California Speedway - Qualifying
Danni
RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
5. Casey
11. Martin
15. Dale Jr.
36. Kurt
37. DJ
40. David
41. Michael
Rain forced NASCAR to cancel not just qualifying today, but all on-track activities including Nationwide and Cup practice. It was pretty disappointing and boring (I love Dale Jr., but was I sick of watching Back In The Day!). It was just one of those consistant mists that never got going until the afternoon. I wasn't too impressed with the track drying - it just seemed like they weren't really trying or didn't have enough trucks to make much of an attempt. Plus, for being such a sophisticated "Hollywood" track, there seemed to be a lot of seeping issues even before the real rain actually fell. Or maybe I just felt that way because I think the California Speedway is a complete waste of a race date and is one big vain effort to attract some celebrity floozies and nothing else, since the grandstands never become near to full and the racing is a strung-out parade. Oh, excuse me, the Auto Club Speedway. Gimmie a break!
But anyway...about qualifying.
It took me up until an interview with Patrick Carpentier to realize that NASCAR changed the rain-out formula for the Star Cars. The top-35 owner points from last year are lined up first, which is why Casey starts 5th (the 5 was 5th in points) and Junior starts 15th (the 25 finished 15th in points). For the Star Cars, the 2007 race winner remained the same (Kurt) as well as all the past champions in the field (DJ and Bill Elliott). From there it differed. Instead of lining up the rest of the field by last year's owner points, NASCAR used this year's. That would put Brian, David and Michael in because currently they are in the top-35 in points (12th, 17th and 27th respectively). After them follow John Andretti and Joe Nemechek, who are currently 40th and 41st in points. Phew!
Unfortunately, this kind of hurt. It's a good format, I think, but it sucks that if by a stroke of luck a driver missed Daytona, he misses the next race too. AJ Allmendinger and Carpentier come to mind. This puts them in an even deeper hole. I'm sure NASCAR never expected a wash-out to happen so soon, but this change will probably cause quite a negative stir. Of course, there are people who think the top-35 rule is terrible anyway but that's a much bigger and more violent story than I will delve into here.
One thing that made me rather unhappy, though, is the fact that Bill Elliott got in. I know he's a past champion and I know he was a big winner years ago but damn... he's not even running full time and he didn't even come close to making the Daytona 500. The Wood Brothers' organization is clearly heading downhill and has been for so long, so this seems like another... maybe selfish?... way of keeping their ship barely afloat. Meanwhile, guys like AJ and Patrick struggle to make names for themselves - AJ would have made this race if Elliott had not been in the 21. I don't know. I've lost so much faith in the PCP in general after watching it be abused and tarnish the image of great drivers. I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Elliott after reading parts of his book where he trashes NASCAR and practically blames them totally for all injuries and deaths that have occurred over the years. Ironically enough, Elliott keeps racing. Apparently, in spite of his dislike for NASCAR, he still enjoys the money they provide!
All right, enough of my ranting!
Hopefully tomorrow everyone will get some time on the track and the Nationwide series can qualify and race. And let's hope for some good racing, too! 
1. Jimmie Johnson
5. Casey
11. Martin
15. Dale Jr.
36. Kurt
37. DJ
40. David
41. Michael
Rain forced NASCAR to cancel not just qualifying today, but all on-track activities including Nationwide and Cup practice. It was pretty disappointing and boring (I love Dale Jr., but was I sick of watching Back In The Day!). It was just one of those consistant mists that never got going until the afternoon. I wasn't too impressed with the track drying - it just seemed like they weren't really trying or didn't have enough trucks to make much of an attempt. Plus, for being such a sophisticated "Hollywood" track, there seemed to be a lot of seeping issues even before the real rain actually fell. Or maybe I just felt that way because I think the California Speedway is a complete waste of a race date and is one big vain effort to attract some celebrity floozies and nothing else, since the grandstands never become near to full and the racing is a strung-out parade. Oh, excuse me, the Auto Club Speedway. Gimmie a break!
But anyway...about qualifying.
It took me up until an interview with Patrick Carpentier to realize that NASCAR changed the rain-out formula for the Star Cars. The top-35 owner points from last year are lined up first, which is why Casey starts 5th (the 5 was 5th in points) and Junior starts 15th (the 25 finished 15th in points). For the Star Cars, the 2007 race winner remained the same (Kurt) as well as all the past champions in the field (DJ and Bill Elliott). From there it differed. Instead of lining up the rest of the field by last year's owner points, NASCAR used this year's. That would put Brian, David and Michael in because currently they are in the top-35 in points (12th, 17th and 27th respectively). After them follow John Andretti and Joe Nemechek, who are currently 40th and 41st in points. Phew!
Unfortunately, this kind of hurt. It's a good format, I think, but it sucks that if by a stroke of luck a driver missed Daytona, he misses the next race too. AJ Allmendinger and Carpentier come to mind. This puts them in an even deeper hole. I'm sure NASCAR never expected a wash-out to happen so soon, but this change will probably cause quite a negative stir. Of course, there are people who think the top-35 rule is terrible anyway but that's a much bigger and more violent story than I will delve into here.
One thing that made me rather unhappy, though, is the fact that Bill Elliott got in. I know he's a past champion and I know he was a big winner years ago but damn... he's not even running full time and he didn't even come close to making the Daytona 500. The Wood Brothers' organization is clearly heading downhill and has been for so long, so this seems like another... maybe selfish?... way of keeping their ship barely afloat. Meanwhile, guys like AJ and Patrick struggle to make names for themselves - AJ would have made this race if Elliott had not been in the 21. I don't know. I've lost so much faith in the PCP in general after watching it be abused and tarnish the image of great drivers. I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Elliott after reading parts of his book where he trashes NASCAR and practically blames them totally for all injuries and deaths that have occurred over the years. Ironically enough, Elliott keeps racing. Apparently, in spite of his dislike for NASCAR, he still enjoys the money they provide!
All right, enough of my ranting!
Hopefully tomorrow everyone will get some time on the track and the Nationwide series can qualify and race. And let's hope for some good racing, too!
