 |
|
 ABOUT CSD
Race
Shop
NEW! Readers Lounge
Classifieds
ADVERTISE |
Click Here:
Gifts For Her!
2008 NASCAR Tickets & NASCAR Schedule
NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expenses, it would be appreciated:
|
Front Page
->>The View From Fanville
Short Track Battle is Over for Now Posted:0535hrs
By Amy Hair,Senior Columnist,Cup Scene Daily We watched Sunday afternoon as the loaded for bear Martinsville Speedway let the boys play on her battlefield for awhile before she slowly started to pick a few off.
The announcers were bundled up and the fans were wrapped up in their blankets, ponchos, caps, scarves and gloves. I’ll bet the concession stands sold more coffee and hot chocolate than they could keep up with. It made me cold just watching the fellows as they did interviews with their visible steamy breath preceding their questions. In Victory Lane it looked like Kenny Wallace was going to just curl up and hide until the cold went away. He sat on his chair with as much of his body pulled back into his jacket as he could get. The only part of his fingers we could see were the tips, and those disappeared when a wave of cold would grab him…he’d pull them back inside, making it look like his jacket was just a bit too big. Instead of sitting straight and tall, he sat with his shoulders pulled into his chest and his head pulled down into his jacket, and the hood wrapped around his headphones, like a turtle trying to hide. Ah…what these guys do for the love of NASCAR. Because Martinsville is a tiny track compared to others, the cars tend to go around the track so quickly that a light rain doesn’t pose a threat for stopping the race. The heat of the cars and constant movement of the air around them dries the tiny drops as they attempt to wet down the track. So our guys plodded through the damp cold mess, and did it with great style. There were the handful of traditional cautions and pile-ups. But at Martinsville, the fellows rarely get up to a speed that carries that serious wipe out potential like we see at places like Talladega and Daytona. Instead we get treated to what almost seems like slow motion wanna be wrecks. Someone gets shoved into someone else and we watch as a whole passel of cars slide every which way, knocking off bumpers, crushing front ends, smashing back ends and finally rolling to a slow stop. They eventually all get turned the same direction again and start to move again, some limp on to pit road, and some mosey on down the track, grateful that it wasn’t their bumper that got shoved into the tailpipe. Not very many cars get packed back in their haulers without a few dents and bruises to prove they were at this track. Even though I know stock car racing has most of its roots buried in short track and dirt track racing…there’s a part of me that just cringes when we go to the few short tracks that are on the circuit. If you’ve ever had the privilege of being close by when these cars rumble to life, they have a real hard time sitting still, idling, and even going from their garage to the pit without stalling, spitting and sputtering all the way there. Why? Because the engines we have in these machines are meant for speed…so when they all line up, all 43 of them and attempt to “race” around these little tracks, it’s sometimes hard to watch. Sure, the talent of the drivers is showcased at these places, but I must admit I find myself very anxious to get back to the tracks where these engines can show their stuff. The faster the better. Not the most popular opinion I’m sure, as folks like to see the beating and banging of the short tracks. But if you get a chance to watch both a short track and a superspeedway race in person…give a listen to those engines and let me know which ones sound sweeter…there’s no choice in my book. In fact, if we could have them, it would be awesome to see a 50 mile stretch of highway, about 43 lanes wide, and straight as a stick. Then line up the guys and turn them loose…50 miles of all out speed. Of course that would be boring to most, and impossible to watch in person unless you just hung out at the end to see who crossed the line first, and that would definitely be dullsville. But imagine if we could watch it from the air, or if we had a huge TV screen with 43 in car cameras and voice scanners…now that would be very cool. But there goes my imagination again…the truth is we’ve got some of the finest tracks and challenges for our guys to run on just as it is, so I’ll button up and keep on watching when the guys roll out on the short tracks. It’s entertaining that’s for sure…and that’s one of NASCAR’s claim to fame these days…entertainment.
NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expense, it would be appreciated:
|
