — and you only gave him $20 total for all the chauffeuring that he did. So I think he wanted to say, what was up with that?

So it wasn’t 20 minutes. He and I lived the same distance on opposite ends of school. I was a mile and a half on one side, he was a mile and a half on the other. So he’d drive three miles to my house, and a mile and a half back to school. So four and a half miles, which is not 20 minutes. And traffic wasn’t bad at all.

Twenty bucks is a little shy. But hell, I’m running Late Models at that point, I’m not making anything. It’s just a funny story because everything that we do for each other, it’s like, “Hey man, remember I gave you $20? We’re good.” And we die laughing over that.

But there were some moments where I’m sitting at the house and school started at like 7:15 — and it’s 7, 7:05, 7:10…

“Hey, where you at?”

“Oh, I’m not coming today.”

It’s like, “Damn!” He did do that a couple of times. He’s like, “Oh yeah, I’m racing somewhere today.” No notice. So luckily I made it on time, but yeah, there were a couple of instances like that. So what he would have earned, he lost because of those moves.

He got docked.

Yes, sometimes I had to do detention for him.

There’s fines involved.

Yeah.

So the next interview I’m doing is with Alex Bowman. Do you have a question for him?

Alex Bowman…that’s a tough one. I don’t really know Alex that well, but I do because we’ve raced together since K&N days a little bit. Just ask him how long it took to get over me wrecking him at Homestead of 2016.

Coming to the line, I had the run on Aric Almirola and Bowman happened to get a run on me, so it was like an accordion effect. I went to dive under just to try and get the spot on Almirola, and Bowman was under me. So it looked like Blake Koch and me at Phoenix, and I just felt so bad because my spotter was probably saying, “Inside, inside,” and I turned hard left and destroyed his car.

I didn’t have Bowman’s number or anything, and I felt like crap all the way up to Dale Jr.’s wedding, which was a month and a half later.  And I saw the crew chief (Dave Elenz) at the wedding and I was like, “Look, man, I totally apologize, I didn’t mean to do that, I know I ruined y’all’s day.” He was like, “Yeah, we were all pretty pissed at you for a little bit.”So yeah, just see how long it took for him to get over it. Because last time I met him it was like, “Hey man, what’s up?” I’m like, “Ah it’s good, thanks.”

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Bubba Wallace:

— May 29, 2013

— Sept. 24, 2014

— July 19, 2016

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The Top Five: Breaking down the Atlanta race

Five thoughts after Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway…

1. Veterans Day

The top eight finishers at Atlanta all have at least eight seasons in the Cup Series — a veteran-heavy scoring pylon led by the definitive expert on this old track.

Was it by chance all those experienced drivers found themselves finishing toward the front?

“There’s no coincidence,” Kevin Harvick said.

First of all, Harvick is simply better than other drivers at Atlanta. He understands exactly how to get around the bottom quickly and without abusing his tires — as demonstrated in leading a combined 66 percent of the laps in the Cup and Xfinity Series races.

“He can be on a tricycle and probably be that fast here,” said Joey Logano, who finished sixth.

But the other drivers in the top eight aren’t too shabby either, and it’s because they know how to race from the days when it wasn’t just hammer-down and go all-out — a finesse that can only come with experience.

“This is just the way it used to be when you had a lot of horsepower and you could spin the tires a lot,” Clint Bowyer said after finishing third. “It seems like you get on these tracks like we’ll be at next weekend (in Las Vegas) and it’s qualifying laps every single lap, and those kids will show back up.”

“Those kids” weren’t much of a factor on Sunday. Kyle Larson finished ninth and Chase Elliott was 10th after pit strategy (the same as the one Denny Hamlin and Logano used).

But the others in the top 10 — Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Bowyer, Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Logano and the Busch brothers — all have at least 300 Cup starts.

So despite the youthful look to the Daytona 500, it was the veterans who took over once more experience came into play.

“Talladega is in April,” Harvick said, inferring that would be the next time young drivers would dominate the running order again.

