Hometown Hoedown

The boys are back in town.

Well, since they’re based here, it’s kind of anticlimactic, but hey, they don’t RACE here every week, so work with me!

The Bank of America 500 will get the green on Saturday evening with more than the usual bragging rights at stake. For one, there are a lot of people who need a victory yet, and for another, somebody’s got to stop the ramblin’ wrecking ball that is the 48 team.

It happens to be JJ’s favorite track, because he’s won there like 97 times…it’s only six, but it seems like 97. For a while there, he couldn’t be beaten on the 1.5-mile, 24-degree banking…which happened to be sponsored by Lowe’s. Coincidence? Probably.

But, he hasn’t won there since this race back in 2009, so that’s a start, if you’re one of the guys who needs to win and needs JJ to be back in the pack.

Taking away all the bonus points, the top eight in points all need to finish 20 spots ahead of the 48 on Saturday to make it a race again.

There are a number of folks who saw what happened last week at Kansas and immediately hit the panic button: the 48 express is going to roll on to No. 6 and there’s not thing one that can be done about it.

I, ashamedly, am one of them. Why wouldn’t I be? During the past five Chases, it’s always been this way, with the exception of 2007, when the issue was decided before we got to Richmond to decide who was going to get beat by the 48.

Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick took Five-Time to the wire last year before swallowing a Goodyear-sized lump at Homestead, and he’s only won twice in 2011…so that means what, exactly? Not a darn thing. That team is capable of ripping off four in a row, or two wins and three top-fives, or…you get the picture.

What of Carl Edwards, the point leader? He’s a forgotten man. Everyone is talking 48 all the time. Harvick is a couple points up on the 48, but is anyone scared of him? Nope. They’re all, to a man, scared to death that the 48 is going to hit a patch and win another title.

I’ve been watching our forums and some of the other NASCAR sites, trying to gauge fan attitudes toward a potential sixth title. It’s not good, for the most part, if you take out the Jimmie fans. By not good, I mean people are threatening to watch online poker, the Rosie O’Donnell show or that weird guy with the Afro that paints on PBS, anything but NASCAR.

That’s not good for a sport that is shedding fans and viewers, and it’s especially not good for the sponsors. ROI is not a dirty word anymore, and the legal eagles and MBA types aren’t writing big checks like they used to.

We’ll see all of you Members at the track on Saturday, so bring your A game and let’s get ready to rumble!

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