In an exciting finish to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jimmie Johnson wins a close one in the final second of the last lap, pushed by Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Later, Johnson gave the checkered flag to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in appreciation for the team work and the push. Plus the excitement of the finish was pummeled on us and there is no doubt, it was an exciting win under this new format of “plate racing.”
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Clint Bowyer, driver of the #33 BB&T Chevrolet
On Sunday I wrote about how some fans were grumbling about the different style of racing at NASCAR restrictor plate races this year. I didn’t disagree with them and my initial reaction to the different racing wasn’t too enthusiastic. Over on NASCAR.com, there’s a poll going in, where so far over 36k votes have been placed asking, “Do you prefer pack racing or two-car drafting on the superspeedways?”
A resounding 73% of the respondents prefer the pack racing. And I get that. It’s a very high anxiety kind of race that messes with your mind until everyone has crossed the finish line and slowed to 100! But then there’s the premise that I had pointed out some time back that the last 15 to 20 laps can make or break how a fan feels about an entire race. And boy, with that in mind, that was one heck of a race folks!
After a few single car slip ups from the tandem draft and a fair sized wreck in the race, we managed to avoid the ‘real’ “big one” where half to two-thirds of the field usually finds itself eliminated from one slipped up move. No, Sunday, we had a pack of cars and the best cars broke away from the pack.
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