May31

May 31, 2004

Somebody Please Buy Me a Jolt
By Allison Wagda

Variety is good. One of the things that keeps NASCAR
fans watching week after week is the myriad tracks
and race formats. One week it’s a short track. The next
could be a super speedway, or a road course.

This past Memorial Day weekend, legions of race fans
tuned in to watch the annual Coca Cola 600, the longest
race on the circuit. It’s a test of extreme endurance for
the drivers, mental acuity for crews, and one of the biggest races of the year.

It was a total bore. Lap after lap, it was a parade of stock cars turning right…the
epitome of everything non-race fans criticize about the sport. I watched part of the
Indy 500 before channel surfing over to FOX, and even that race had more passing.

Within around 50 laps, it seemed like more than half the field was already (at least) a
lap down to Jimmy Johnson, who dominated the entire race leading an astonishing
334 out of 400 laps. It was an admirable feat for him, but interesting for the average
fan for about 10 minutes.

I admit it. I took a nap for the vast majority of the race. The steady hum of engines, the
inane droning of the commentators and the pretty colors all blending together on TV
put me right to sleep. I wasn’t even that tired.

I love NASCAR, and every week I wait in anticipation for my Sunday fix. This week, I
was strangely unsatisfied. Sure, I woke up to see the end. At least there was some
sort of race for the checkers (until the final caution), but I felt jipped.

A week or so ago, several high-profile NASCAR writers voiced a desire to reduce the
number of miles run at the Coca-Cola 600. At the time, I was outraged. I mean, hasn’
t NASCAR made enough changes to tradition? I hate to admit it now, but they’re right.

Two weeks in a row at Charlotte is important to racing. It’s the hometown of NASCAR
racing today. The local fans deserve to see exciting racing close to home, and the
drivers benefit by spending time with their families. But something needs to be done
to the Coca-Cola 600 to make it more entertaining.

First of all, it should be shorter. 400 miles is more than enough. The race should
also be run either entirely at night or during the day. While I’m all for keeping teams
on their toes by changing things up, too many teams were knocked out of contention
before the race even began. While many teams were trying to play it safe and plan for
the long haul, Johnson took control right out of the gate and negated any strategy. A
couple of other drivers managed to stay within striking distance, but it didn’t provide
much in the way of drama.

The most interesting part of the day was watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. battle back from
a lap down to a respectable 6th place finish, overcoming challenges he’s faced in
past years. His point lead in the Chase for the Championship may have shrunk, but
he jumped a major hurdle and once again proved why he’s the man to beat this
season.

This weekend is Pocono. It’s another distinct track (a tri-oval), and with any luck, we’ll
get back to the hallmark banging and passing. This time, I won’t fall asleep. Promise.