Talladega Nights: the two-car draft

With a new racing surface down in Florida, Daytona has now become just like Talladega. What we saw in February at Daytona, we saw in April at Talladega. Gone are the 30-pack cars fighting for the win, in it’s place is the Two-car draft. It’s new. It’s different. It’s…something we fans and the drivers haven’t seen before. Sure, it’s still bump-drafting 101, but it’s different than that. Instead of bump drafting in the straight-aways, the drivers bump-draft all around the track. That could get dangerous. Bump drafting leads to wrecks, spins, flips, cars that go airborne, etc… Anything that can go wrong, could go wrong. You never quite now what to expect when you go plate-racing. When the Cup series goes to Daytona and Talladega, you’re always wondering what’s going to happen. Are we going to see wreck fests? Are we going to see a 30 car train for 50 laps? You never know what’s going to happen. In February, we saw a surprise winner in Trevor Bayne. Two weeks ago, we saw the closest finish in NASCAR history, tying the record holder from 2003 at Darlington Raceway, Ricky Craven beating out Kurt Busch by .002 of a second. This time is was Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson beating Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer.

Like I always do, I take a subject that has everyone talking through out the whole weekend and I take it to the internet. This time, I asked what people thought about the two-car draft and here’s what some said:

Matt_Kacar I am not a fan of the Noah's Ark racing but it does produce great finishes at plate tracks

Speedys_Sweet82 the two-car draft is a great way for drivers to interact with non-teammates, yet it also can be dangerous if the drivers who are "dancing" don’t know what their partner is doing. Gotta be perfectly smooth in order to win or get a top 10 :)

jester_3 I like it, just sick of yellow line rules.

britt4875: hmm I don't really know what I think of them.. but I do think it gives great endings and restarts

denver2u ...It's makes for some really good finishes, but if you’re stuck with a slow car or no car to partner with ur screwed. Not good Or you're buddy gets into wreck..( KK n BV)..then who do u buddy up with? Just not my style of racing, but we are stuck

Joe Fisher I like it gonna take a while to get used to

Theresa Robinson LOVE IT!!

Evan Snider I like it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire race. You never know what's going to happen and it creates some great finishes.

Tyler Gray MUCH better than watching them run in a 30 car train around the top for half the race. I hope it will catch on, I think a lot of people are just having a tough time getting use to the change because you can't argue with the stats like lead c...hanges, passes, and of course the photo finishes that have occurred in almost every race since they started the 2 car drafting. As for the radio debate, I don't have any problems with it. It's pretty much necessary when you race like that and it can create some entertaining sound bites.

Scott Youngers I did not get to watch the race today. But I did get to listen to it on Sirius NASCAR Radio. I like the 2 car draft. I also liked the ability to listen in to the radio communications and hear the talking. I agree with Tyler that it is necessary for safety reasons.

11in11Embracer I'm still confused if I like it or not. I mean, we had 8 people fighting for the win at Dega, and a first time sprint cup winner and Daytona 500 champion, Trevor Bayne. In other ways though, I kinda miss the big packs. I miss seeing someone bump their way through the middle and get the win. So I will probably be undecided for a while.

For the drivers, it’s like riding a roller coaster for how many odd laps, not knowing when it will end. For some, it ends sooner than they think. For some, it takes them for a wild ride through the grass, through the air, anywhere. And for the those lucky few that make it through without any trouble, it’s very rewarding. When you go plate racing, expect the unexpected, because you never know which track is going to show up on race day.

History in the making: Jimmie Johnson

I want everyone to close their eyes and try to imagine the following scenario. You are in a tight three-way battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with two very good drivers. You closed on the points leader at Phoenix and now you had your sights on that championship everyone thought wasn’t yours. You raced a great race at Homestead-Miami, keeping your two competitors behind you most of the race. You cross the finish line 2^nd in the race and first in the point standings, being the only driver to the win the championship after being second when the race started. You just made history by winning a fifth consecutive championship. Now open your eyes. Who did you see in the scenario? You? Or the driver who actually did this last season? Yes, I’m talking about the driver of the number 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson; 5-time; Superman; what ever you want to call him. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can say they won 5 consecutive championships. Love him or hate him, you can not deny that Jimmie Johnson has to be one of the greatest drivers of our generation.

