After 400 Fast Laps at Lowes here comes the Monster
by Charlie Turner
I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.
May 28, 2007 9:17 am CDT 6 CommentsIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Fuel economy runs don’t exactly put me on the edge of my seat. That said, the finish of the Coca Cola 600 was pretty cool. I gotta admit, I was hoping Ricky Rudd would be the winner of the octane roulette game, but Casey Mears unexpected win, even though it was another for HMS, was a feel good moment. JJ Yehley, Kyle the Good, Sorenson and Brian Vickers all in the top five was a nice change up.
I doubt that fuel mileage will play much of a role at the next stop. The new car should look good at the concrete Monster Mile at Dover Downs.
Try these four fast funky corners while we wait. Remember to try and save your tires because this Fast Lap thing isn’t over ’til the last commenter sings.
1. Have you ever seen such an unlikely top five as this?
2. Should the 600 be moved to Saturday?
3. Humpy Wheeler suggested changing the qualifying format to four segments with a quarter of the cars on the track for each segment. Yeah or nah?
4. Which was better, this year’s 600 or the 500?
The new car likes to be set up loose. It helps to be a little loose in here too.
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About the Fast Lap blog
Fast Laps! Welcome to the On Pit Row Fast Lap blog. Every week On Pit Row we pose four Fast Lap questions. Four corners - four questions. On the radio show, Steve and I have 30 seconds each, to give our response to each of the four. If you are a listener, you already know that we rarely agree on any answer. The Fast Lap is NASCAR debate. Hannity and Colmes. Lincoln and Douglas. Wronkowicz and Turner. OK, maybe not Lincoln and Douglas. We have more fun than Lincoln and Douglas. Here's the challenge. We will post our Fast Lap questions some time each Monday. Four questions on topical NASCAR related subjects. Your mission is to comment with your answers and each answer is limited to 100 words. The questions, answers and comments will form the basis of this blog for that week. Comment on the Fast Lap questions. Comment on the comments. Insult the commenters. Witty ridicule is rated at least as highly as cogent commentary. Just remember that you have limited words and penalties are severe. Or not. Steve and I will select worthy blog entries to be featured on an edition of On Pit Row. That's the plan. I'm sure we will have some other things to post about each week but the intention is to pose most posts as questions. I want to argue with you! Bring it on.
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1. If there has been a more unlikely group to be in the top five in recent history, I can’t remember one. Not only Casey Mears picking up his first win, but having Brian Vickers bring home a Toyota in the fifth spot would have seemed impossible even a week ago. Hats off to Kyle Petty for a third. Yeah, it was a fuel milage thing, but he had himself in a position to be there, regardless.
2) Moving the 600 to Saturday makes a ton of sense. Most of NASCARs night races are held on Saturdays anyhow. From NASCARs perspective, by having the race the day before Indy, would put it forefront in peoples minds and give NASCAR drivers the ability to run both races. It’s a natural.
3) Humpy comes up with some strange ideas, like school bus jumping. However, this one would really up the excitement of qualifying; something that is sorely needed. If indeed NASCAR is not going to budge on the top 35 rule having the drivers “race” for starting positions would definately bring excitement to the qualifying process again.
4) I thought the Indy 500, this year, was a lot of fun to watch. It had little interest in the recent past. Maybe it was having Sam Hornish as the defending champ, or three women in the field or just the fact that more than half of the starting grid was filled with recognizable names again. Passing was abundant and there were stories everywhere. This race still has a ways to go before it is back to its lofty perch, but I liked it.
There you go–rip ‘em apart!
OK, I will.
1. As I said on the show, and I have witnesses at work, I almost switched my pick in the ON PIT ROW Chain Game to Casey Mears or Brian Vickers, but I wimped out. Certainly a surprise finishing order. The only more unlikely finish would have been an all Everinham top three.
