Some would say that it’s been a trying season for Goodyear in 2008 as they continue to work on developing new tires to coincide with NASCAR’s latest project, the Car of Tomorrow. Things got heated early in the season between Goodyear’s racing group and some of the drivers in the garage area, particularly after Atlanta when several of the drivers bashed the tire in public forums. You might recall one man inparticular’s rants regarding the tires as they made headlines for several weeks. Yes, I’m referring of course to Tony Stewart.

It seemed as though things had finally cooled off between all parties involved until just a couple of weeks ago at Indianapolis. It was the first time NASCAR had ever taken the COT to Indy, and the tires that Goodyear brought to the track were inadequate to say the least. The end result was NASCAR waiving a competition caution about every 10 laps and the reviews for the event were terrible.

After a week long of apologies from both NASCAR and Goodyear, both parties were presented with a golden opportunity to redeem themselves during the Nationwide race in Montreal. With bad weather on the horizon, NASCAR decided to break out their inventory of “grooved” Goodyear tires, marking the first time grooved tires had ever been run in a NASCAR points race. The experiment was a tremendous success, and talk about the Indy tire fiasco has been slim to none ever since.

This week, the “Loose in Turn 3″ trio will take a look at the situation and decide the overwhelming success of the rain tires and a solid week at Pocono does in fact take Goodyear off the hook, or if they feel that there are still too many unanswered questions to make that call just yet.

Q: Did Goodyear finally clear their name in NASCAR with the success of their rain tires in Montreal?

TZ: They’re not completely out of the woods just yet, but for the most part, I would say yes. I was pretty upset with the fiasco that took place at Indy, and there’ve been a few other times this season I wasn’t thrilled with their output, but running in the rain at Motreal without any tire issues was a huge plus, and then they were able to follow it up with a successful day in Pocono as well. There are obviously a few tracks that they still need to get some things figured out, but all in all, they’ve rebounded quite nicely.

Bruce:  I’d expect more from a division of a tire company that is supposed to be making racing tires and not rubber confetti at Indianapolis.  Indy was a phenomenal waste of time and they should have tried something else rather than let NASCAR dole out a series of 10-lap trophy dashes, but without the trophy.  I don’t see this weekend as a rebound as much as it is, a “It’s about time they got it back on track.  Now let’s keep it there!”

Charlie:  Goodyear didn’t need to “clear their name”. In fact, NASCAR once
again put Goodyear’s good name at risk by using six year old rubber in a
featured race. They lucked out that the tires didn’t fail. NASCAR flipped
a coin again, just as they did at Indy. Goodyear makes tens of thousands
of race tires that are used at hundreds of races every week. A couple of
high profile failures should be expected when the company is trying to
make a NASCAR work in progress - the vaunted CoT - look better than it is.

the Rest of the Discussion:
There’s still plenty more to read this week from the “Loose in Turn 3″ guys. Make sure you take a trip over to On Pit Row where Charlie asks the question, “Who is the Best Crew Chief in the Sprint Cup Garage Right Now?“, and then head over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces where we debate the motive behind Martin Truex Jr.’s Decision to Remain at DEI.

Well, he doesn’t have 7 wins in the Sprint Cup Series this season, and it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be attempting to break any of NASCAR’s overall win records at the moment, but if you ask Jimmie Johnson, dubbing Kyle Busch as your 2008 Sprint Cup champion at this point is very premature.

Johnson currently sits 4th in the points standings, but has been methodically working his way up the ladder these past few weeks after getting off to a rather slow start to the season by his standards. After winning 10 races last year and 5 in the year before, the no. 48 team had only one win and no poles to their credit through the first 19 races of the season, and that lone win (Phoenix) was won on fuel mileage no less. Still, with one of the best teams in the sport behind him, spearheaded by Crew Chief, Chad Knaus, the team kept plugging away week after week, taking advantage of any testing opportunity that presented itself, and it’s paid off.

Jimmie dashed his way to the pole for last week’s Allstate 400 and then dominated the ensuing race to pickup his 2nd career victory at the Brickyard, and his second win of the season. And, whether his motivation was to clear any doubt that it may have been a one-off deal or if it was just for good measure, he’s followed last week’s performance up by also taking the pole award for today’s running of the Pennsylvania 500 in Pocono.

While it’s obvious that the team’s on a roll right now, if you have any doubt as to just how far this kind of momentum can carry them, just take a look back at last year’s archives. The scary thing is that at this time last year Johnson was 9th in the standings, but managed to rattle off 6 wins in the final 16 races of the season, finishing outside of the top-ten only three times in that span, and never finishing worse that 21st. He went onto capture his second consecutive Sprint Cup title that year, and if he can pull of a repeat of last Fall’s performance again, then he would match Cale Yarbrough’s record as the only drivers in the modern era to win the Cup three years in a row.

Saturday’s running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was an historic night for the Nationwide Series, and NASCAR in general. As the rainy weather crept its way onto the tracks, the race was red flagged, and for the first time ever in a NASCAR points race, the teams switched over to grooved tires to run the remainder of the race.

The rain was eventually stopped 26 laps short due to poor visibility, and in the end, it was Canadian native, Ron Fellows, out in front of the pack when the race was officially called. Throughout the majority of the race it appeared as though Marcos Ambrose was going to run away with things, leading a race high 27 laps, but a late pit road speeding penalty cost him, and Fellows was there to take advantage.

For Fellows, who was driving the no. 5 entry for the Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned JR Motorsports, it was his fourth career road course victory in 13 Nationwide Series starts, and he also became the first Canadian to ever win a major NASCAR event in Canada.

Fellows was followed to the line by another Canadian native, Patrick Carpentier, who finished 2nd. Ambrose was able to recover from his earlier mistakes on pit road and came back to finish 3rd. 4th place went to Ron Hornaday, and 5th was Boris Said.

Carl Edwards - now 2nd in points - finished 6th, while the series points leader, Clint Bowyer, crossed the finish line in 9th. Brad Keselowski dropped the 2nd position in the points race to Edwards with a 12th place run, dropping Brad down to 3rd overall.

Jacques Villeneuve and Joey Logano dropped about 10 positions in the running order each when they wrecked into other cars during the final caution period.

“I hit a lapped car with no brake lights. I have no idea who it was,” Logano said. “I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me down the straightaway, under caution. Somebody stopped. I locked up all four and boom! … It’s just not right.”

They each went onto finish 16th and 17th respectively.

It should be noted, however, that the accidents during the final caution were caused by poor visibility, and were not tire-related. In fact, there were really no tire issues the whole race, which should serve as a huge pick-me-up for Goodyear after the debacle that they went through last week at Indy.

Complete Results of the NAPA Auto Parts 200     /     Current Nationwide Series Points Standings

For the second time in just a week, ESPN.com has made a report on a premier driver’s plans for 2009 only to have NASCAR.com turn around the following day to refute those reports. Last week it was the reports suggesting that Martin Truex Jr. and DEI had come to terms on a two-year contract extension, which Truex very adamently refuted, stating that the report (David Newton) knowingly falsified his statements. That very same reporter then followed that story up with another, this time landing Ryan Newman in the seat of the no. 4 car for Stewart-Haas Racing next year with what he dubbed as a “verbal agreement.”

Early Friday afternoon at Pocono Raceway - site of this weekend’s Sprint Cup race - Ryan addressed the media by stating, “I am still working on my 2009 plans at this time. I have no timetable on finalizing anything at this point.”

Ryan’s wife, Krissie Newman, also attempted to clear the air in blog she posted this week, which stated, “Don’t get too excited just yet. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet! There have been some recent articles posted that reporters have put out that sound factual. However, Ryan has not verbally agreed to anything and is still working on his 2009 and future plans. It is funny how much speculation has been going on about Ryan’s future. Everyone will know when the deal is signed. … Sorry to disappoint, just don’t want anyone to jump to conclusions.”

Newman did state last weekend at Indianapolis, however, that he had more or less narrowed his search down to one team, and Joe Gibbs Racing took their name off that table with a statement they issued that declared they were unsuccessful in locking on the necessary sponsorship for both Newman and a potential fourth car. That would leave Richard Childress Racing as the only major player left for Newman’s services other than Stewart-Haas.

Joe Custer and Mike Arning - both representing Stewart Haas Racing on the matter - reitterated Newman’s sentiments that no deal had been finalized between them and that Stewart-Haas was still in the midst of their search for the driver of the no. 4 car next season. Scott Riggs, the current driver of that car - which is currently numbered 66 - was also available for comment, though, stating that he was 99.9999% sure that it wouldn’t be him.

Coming off of a terrible weekend at Indy, you can bet that NASCAR’s feeling the pressure to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible at Pocono this weekend, and if the trip here back in June is any indication, then things should be just fine. It’s also a big weekend for the teams, as Pocono is only the second track on the schedule that the series has already traveled to once before this season, and this is about the time of year that you really begin to see how much some of these groups have been able to learn from the first six months of the season. More importantly, however, is the fact that there are now only six races remaining before NASCAR determines their top-12 competitors that will go onto compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Recent Winners:
2008 - Kasey Kahne
2007 - Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon
2006 - Denny Hamlin (x2)

Recent Polesitters:
2008 - Kasey Kahne
2007 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ryan Newman
2006 - Denny Hamlin (x2)

The Usual Suspects:
All the top drivers in our sport have that track that they seem to “own”, and if that’s the case, then Denny Hamlin owns Pocono. 2 of his 4 career victories came at Pocono when he swept there during his rookie campaign in 2006, and since then he’s ran a staggering 6th, 3rd, and 3rd. With those numbers, he holds far and away the best average finish and highest driver rating here amongst all active drivers.

Jeff Gordon has four wins at Pocono, which runs second to only Bill Elliott for the series lead. The no. 24 team has had their share of struggles this season, but a 5th place run last weekend at Indianapolis may have given Gordon’s group enough momentum to improve on the 14th place run they had here back in June. Gordon had three consecutive Poncono finishes inside the top-five prior to that race.

Kurt Busch is a guy that you’ve always got to watch out for when we come here. He’s a two-time winner at the track, and absolutely dominated this race last Fall when he set the record for leading the most laps (175) at Pocono. He also has five finishes of 8th or better in the last six Pocono races, five of which are finishes of 1st or 2nd. He finished 8th here in June.

Kasey Kahne came into the June race with one top-20 finish in the previous six Pocono races, but absolutely dominated that race. He took the pole, led the practice sessions, and then went onto lead the most laps en route to picking up his first Pocono victory ….. Jimmie Johnson, fresh off an Indy win, is also a two-time Pocono winner with an average finish of 10.3 and 7 top-ten’s in his last 9 visits to the track. He finished 6th in the June race ….. After winning here in the Spring of 2003, Tony Stewart’s Pocono numbers took a dive as he rattled off four consecutive finishes of 29th or worse. Since then, however, he’s managed to turn things around with five straight top-ten’s before a pit road misque ruined a perfectly good day for Smoke after running near the top-five all day in the June race, which resulted in a 35th place finish.

the Unusual Suspects:
It’s beginning to get hard to keep thinking of Brian Vickers as a sleeper pick - especially considering that he’s not even eligible for the Sleeper in my own Six-Pack Challenge - but, until he’s able to get a couple W’s on the board, or at least put together a series of runs near the top-five, that’s exactly how he’ll continue to be treated. Regardless, Pocono is not only one of his better tracks, but he’s also one of the better drivers here. He’s earned 4 top-five’s in the last 7 Pocono races, which culminated in a 2nd place run here in June.

Bobby LaBonte is a 3-time Pocono winner, but his move to Petty Enterprises a couple seasons back has relegated him out of the weekly contenders list and into the occasional sleepers group. But, the team’s been able to gain some momentume with Bobby behind them, as was evidenced with a solid run last week. They also ran good at Pocono in the June with an 11th place finish.

If you’re looking for a true sleeper pick this week, though, look no further than AJ Allmendinger. AJ’s been a steady hand behind the wheel ever since he got his driving duties handed back to him over at Team Red Bull, and he’s made the most of it. He also earned his first career top-ten last week at Indy, but he looked as though he was going to accomplish that feat earlier in the year right here at Pocono. But, alas, he faded in the closing segments of the race and wound up 12th. Still, the team’s getting better each and every week, so don’t be surprised to see AJ walk away with another top-ten this weekend.

the Unusual Slackers:
Though he does have two top-ten’s at Pocono to his credit, Pocono has also presented its share of challenges for Clint Bowyer. The third year driver for Richard Childress Racing finished 21st and 41st in his first two starts here back in 2006, but was able to rebound with a pair of top-ten’s last season. He finished 39th here in June.

Not that anyone’s likely to put too much stock into it, Kyle Busch has only 2 top-ten finishes through 7 races at Pocono, and hasn’t finished in the top-five since his first race here back in 2005. In fact, his average finish of 20.0 is actually worse than JJ Yeley’s average of 19.5. But, then again, some of Kyle’s best runs this season have come at some of his worst tracks - historically speaking, anyway.

Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be getting this Pocono thing down a little earlier in his career, finishing 24th, 10th, and 3rd in his first three Pocono starts, but has since ran 22nd and 17th ….. Kevin Harvick has only 2 career top-ten’s through 15 career starts at Pocono, but oddly enough, he also only has six finishes outside of the top-15. His average finish at the track is 16.1 ….. Greg Biffle hasn’t finished in the top-ten here since the Spring of 2006, and has finished 24th, 30th, 23rd, and 15th since then. He hold an average finish of 18.8 at Pocono.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Denny Hamlin - 130.4
2. Kurt Busch - 113.5
3. Tony Stewart - 102.2
4. Ryan Newman - 98.7
5. Brian Vickers - 97.9

Best Average Finish (from racingone.com):
1. Denny Hamlin - 2.8
2. Jeff Gordon - 10.0
3. Jimmie Johnson - 10.3
4. Mark Martin - 11.6
5. Brian Vickers - 13.0

Pocono Facts:
- 5 of the last 6 Pocono races have been won from the front row, with Jeff Gordon being the only exception when he won from the 18th starting position in the Spring of 2007. 35% of all the Pocono races have been won from the front row.
- The deepest starting position the race has ever been won from was Carl Edwards from 29th back in 2005.
- Jeff Gordon leads all full-time active drivers with wins at Pocono with four. Bill Elliott has the most all-time with five. Elliott is entered for the race, but will have to qualify on time, as he has no more past champions provisionals remaining.
- Mark Martin has 19 top-five’s and 27 top-ten’s at Pocono, but has never won a Sprint Cup race there.
- A Cup race at Pocono has finished with only 2 drivers on the lead lap on two separate occasions - most recently in 1982.
- There have been six season sweeps at Pocono in the past. Kasey Kahne will have an opportunity to make it seven this weekend.
- Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams with Pocono victories, counting 11 of them to their credit.
- Kurt Busch holds the record for the most laps led in a race at Pocono with 175 of them in the Fall of 2007.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Denny Hamlin
2nd Place - Kurt Busch
3rd Place - Jimmie Johnson
4th Place - Tony Stewart
5th Place - Brian Vickers
6th Place - Kasey Kahne

Lock of the Week - Denny Hamlin
Sleeper Pick - AJ Allmendinger
Steer Clear of - Kevin Harvick

Be sure to check out the Recap from the Pocono 500 held at Pocono Raceway back in June.

Also, check out the following video of the closing laps from the 2007 Pennsylvania 500:

In a race that was dominated by tire issues, Kurt Busch brought out one of the few cautions of the day at Indianapolis this past weekend that wasn’t caused by tires. Just 14 laps into the race, Busch was trying to let the no. 29 car of Kevin Harvick pass underneath him when Busch’s car got loose and set off into a spin …. a spin that also collected Harvick in the process.

Video footage of the wreck involving Busch and Harvick:

Although these two drivers have mixed it up with one another plenty of times earlier on in their careers, this incident was one of pure mistakes, and both drivers seem to have taken it that way.

When reporters caught up with Harvick following the incident, he remained optimistic, stating, “We will just go onto Pocono. Hopefully we will be good, and I think we will be fine for the Chase.”

Busch manned up and accepted responsibility for the accident. “I was just trying to let a guy go underneath me and I got loose and I collected both of us. I hated that somebody else got caught up in my mess,” he said. “The car just wasn’t handling very good, trying to make it where we could go and pit at the next caution. It just snapped loose on me.”

For those of you that had the misguided pleasure of watching this past weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, chances are that you were extremely disappointed with the product that NASCAR and Goodyear brought to the table … and, the drivers and their crews were no different. Perhaps the closed door meeting from NASCAR a couple months back asking the drivers to keep the verbal car bashing to a minimum may have warded off some of the overly eccentric tyrades similar to what we heard from Tony Stewart when he bashed Goodyear following the Atlanta race, but nonetheless, many of the Sprint Cup Series’ top faces expressed disappointment in the finished product following the Allstate 400.

Here are some of the quotes from the teams concerning Goodyear’s tire package that they brought to Indy:

Matt Kenseth: “This is one of the two biggest races of the year and to never have this tire here before and not come and do an open test and to work on these things and work on these tires, it’s pretty darn disappointing. We had a great car. I feel bad for the fans. We’re running three-quarters speed because we’re worried of the tires blowing out and they blow out every eight laps.”

Ryan Newman: “It was a ridiculous race. There was no racing involved, other than mandatory cautions. It’s disrespectful to the fans. That’s not the way NASCAR racing is supposed to be.”

Jeff Gordon: “It’s embarrassing and disappointing. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’m really sorry that it happened in such a big race like the Brickyard.”

Jamie McMurray: “I got really mad in the middle because they were letting us run until the tires were blowing up, and I’m like, ‘You can’t put us in that situation.’ You’ve got to throw the caution before we blow a tire because if someone gets hurt, we could have prevented that.”

Brian Vickers: “The problem is not one thing. We’ve seen all year long that this car is a lot worse on tires. I think everybody has to raise their hand and take some responsibility here. We have to really think about where we’re going and how we’re going to do it.”

Chad Knaus: “There are really only five things that keep a car on a racetrack. That’s four tires and downforce. Everybody has to realize that this car has about 50 percent of the downforce we had in the past.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr: “That’s the most bizarre race I’ve ever run. I was just glad we got through it with no real chaos. I’m ashamed, but there wasn’t much we could do.”

*Earnhardt also participated in a 3-driver testing session at Indy back in April to test various tire packages, to which he stated, “When I tested here they were wearing out (after) five laps, too.”

Carl Edwards: “I knew when there wasn’t any rubber laying down on the track — I couldn’t see any rubber on the track — I thought we were in trouble there. I know everybody was hoping that it would get better by Lap 30 or 40, but I knew we were in trouble then.”

Anonymous Tire Specialist: “The rubber coming off the tire was too fine. It was like sugar. That’s why the track never rubbered up. The whole back of the tire was dust. And everyone could see the fans leaving by Lap 100. It was the most disgusting display I’ve ever seen at a racetrack. The fans that come back deserve half-price tickets.”

Don’t let the criticism misguide you, though. While everyone throughout the garage area was disappointed with what took place at Indy, most everyone applauded the reactionary methods that NASCAR took to keep the race safe and err on the side of caution - literally.

Jeff Burton: “Early in the race we were running three-quarter speed. Late in the race, we ran hard and we had faith in NASCAR to throw the caution. NASCAR did a great job today under adverse situations. I don’t know what they could have done better. I know that NASCAR and Goodyear are going to take a lot of heat for this but you have to also look at the other side of it. There was no evidence that the situation was getting better during practice so NASCAR did the right thing and did a really good job of throwing the cautions. They responded to a problem and I give them credit for that.”

Bobby LaBonte: “It was a wild race out there, without a doubt. You had to pick when you wanted to race hard to pass someone and the rest of the time you just had to bide your time to save your tires. We knew this would be the case going in and NASCAR did a great job with what they had. My car was actually handling pretty good. It was just a little loose, but I was happy with the balance. My pit crew has to get a lot of credit today. This was the most consistently fast day we’ve had all year on pit road. They picked up a lot of positions for me.”

And, of course, as one might expect, Greg Stucker - Goodyear Director of Race Tire Sales - and Robin Pemberton - NASCAR’s Director of Competition - both had their hands full following the race.

Greg Stucker: “Obviously, the tread wear didn’t improve as we thought it would over the course of the afternoon. We don’t have the answer as to why that didn’t happen, so we’ve got to go back and look at that and try to figure out how to make it better. This is the same compound we raced last year and the wear improved over the course of the day to the point where we could run the full stops. That didn’t happen today, so we need to understand why. I don’t think anyone likes to race like this — us included. We’re going to try to figure out what we need to do to make it better, so that’s what we’re here for.”

Robin Pemberton: “I can’t say enough how sorry we are, and it’s our responsibility, being NASCAR, that we don’t go through this situation again. We’ve already got after it, and we’re moving forward with a plan to get ahead of the situation so we don’t go through this again. Once again, I think that it deserves to be said that the race didn’t come off like we had hoped. The fans didn’t get what they exactly wanted, and we’ll do everything in our power, and it won’t happen again, I can tell you that much. We’re going to put a lot of effort toward it and get a better plan moving forward.”

Video of the interviews with Robin Pemberton and Carl Edwards following the race:

It’s no huge secret that Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace were never exactly the closest of friends during the few short years that they teamed together at Penske Racing earlier this decade, and their relationship was again tested this past weekend at Indianapolis, and it was Rusty that fired the opening shots.

Baffled at the notion that anyone would ever dare leave a man that he has such deep respect for, Roger Penske and his organization, Rusty allegated that it was Penske Racing’s decision to let Newman go and that they’d fired him.

“He didn’t leave,” Wallace stated. “I’ve read many, many stories that said that. Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his office and said, ‘I don’t need your services next year.’ Ryan Newman didn’t come to him and say ‘I’m leaving.’ Ok? You all need to write about that. That’s exactly how it went down. Obviously there was some bad blood there when that happened. I love Roger Penske, so I’m going to help clear the story up for him.”

Newman was later addressed by the media about Rusty’s comments. Always the witty one, and never one to let himself get pushed around, Newman’s responses did not disappoint.

When asked if Rusty’s comments upset him, Newman responded, “Was he concious when he said it? …. It doesn’t matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities - plural - and, everybody is different.”

Rusty was always apprehensive of Newman ever since the day that the Daytona 500 winner joined Penske Racing full-time back in 2002, and the two have never been on the same page ever since. The bad blood there could have a lot to do with the statements that Rusty made, but then again, there are probably few people in the sport as close to Penske as Wallace is. It is a bit shocking, however, that as one of NASCAR’s distinct faces in the broadcast booth now with ESPN taking the helm for the current portion of the Sprint Cup schedule, that Rusty would be so blatant in calling out one of the drivers, particularly one he has a history with. Darrell Waltrip caused quite a stir when he found himself in similar situation when he was bashing on Tony Stewart week after week, and many fans still take an anti-DW stance because of comments he made during that span.

Martin Truex Jr. has been one of the names mentioned these past few months as one of the top candidates to make a move to some of the vacated seats that teams are offering up for 2009, to include Stewart Haas Racing, RCR, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Penske. David Newton over at ESPN.com recently attempted to squash all of those rumors in an article that he posted stating that not only had Truex come to an agreement with his current team, Dale Earnhardt Inc, that would keep him in the no. 1 car in 2009, but that the deal would also carry all the way through 2010 with a myriad of sponsors taking the front hood of the car throughout that duration.

With Newton breaking the news Saturday morning, Truex was the target of the media following the practice session being run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few hours later. When the reporters approached Martin to get their answers about the contract signing, though, they were in for quite a shock.

“It’s bull****,” Truex said. “I don’t know what the hell Newton is talking about. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Truex has been in ongoing negotiations with DEI throughout this entire year. It appeared as though things had been finalized a few months ago when the team announced they’d picked up their 2010 option on him, but Truex later denied the legality of the contract, and several sources indicated that he could get out of it if he wanted. Don’t let all of this fool you, though, as the likelihood of him returning with the team next season remains very high.

“We’ve been talking a lot,” he added. “Things have been going well. We’re working on some stuff, and that’s what I told him.”

ESPN.com has been the target of several critics in the NASCAR media for some of their off-beat reporting throughout the year. On several occasions they have reported stories that highly contradicted what several other sources were saying, but then again, they haven’t always been wrong. They did, afterall, get the Tony Stewart / Haas CNC Racing deal correct after several other had already given up on it, but I wouldn’t say that they’re exactly batting 1.000 either.

Coming off the heels of a very disappointing race this weekend at Indianapolis, it got me thinking of what some of the biggest factors can be to ruining a race for us - the fans. Of course, we’re always unhappy when our driver finishes outside of the top-ten, or even worse, when the driver that we adamently root against wins the race … but, I’m thinking of things beyond that. I’m talking about the actual elements that help give the race a lackluster feel to it. Here goes …

5. Multiple Cautions for Debris - These are obviously a part of racing that is more often than not well out of the control of NASCAR or anyone else. You get one or two of these, fine, no biggie - let’s move on. But, when you start getting 3, 4, or even 5 of these things, then you’re just left with an unwanted lull in the action.

4. Red Flags - I don’t really care what it’s for. Whether it’s for rain, a huge wreck, or a portion of the track coming unsurfaced, an extended period under red can take the wind right out of the race’s sails.

3. Rain - There’s obviously nothing you can do to ward it off, but when Mother Nature strikes the NASCAR track, she pretty much dictates the entire event. Teams have to start working different strategies based on when they thing the rain will come, and if it does, all too often we’re left with a guy standing in Victory Lane that really didn’t deserve it.

2. Over-Abundance of Commercial Breaks - We all know that the networks make the bulk of their money off advertising, and personally, I’m okay with that. But, at some point you’ve just got to draw the line. Take this past weekend for example. ESPN knew that NASCAR was going to continually run their competition caution periods, and even if they didn’t, there were going to be enough tire issues to fill the caution quota anyway. But, as if 11 caution periods weren’t enough to get in all the advertising they could hope for, the network still decided to cut to commercial at least once during every green flag run. I wasn’t counting, but I’d imagine that there were AT LEAST 20 commercial breaks … in  a 160 lap race. Do the math.

1. Bringing the Wrong Tire Package - This past weekend at Indy was obviously about as bad as it could possibly get, and kudos to NASCAR for doing their best to work around Goodyear’s blunder. But, even when it’s not the absolute worst, the wrong tire package can absolutely destroy a race. Whether it results in a race filled with competition cautions (Indy) or it results in multiple cars blowing tires for no real reason (Las Vegas) or it hinders on-the-track passing to the point of sheer boredom (Atlanta), the tires themselves play a major role in determining what the cars look like out there on the track.