Though missing Rookie of the Year honors in 2002, Jimmie Johnson didn’t let that slow him down. He is the only driver to qualify every year for the Chase. In 2006, his 5^th season in the Cup series, Jimmie Johnson captured his first Cup championship, beating Matt Kenseth. In 2007, Jimmie Johnson outran his teammate and owner of his car*, Jeff Gordon for his second championship. In 2008, Jimmie matched the only driver to win 3 consecutive championships, Cale Yarbrough, by beating Carl Edwards, despite Carl winning the season finale race at Homestead. At this point, was anyone thinking he could do it again in 2009? I sure didn’t. But, in 2009, Jimmie Johnson won a record 4^th consecutive championship, beating his teammate Mark Martin. All of these championships, Jimmie was leading the points going into the final race. The 2010 season was totally different for Jimmie. Jimmie didn’t run away with the Chase. Though he did lead the points standings during the chase, Denny Hamlin led most of the Chase. After a miscue with Mike Ford at Phoenix and an early spin at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson just drove right through that door Denny Hamlin left wide open.

What makes Jimmie Johnson, well, Jimmie Johnson? Is it running for Hendrick Motorsports? Is it the 5 championship trophies? Is it his willingness to contend for the win every weekend? Between 2002 and 2011, Johnson has recorded 53 wins, 137 top-fives 206 top-tens, and 25 pole positions. That is quite a feat considering he’s only had 333 starts in the Cup series. Jimmie has spent about 62% in the top ten, 41% in the top 5, and 15% in Victory Lane. Get this. In 333 starts, Jimmie Johnson’s average FINISH is 11.7. He finished 11^th yesterday at Martinsville. He has NEVER been any lower than 6^th in the final point standings since 2002.

Every so often, I take a question to twitter to see what people think. Most of the time it’s about something that happened in the race. This time, it’s to talk about the 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson. I asked what everybody thought of him. 99% of responses from twitter and my Facebook fan page were…positive. You’d think more people, when given the chance, would say bad things. I was surprised that people didn’t take that chance. Here’s what some people said about the 5-time champ.

@jennyslaunwhite: Jimmie is a cool driver and he wins the clean way and seems good with his fans

@speeds_promdate: he’s a great driver. Has a ton of ability Always walks away with a positive attitude. No matter how bad a finish, he’s up beat

@denver2u: I think JJ is a very polite, down to earth kinda guy, who just happens to win! He’s been really cool to have on twitter and he’s funny, has a good attitude, is having fun an diaper duty. Oh yeah, he’s got talent as a driver. I like JJ

@britt4875: I guess I like him more of a person outside of racing (there was more to this, but I don’t think I should put it in)

11in11Embracer: I think he’s a good guy. I think he deserves the credit for winning 5 in a row, even though he beat [Denny] (again, there was more to this, but I only got a portion)

@nascarchick_3: he’s a good driver, just after winning 5 championships, I feel it’s time for someone else to win one

@KK_KFfan4: I think Jimmie is a great driver and he is funny. Not Vanilla

@Nascartalk10: Jimmie is an awesome guy, just wish he would let someone else have a chance at the cup trophy for once

From not being ‘vanilla’ to being an awesome guy, Jimmie Johnson is that kind of guy that people like as a person, not as a driver. Who can blame them, really? The guy is ‘Winning’ A LOT! 5 championships, 53 wins in 333 starts (and counting, I might add). He’s at the top of the sport! For the past few weeks, Jimmie Johnson started using twitter and has become quite popular (not as popular as Danica Patrick or the Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne). Jimmie does what quite a few celebrities don’t do on twitter. He interacts with his fans. He tweets his fan when they tweet him. I actually have had the 5-time champ tweet me this past week, nothing too big. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/JimmieJohnson. I’m sure if you just tweet him, you could get a tweet back.

*The first car Jimmie Johnson ever drove in the Cup series was an old Jeff Gordon car. Ever since then, Jeff Gordon has been listed as the owner of Jimmie Johnson's car.

Taking Dale Earnhardt to discussion for the next blog! Stay tuned!

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