2. This is the part of the show where Steve earns his stupid stripes. Memorial Day Sunday is the greatest racing day of the year with the 600, 500 and Monaco F1, all at different time, and Stevo wants to break it up so we can have another Saturday night cup race. No more chance at somebody running the “double” on the same day. No. Move the 500 to noon. On Sunday.
3. Dumb and dumber. Let’s turn qualifying into a drafting contest. We could even have “debris” cautions during qualifying. Great idea. No. If Humpy wants people in the stands for time trials, tell him to get NASCAR to DROP THE TOP 35 RULE!
4. I’m an open wheel racing fan. Itune in the 500 evry year, hoping for a return of the magical feel that it used to have. This year was better. But any race with two rain delays and a shortened length can’t compare to the drama the 600 had this year. You gotta love a Sctsman named Franchiti winning anything, but I’ll take a Petty finishing third this year.
I’ll give you the elimination of the top 35 rule would fix what is wrong with qualifying. But the fact is–the top 35 rule exists and if NASCAR won’t change that, then something else needs to change. Remember Chucklehead–this isn’t your father’s NASCAR.
You say that changing the 600 to Saturday would ruin the great day of racing on the tube. Yet, you admitted to me that you barely watched the 500, because of blah, blah, blah. The truth of the matter is that few of even the biggest couch potatos can spend the ENTIRE day in front of the tube watching from 7a to 11p. As old as you are, I am sure you remember both races being on Memorial Day–not on MD eve. Did you whine and cry over that move? Probably not. So get over it and realize that NASCAR doesn’t give two craps about tradition–regardless of how tenuous that tradition is. Move the thing to Saturday. Give NASCAR a chance to showcase its drivers at the former spectacle and damn the rain.
Oh, my demented friend. Humpy’s idea smacks of change for change’ sake. Wheeler has a pretty successful history of good ideas - but everyone makes dumb sometimes. Some more than others, partner. Back to the drawing board Humpster.
I prefer to look at Memorial Sunday as a quest. It’s an accomplishment to finish the “triple” as a fan, just as competing in the “double” is for a driver. Neither would be possible with your change. A totally unique weekend would become like all the rest.
BTW. I remember when Memorial day was celebrated on the last day in May, Sunday…Monday…Thursday. I’m not the one who changed it. But I do like having Sunday and Monday off back to back.
1) No.
2) No.
3) In theory.
4) 600.
Y’all are about as jacked up as a football bat.
What Humpy was talking about is that current qualifying procedures are flat out boring to watch. There is no entertainment value in it what so ever. It qualifies the cars well, stepping aside from the Top 35 Fiasco, but it is far from entertaining.
I can hang with the concept of 4 heats, X number of laps, fastest lap is your qualifying time.
It would add a little entertainment to pole day.
Is it practical, is the question. I don’t know. I love the Twin 125’s, but running something like that every week would ruin the magic of Daytona’s unique qualifying procedure.
Part of the problem is 600 qualifying is on a Thursday.
IMHO, qualifying (overall) should be held on days where there are other activities going on. Busch race, Truck race, whatever. On weekends where Cup is solo, they’re on their own.
But, overall, the current qualifying format can’t stand on it’s own in terms of entertainment. Who wants to buy a ticket just to watch single car runs? I’ll pass, and come back a day later from Emerald Isle in time for the Busch race on Saturday.
I don’t know what could be done, or if something should be done, but something could be done without throwing it completely out of whack.
Bout time I got back over here….you never know who Luke will let in:)
?1. IF Bud can’t go with Jr. ~Ryan Newman
2. RCR ~ Penske
3.No doubt, brining Winston to the table. Hands down. That’s took NASCAR to a higher level in National publicity. At least Krista knows a little about racing. My biggest beef with her? She won’t tell her age, like it’s something to be ashamed about.
YES. I will tell mine. The Red hat birthday approaches in Jan.
4. OMG!! I refuse to lower myself to answer that.
5. I can’t read the verification code so you will probably never see this.