So Much To Say In Talladega's Aftermath

By Buzz Cutler
Rowdy.com

Being from the same hometown, we often find ourselves quoting Dave Matthews around Rowdy World HQ. About Talladega I have, “So much to say, so much to say …”

I have often stated my dislike for restrictor plate racing. I concede that it’s traditionally a great show. I concede that it’s usually exciting. I also suggest that as far as actual racing goes, it’s typically lackluster. NASCAR has now managed to legislate the excitement and spectacle out of plate racing. Without a show, all we are left with is less than inspiring racing.

Talladega Superspeedway is unnecessarily dangerous. This is nothing new. Why are there yellow-line rules, restrictor plates and bump drafting rules in the first place? Why has NASCAR coninutally needed to address the issue of Talladega? From its inception this track has faced the exact same criticisms as it has this season. Here’s what the late great Sage of the Garage, David Poole, said in one of his very last columns last April:

“The real problem is the same as it has been for the 40 years this track has existed. From the very first weekend of racing held here, when speeds were too fast for tires to withstand and anybody with any regard for what's really safe would have called off the race, the problem is and always has been this race track.”

There is only one solution, which is to change the track itself. (Just ask Jimmie Johnson who has advocated for this repeatedly.) This will never happen because the sport’s sanctioning body and the track’s owner are one and the same. Clearly, reconfiguring the track risks ruining the racing. If that happens, have we really lost any ground?

I am exceedingly frustrated by NASCAR’s ongoing refusal to accept culpability. After April’s Talladega event, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter blamed the drivers’ aggressiveness for the fact that Carl Edwards’ car almost went into the stands. After last weekend’s event, NASCAR’s Vice-President of Competition Robin Pemberton blamed the drivers for the boring race. Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey continues to deny that there is even an issue, saying, “It’s so hard to try to figure out what is everybody talking about and what is everybody saying? You’ve got it coming from both directions.”

NASCAR, you hamper the drivers from being able to do their job, and then point fingers at them for the pitiful results. You react to a dangerous track by putting restrictor plates on the engines thereby creating the draft and the big block of cars, but blame aggressive driving and bump drafting for the gnarly wrecks. Please, stop blaming everybody else and do something substantive. Enough with the band-aids. …

Clearly, there is an aerodynamic issue with the wing. When it moves backwards through space it provides lift as opposed to downforce just like the wings of an airplane. I am sure that this is something that NASCAR will address before we return to plate racing in 2010. Too many cars have gone airborne this year for anybody’s comfort.

If drivers are going to wait until the final 25 laps to race at Talladega, then maybe we should only hold 25-lap races at Talladega.

Buzz Cutler is a co-host of Rowdy.com. For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.

More from Sporting News: NASCAR Takes Broadcasters To Task, Answers Criticism