2. Fords focused

Toyota dominated the last two seasons and Chevrolet had its fearsome new Camaro body hitting the track this year, which led everyone to believe the Fords might spend 2018 playing from behind.

But then the manufacturer went out and swept the top three spots at Atlanta, taking four of the top six positions overall.

“It’s clear the Fords have an unfair advantage,” joked Hamlin, who has spent the last two years hearing all the accusations about Toyota’s edge.

Ford drivers were optimistic after their solid day, but cautiously so. Atlanta is “a unique beast” and much different from the other intermediate tracks, Logano said. Just because a driver has a good Atlanta race doesn’t mean it will translate to the other tracks.

Las Vegas “really shows where your mile-and-a-half speed is at,” he added. “Next week will be the true test to see where we’re at.”

Bowyer acknowledged he was “a little bit nervous” in the offseason after knowing the Chevrolets would be showing up with a new body and the Toyotas wouldn’t lose anything.

“But so far, so good,” he said.

3. Jimmie’s jam

What in the world? After two races, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson is 35th in the point standings — behind even Mark Thompson and DJ Kennington, who only ran the Daytona 500. He is the lowest-ranked driver of all those who have run both Cup races so far.

That’s what happens when a driver finishes 38th and 27th in the first two weeks of the season.

So is it time to panic? Of course not. Johnson and the 48 team can win anywhere, and that’s all it will take.

Still, it has to be unsettling at the very least. Johnson didn’t run well the entire weekend and was lapped on two different occasions before spinning out and really putting his race in the craptastic category.

Another bad run at Vegas could certainly challenge the team’s morale.

4. Gunning it

It’s really quite amazing how few hiccups there have been on the pit stops so far, at least in terms of subtracting one crew member. As noted after the Clash, it doesn’t seem like much of a factor and teams are quickly adapting to the new choreography.

What has been a challenge so far? Pit guns, apparently. As reported here last October, NASCAR implemented a common pit gun for every crew this year. But as it turns out, some teams are having hiccups.

Truex crew chief Cole Pearn told NBC’s Nate Ryan and ESPN’s Bob Pockrass after the race the pit guns were “pieces of shit.” And Truex noted it certainly would be unfortunate if a faulty gun cost someone a win or a spot in the championship race.

Several teams, including Truex, Harvick and Alex Bowman appeared to have issues with them.

But is that a trend, or just a coincidence? Or are they getting blamed for pit crew members messing up?

After all, it didn’t seem like the problems were widespread.

“Mine worked, so we’re happy,” Hamlin said. “If it didn’t work, we wouldn’t be happy.”

It seems too early to judge if this is going to be an ongoing problem or not. Perhaps as the teams work through the quirks of the new gear, it won’t be as big of a deal. But if it happens again in the next few weeks and turns out to be a continuing issue, it’s going to cause some major grumblings from the drivers.

5. Rain Dance

I woke up Sunday morning absolutely convinced the race would be postponed. Even the most optimistic forecasts said there was only a 20 percent chance of getting the race started, and once the rain hit, it would sit over the track and not move until Monday afternoon.

I’ve been through plenty of rainouts before, but this one was different. Now that I’m spending my own money (money many of you gave me through Patreon to travel to races), I felt deeply disappointed and sort of sick over it.

American Airlines was asking $414 to change my flight, which was a no-go. And buying a new flight would have been in the $500 range. That meant I was going to have to go home without seeing the race after making an investment to get here.

That sucked. But even with that feeling, it’s still not the same as what many fans go through during a rainout. After all, I’m supposed to be here; this is my job. Fans who stretch the budget and spend vacation time in order to make a race and then have to leave to get back home for work, school or other obligations must feel so empty and sad when that happens.

I had a little taste of it Sunday morning, but I got lucky when the entire race unexpectedly got in, just with a two-hour delay.

If it hadn’t, at least fans at Atlanta had a “Perfect Weather Guarantee” that would have given them a ticket credit had the race been postponed and they were unable to attend.

That should be the standard at all tracks. The industry has to make it so that NASCAR’s most loyal customers don’t get burned and have nothing to show for their time and money. Because after an experience like that, who would want to come back and try it again?