If I had said on Thursday that Michael Waltrip was going to get the pole at Talladega I would have been laughed at. Yesterday when he made the quickest lap at the time, I thought he’d most likely lose it…but he didn’t! For the first time since 2005 at Pocono, Michael was on the pole. Better yet, all three MWR cars made the show! Michael said that that made him happier than anything.
Generally all the star cars qualified very well. I expected them to but not at the magnitude it turned out to be: the first top 35 car qualified 12th. Not to mention that AJ Allmendinger qualified 9th and missed the race. Again, a lot of fans are freaking out about a 9th-place car going home, but the only reason the star cars did so well is because they had full-blown qualifying setups while the top 35 cars did not. I believe if it had not been an impound race things would have looked a lot different on the speed charts, but not necessarily affecting the star cars that made the race and went home.
Another notable development occurring yesterday was not a very good one because it involved Kurt’s car failing post-qualifying inspection – it was too low. He didn’t qualify really well anyway and moving to the back at a plate race isn’t always a bad thing, but I’m a little nervous about further penalties, which that team can’t afford.
I love Talladega, despite the fact that most of my drivers could get caught up in wrecks not of their own doing. It’s fun and it’s good racing. There’s an ongoing argument that drafting isn’t real racing because anyone with a good car can draft, but I completely disagree. The cars are very equal. Drafting takes brains and good reflexes. And it’s very intense! From the green to the checkers, your heart is pounding because anything can happen at any time, anywhere.
Good luck to all my drivers today and I hope they all have fun and stay safe.
Generally all the star cars qualified very well. I expected them to but not at the magnitude it turned out to be: the first top 35 car qualified 12th. Not to mention that AJ Allmendinger qualified 9th and missed the race. Again, a lot of fans are freaking out about a 9th-place car going home, but the only reason the star cars did so well is because they had full-blown qualifying setups while the top 35 cars did not. I believe if it had not been an impound race things would have looked a lot different on the speed charts, but not necessarily affecting the star cars that made the race and went home.
Another notable development occurring yesterday was not a very good one because it involved Kurt’s car failing post-qualifying inspection – it was too low. He didn’t qualify really well anyway and moving to the back at a plate race isn’t always a bad thing, but I’m a little nervous about further penalties, which that team can’t afford.
I love Talladega, despite the fact that most of my drivers could get caught up in wrecks not of their own doing. It’s fun and it’s good racing. There’s an ongoing argument that drafting isn’t real racing because anyone with a good car can draft, but I completely disagree. The cars are very equal. Drafting takes brains and good reflexes. And it’s very intense! From the green to the checkers, your heart is pounding because anything can happen at any time, anywhere.
Good luck to all my drivers today and I hope they all have fun and stay safe.