But everything that was done (or suggested) did nothing to prevent the most pathetic excuse for a race I've ever seen in almost 20 years of watching NASCAR racing. This, my friends, was a travesty.
If you didn't see the Allstate 400 from the Brickyard on Sunday afternoon, go out to a local track Saturday night and just watch for a few minutes. You'll get the idea. Basically, the 160 lap race was broken down into 15 or 16 lap segments of green flag and then a NASCAR issued caution flag, allowing teams to change tires. This was what NASCAR thought would be the only way to prevent a tire from blowing out as a driver was going into a corner at 200 miles per hour.
Everyone knew tire wear would be a problem going into the weekend. It always has at Indy. That place is rough. It was built 100 years ago for open-wheel cars to run on, not these monsters that the Sprint Cup Series is running these days. It was ground down a few years ago to allow for better handling cars. That's great. But when a tire is down to the chords after 8-10 laps there is obviously a problem - a problem that everyone thought would get better. It didn't by the way.
The media says not to blame Goodyear, the track, or NASCAR. That it was circumstances that allowed the outcome Sunday. I personally blame all three.
First, I blame Goodyear for coming to the track with a pathetic tire. They have for a long time. May I redirect you to the spring race at Atlanta? How can Jerry Punch do a voice-over for ESPN saying that Goodyear tires are track tested and are the best out there or whatever and then continue to watch what was going on Sunday afternoon? David Poole of the Charlotte Observer and Sirius Radio's The Morning Drive says we don't need a tire war like we saw in the early 90's. I tend to believe that if you bring in another tire manufacturer (such as for example, Hoosier) that the product they put out there will alleviate the problem of a tire war because Goodyear will be put to shame. Then we can get down to decent racing.
A side point: I can't remember when a fuel issue (an actual problem with the fuel itself and not mileage) affected a race to the point where the teams could only go 10 laps.
Next, I blame the track for grounding it down several years ago. They spent millions of dollars to repave the dumb thing and then they grounded grooves into the surface in an attempt to smooth it out. Um... HUH? There are laser guided paving machine things that can make a surface of a racetrack as smooth as possible. Why not use it instead of creating grooves in the track surface. The purpose of the grounding was to improve handling for Indy cars, which is apparently IMS's bread and butter. Ok, maybe it is actually their bread and butter and not apparently. Repave the track Tony George. You'll thank yourself later.
Finally, I blame NASCAR. WHY WASN'T THERE A FULL-FIELD OPEN TEST HERE LAST WEEK? I mean, they had an open test at Pocono... was Indy booked that day or something? If the Brickyard 400 is truly the second biggest race of the year, then why wasn't NASCAR there last week testing? Chicago is a stone's throw from Indy in the grand scheme of things, why not stop by there on the way home and test for two days? I also think that NASCAR should loosen restrictions on certain aspects of this new racecar. If it is the future, then fix it now and prevent bad racing and poor handling.
You know, the fastest car the entire weekend did in fact win the race. And I think he could've won if there weren't pit stops every 15 laps. I just think the route to victory would have been a little more interesting.
I'm a fan and I'm still gonna watch the Poconap 500 on Sunday, but the memories will linger from Indianapolis for the rest of the season. Personally, I don't think we should be going to Indianapolis Motor Speedway anyway. O'Reilly Raceway Park would be a good filler in its place.
Or maybe a second race at Darlington.
Or A race at Rockingham. Or North Wilkesboro.
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