iNSIDE SCOOP: Proving Ground

Hard upon the news that the Gen-6 car has indeed made the racing more competitive in the first nine races comes the first visit to Talladega with the new beastie.

Competition is one thing when you’re at Martinsville or Richmond. It is quite another when you let the ponies run at ‘Dega. I seriously think the competition would be scintillating if they raced 1970s-era Ford Pintos, but the new car seems to be a better piece than the Gen-5 nearly everywhere.

Clint Bowyer agreed.

"I'm telling you, whoever designed this new car, we should kiss `em every weekend. It's creating drama," Bowyer said after Saturday night's race at Richmond. "We haven't seen racing like this in years, since I first started in this sport (in 2004). When you can leave a race track and there's people in tears because they won, and in tears because they got crashed, that's what brings us to the race track, that kind of racing and determination and passion." 

For example, there have been 1,203 more green flag passes throughout the field than last year, average margin of victory is .634 seconds, compared to 1.759 seconds last year, and 49.9 percent of the cars are finishing on the lead lap this year, up from 38.2 last year.

That’s a far cry from last year’s first Talladega race, where everyone (it seemed like, anyway) crashed or nearly crashed. That led to one of those Tony Stewart moments we in the media love to hear.

“Make the track a figure 8,” he said, tongue firmly planted in cheek. “And/or we can stop at halfway, take a break, and turn around and go backwards the rest of the way. Then with 10 to go, we split the field in half and half go the regular direction and half of them go backwards."

You kinda have to know him to appreciate the humor, though I bet NASCAR was chuckling less than everyone else. And the fact that Smoke used a block to shred 25 cars, including his own, coming down for the checkered probably was less popular than Tax Day.

Whatever happens at Talladega, “Redneck High Holy Days at the Cathedral of Speed (or RHHDATCOS) will be different. Not only are the cars sleeker, with less surface area for the air in the rear, they weigh less and are more able to move without the help of a pusher.

Used to be, you followed the car in front of you no matter what, even if he headed for the tunnel in Turn 2. Now you can do that, don’t get me wrong, but you can also run by yourself for a bit and not lose a tremendous amount of ground.

The draft is still the draft, yes, and you had better be able to use it, but if you get caught in the sucker hole, you aren’t a passenger on the Tail-End Express like you used to be.

I for one can’t wait to see the new cars at Talladega. Daytona was pretty spectacular, if memory serves. Talladega is bigger, wider and has less of an emphasis on handling and more on driver ability. If you can’t exactly see the air, you at least know where it’s likely to be, and your foot better not come off the loud button.

Having a stellar race at Talladega is crucial for the new car’s development…so let’s get it on!