Talladega

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Anyone watch yesterday's race?

At least no one can blame Montoya for this, because he had engine trouble way before the big wreck happened and was already out of the race:

[url="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nascar--talladega-delivers-yet-another-vicious-wreck--pitting-drivers--needs-and-fans--wants-against-each-other.html"]http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nascar-...ach-other.html[/url]

TALLADEGA, Ala. – If you or I had been involved in a wreck like the one that claimed the cars of Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and more than two dozen other NASCAR drivers on Sunday afternoon, we'd curl up in a fetal position at the thought of going near a car ever again. This was the kind of high-speed, full-throttle, nowhere-to-hide carnage that allows real life to edge its way into your sporting Sunday, forcing you to think, just for a second, that something really bad might just have happened

Fortunately for all concerned, the catastrophic wreck on the last lap of the Good Sam 500 destroyed only acres of sheet metal (and the championship hopes of several drivers). The maelstrom that unfolded behind winner Matt Kenseth was terrifying to observe, yes, but ultimately nothing more than one hell of a show.

In short, it was the perfect NASCAR wreck.

Of course, you'll forgive the drivers if they're not quite as thrilled about all this. As they climbed from their cars, in various states of agitation and disbelief, they expressed a common sentiment: This isn't how racing should be.

With his car in neon-green shards just a few feet away, Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked visibly shaken as he sat on the back bumper of his car hauler talking with crew chief Steve Letarte. When he did speak to the media, he left no doubt about his feelings on a track where he's had more success than any other: "It's not safe wrecking like that," he said. "It's ridiculous, man. It's bloodthirsty if that's what people want."

Earnhardt even went so far as to say if he had his way, he wouldn't run the restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega next year. "If this was how we raced every week," he said, "I'd find another job."

Here's the question, though: Do NASCAR fans want danger, or just the illusion of danger? Real danger, taking chances and overextending your equipment, is what leads to serious injuries and worse. The illusion of danger? It's a performance, and everyone knows it.

Jeff Gordon, despite having the good fortune of darting through the wreckage to notch a second-place finish, has few fond thoughts for Talladega: "I don't like coming here," he said after the race. "I don't like the type of racing that I have to do. But if I'm a fan, I would love that. I think it is incredibly intense. It's wild, it's crazy."


Here is the link to the crash in question:
[url="http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player..._Laps/30806489"]http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player..._Laps/30806489[/url]