Monday Musings, 10/24/11

Ah, the good old days at Daytona. No tandems. (Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson)

Everyone went into this racing weekend with heavy hearts. We learned this week that, although the types of racing may be different, racers are all part of one big family. NASCAR and the V8 Supercar series had fitting tributes to Dan. It literally broke my heart today listening to Nicole Briscoe talk about Dan Wheldon during the prerace Sunday. Then what a moving memorial service to remember Dan Wheldon. Thanks to the Wheldon family for sharing that experience with the fans.

But racing did continue this week. Here are my thoughts on what I saw this weekend:

V8 Supercars - So have I mentioned how much I love V8 Supercars? The series picked up where they left off after the Bathurst 1000. It was tight, competitive racing to the very end. Congrats to Sebastian Bourdais, who won the inaugural Dan Wheldon trophy for top international driver.

As I learn more about the rules in V8 Supercars, I wonder how they would play in NASCAR. First, with four races left in the championship, the regular drivers must put their trust (and their championship hopes) in the hands of international drivers. What if the Sprint Cup drivers had to share their car with a driver from a non-NASCAR series? That could be pretty cool.

Also, drivers earn points only if they complete 75% of the laps. This is a great incentive for drivers to enter the race and be competitive, thus eliminating start and parks. Another interesting wrinkle -- all cars two or more laps down must go through pit lane on the restart so they don't impede the lead lap cars.

Sprint Cup - Do you miss the packs? Because I do. Denny Hamlin goes a lap down early because he literally was the odd man out. What kind of racing is that? It's kind of fun watching these guys find new partners when they lose their old one. It's a little like musical chairs. And regardless of whether it's tandems or packs, it's one car getting pushed over the start/finish line by one other car. But I'm still not sure I like it. This much I do know -- as a fan, I wouldn't necessarily be spending my money going to see a race at Talladega or Daytona at this point in time.

As far as the race goes, I was glad to see Clint Bowyer win, but I would have been happier to see Jeff Burton win. Looks like being patient and staying in the back didn't quite work out for Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this time. And there's this talk of Trevor Bayne and team orders. But isn't that inevitable with tandem racing? Deals are made between spotters and crew chiefs, and the drivers abide by those agreements.

Truck Series - It's about time someone from the Wallace clan won a NASCAR race, although I'm not sure I thought it would have been Mike. This was Mike's first Truck Series win since 2000 and his first NASCAR win since 2004 (a Nationwide win in Daytona that my husband actually witnessed). Austin Dillon learned the same hard lesson that Marcos Ambrose learned at Infineon last year -- it's tricky playing the fuel mileage game and sometimes it can backfire on you.

It's Time to Race Again

Image courtesy NASCAR Media

It's time for drivers to hit the track again. In Talladega, the Gold Coast of Australia, and other tracks across the country and the world. As a fan, I appreciate the risks you drivers take every time you take to the track. Never forget Dan Wheldon. May we learn from this tragedy. Pull those belts a little tighter. And stay safe.

That First Race (in the Eyes of Michelle Beadle)

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Do you remember the first race you attended? As a long-time race fan, I always like to hear about a person's first experience at the track. So that's why it was so much fun to listen to Michelle Beadle's podcast this week. Michelle, who is the co-host of ESPN's SportsNation, was part of a NASCAR "emersion" program that allows ESPN on-air personalities and producers to learn more about NASCAR. As part of the program, she participated in the Richard Petty Driving Experience, got a personal tour of Hendrick Motorsports (and Rick Hendrick's private car collection), and was assigned to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team. That meant being in the pits, moving tires, and sitting on the pit box during Saturday night's Charlotte race. Oh, and she rode along with Junior and Kyle Busch during the pre-race activities.

Michelle admitted that she was "one of those people who made fun of NASCAR." But she said she was wrong and that she "had a blast." Beadle called it "one of the best experiences I've had in my sports career so far."

