Talladega Race

The Talladega NASCAR Cup race of November 1st was the beginning of the end for both restrictor plate racing and the current configuration of the Talladega and Daytona tracks. NASCAR, of course, doesn’t know this yet. They will figure it out eventually. I predict that in about five years you will hear NASCAR come up with a plan to do it. They just have to figure out a way to make it sound like it is their idea. That’s just the way they are.

The problem NASCAR has with Talladega and Daytona is twofold: boring and dangerous. During the Talladega race ABC/ESPN made it out to be the bore it was. Single file, stay in line, be careful not to bump the car in front of you in the turns or big, bad Mike Helton will get after you. Now NASCAR is deriding the ABC/ESPN announcing team for daring to say that the race was dull and hinting that the dullness was NASCAR induced. ABC/ESPN usually is very careful not to offend the NASCAR powers to be, but this time they had no choice but to ridicule what they were seeing.

The increased danger in the racing at Talladega and Daytona has been there ever since they went to the restrictor plates. The cars just cannot separate themselves from each other. No matter how hard NASCAR dictates that it not happen, wrecks will occur. Ryan Newman was blunt in his criticism after the wild ride he took. After his wreck at the finish, Mark Martin nearly bit his tongue off to prevent expressing his displeasure with the safety of restrictor plate racing. No matter how safe NASCAR makes these cars (and they have made them much safer) it is only a matter of time racing in these conditions that someone gets seriously hurt or killed.

So, five years from now NASCAR will find a way to remove the restrictor plates and knock down the banking at one end of Talladega and Daytona. They will come up with reasoning that will save face. NASCAR will deem that some kind of technological breakthrough or improvement has made the removal of the plates and the changing of the track configurations a major improvement to the racing at those two facilities. As they are patting themselves on the back I hope we aren’t mourning the loss of a driver.