Story Lines Galore in Kentucky
It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but the race Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway had a ton of story lines to keep this old fart up way past his bed time. These days that says a lot.
The new pavement and configuration of the racing surface created a narrower than usual racing grove which made it very slippery for the world’s best race car drivers. More than a dozen cars received damaged in accidents Saturday night but many were of the single car variety. It seemed if anyone dared venture outside the racing groove, they were likely to pay a stiff penalty in the way of lost positions or worse, a visit to the wall. Kevin Harvick described it as driving on “black ice”.
It wasn’t just the new racing surface that was creating havoc on the track. NASCAR’s new reduced aero package and its decrease in downforce created cars that wiggled more than the Go Go Dancers on the old “Laugh In Show" of the 70’s. You younger readers can google that.
Tires also became something of concern during the race as well. Joey Logano, venturing outside the racing grove, saved his car but brushed the wall. This created just enough damage to his rear quarter panel that the handling in the #22 Ford went away. A few short laps later his tire exploded causing a hard hit into the wall, ending his night.
Logano later said he thought his increased use of braking caused by the handling issues created from the hit, ended up causing the tire to explode. The brakes on most cars could be seen glowing bright orange as they stopped in the pits for fuel and tires.
And just in case there weren’t enough story lines in this race we had a late race caution that came just outside the fuel window for all the teams. Well, all the teams but one. During the next gas shortage, Detroit would do well to call on Brad Keselowski as they attempt to develop automobiles that attain great fuel mileage.
Is there anyone better in the sport today than he at finishing races on fumes alone? At one time, as the laps were winding down, he actually ended up running out of fuel. He calmly (well, maybe not so calmly) switched to the small auxiliary tank which holds a bit more than a thimble of fuel but a thimble of fuel for Bad Brad is like half a tank for the rest of us. What looked like a sure Carl Edwards victory suddenly became Keselowski’s Sprint Cup series leading 4 victories.
The night reminded me of golf’s US Open’s where the
PGA sets up the course that makes it near impossible for players to score par or better. The track, the car set up, the tires and lady luck all played a part of a night of racing that had more story lines than any race we’ve seen in NASCAR in many years. There was a time where I thought there may be no cars left standing at the end of the night.
Was it everybody’s cup of tea? Of course not. Would I like to see nights like that every race weekend? Not really but it kept your attention, didn’t it? Maybe not edge of your seat attention but attention nonetheless.
The aero package, the racing surface, the tires, fuel mileage all combined for a compelling night of racing just filled with story lines. I liked it!
Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR. You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante.