While watching the events transpire after Dan Wheldon's tragic accident on Sunday, Beadle said the experience "really just put everything into a perspective that I never would have had." She noted that "it's such a close-knit group," that "the fans are right on top of everything," and that "the access is unlike anything I've seen in my life." She said, "It really just brought home how scary, how exciting, how dangerous every race has the potential to be."

I've always believed that NASCAR is like hockey. You have to see it live to really appreciate it. So it looks like there might be another NASCAR fan in the world, and I hope Michelle goes to another race soon. And maybe one day we all can participate in the NASCAR "emersion" program.

Remembering Dan Wheldon

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Each Wednesday, Matt, my in-house photographer, provides me with a photo from his extensive archive to share some motorsports-related adventures and memories.

I was never lucky enough to meet Dan Wheldon.  But from all the stories I've heard and read the past couple of days, I wish I had. I did have an opportunity to see him race twice. The first time was at the Firestone 225, which was the last race ever at Nazareth. The second time was at inaugural race at Watkins Glen in September 2005, which is where this photo was taken. Here's Matt's thoughts on his photo:

"As newscasters talk about Dan Wheldon's tragic passing, they keep repeating the fact that he is a two-time Indy 500 champion, which is an amazing feat. But they keep overlooking the fact that Dan was the 2005 Indy Racing League Champion with an impressive SIX victories during the season! I shot this image on September 25, 2005, the day Dan Wheldon clinched the title of CHAMPION!"

There's not really much I can say that hasn't already been said this week. Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon.

When Racing Meets Mainstream Media

After watching a touching tribute about Dan Wheldon on Sportscenter yesterday morning, I made the mistake of changing the channel to watch a story about Dan on CNN. I should have known better. Because if the mainstream media is talking about racing, that most likely means that something bad has happened.

When something like this occurs, the media wants to know all about the numbers. How fast was he going? How many cars were involved? How many other crashes have there been? When was the last crash? They also ask why the drivers take the risk. They'll show the crash over and over again. They'll get some of facts rights but not all of them. They don't ask about one number in particular - the thousands of laps completed every year without incident.

For instance, this morning on the Today Show, the caption on the bottom of the screen read "Remembering Dan Wheldon." But all they did was speculate about why the crash happened, show pictures and footage of the crash over and over again, and ask Mario Andretti and Townsend Bell about whether the drivers thought it was unsafe to drive at Las Vegas. Never once did Matt Lauer ask them about their memories of Dan Wheldon. That's not remembering Dan Wheldon.

The mainstream media will stir the pot for a couple days, make generalizations, and place the blame before everything has been investigated. But then the story will get boring, and they'll move on. Unfortunately with tragedy comes safety improvements. Dale Earnhardt's death brought about SAFER barriers and the HANS device. John Force's near-fatal accident brought about significant changes to Funny Cars. Scott Kalitta's death resulted in the 1,000-foot distance in nitro racing.

Ultimately, Dan Wheldon's death will result in changes in IndyCar. But the mainstream media won't stick around to find out what they are.

Monday Musings, 10/17/11

A day ago, this column was going to be something much different. But my complaints about whether the NASCAR race was boring, my speculations about whether Jimmie Johnson is still in the Chase, and my questions about what's up with Lewis Hamilton really mean nothing now. They're just not important.

I sat down with excitement to watch the Dario v. Will championship battle. But as the afternoon went on, that excitement faded and I was filled with the same dread as when Greg Moore died. This day of celebration for IndyCar took such a wicked turn.

In the back of our heads, we all know that this is a dangerous sport. But we take safety for granted. Jimmie Johnson hit that wall hard Saturday night. And he walked away.  But obviously after Sunday, we reminded again of that danger and the risks that the drivers take every time they go out on the track.

Now is not the time to speculate about the hows and whys. There is plenty of time for that. Now is the time to keep Dan Wheldon's family in our thoughts and prayers. Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon.