It does appear that the splitter
is fragile, and while the controlling types out there are quick to say “Well, you just shouldn’t run into the
guy in front of you”, that is simply unrealistic—and ALL fans, new and seasoned alike, do not want to see their
guy in the pits after a minor bump. This can be fixed with a plastic nose that is one piece which has an integral splitter-like
lower lip—similarly to last years truck front end or, interestingly, the nose on the Grand Prix that The King last raced
back in 1992, but with a more pronounced lower leading edge.
The Bad:
NASCAR again appeared to have
made a series of “calls” in Mexico—involving restarts, involving returning from pit road, involving rough
driving (as usual, contradicting another call involving Ricky Rudd spinning out Davey Allison at Sears Point in 1991 which
resulted in Rudd’s disqualification)… all of which added up for a Hispanic driver winning in a Hispanic venue.
Yes indeed, race fans, diversification NASCAR style. Here is big news for the sanctioning body—Juan Pablo Montoya (JPM)
doesn’t need anyone’s help to win. In fact, he is making Chip Ganassi’s mid pack equipment look good week
after week.
Meanwhile, veteran fans know
that seemingly contrived wins have been happening forever, they just seem a little more obvious now. And new fans, well, imagine
a lawyer that has tuned in, been bitten by the bug, and then sat through the “rules” for six races or so. To put
this into perspective, ask yourself how often YOU take Monster Trucks or Drifting seriously...
Ironically the efforts
to affect the outcome of a race to be more dramatic are clearly hurting more than they are helping. Brian (France),
tighten up the troops behind closed doors. Decide on the rules on and off the track, put them in writing, and then execute.
It is called C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y.
More Not-So-Good:
As Brian Vickers can attest,
taking out one’s teammate is never a good thing. But there is enough blame to go around for both Mr. Pruett and Mr.
Montoya.
First, Scott Pruett and Montoya
are both great open wheel drivers. I have respected Pruett’s abilities for years in both Indy Cars as well as Grand
Am Sports car racing. Like Boris Said, I have no doubt that he could be a serious contender in Cup full time.
Similarly, JPM is unlike any
driver to make the switch from Formula One. He is famous and humble and hungry all at the same time. You can bet that he has
the uneasy attention of the entire Cup garage.
But both ARE from the open
wheel ranks. Pruett took the fastest line through the corner-- that is, late entry, hard apex, fast acceleration out of the
turn. The only problem, as any short track driver can tell you, is that you cannot do that if someone faster is behind; instead
it is a MUST to protect the bottom, and force the other guy to the outside. Juan Pablo Montoya, similarly, is not a veteran
that, say knows with Jeff-Gordon-like surgical precision just how hard to hit a guy to nudge him out of the way without spinning
him out. The actual “blame” for the incident can be debated, but the results cannot.
2006 StockCar Review.
