'Have you ever — No, I've Never!'
There may have been one other time I saw a race as good at Talladega, but the Aaron's 499 was as good as it gets. To watch the guys race as hard as they did and as fast as they were going was incredible. Folks, those cars were fast! They were going over 200 mph in some cases, especially when they started pushing each other.
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Race Trax:
News:
- Don't expect return of Southern 500
- Roush driver wins ARCA race
- Stewart wins wreck-filled N'wide race
- Biffle sets record, wins pole
Analysis:
Fantasy:
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I heard a lot of people saying "I thought you couldn't bump-draft in the corners?" You couldn't with the old car. The old car basically had a snow plow on the front of it and if you ran the nose of the old car up under the back of another car, you would jack him up off the ground and he would spin out. It just wasn't safe.
Intended or not, this new car allows these guys to lean on each other. The back end of the new car is flat and straight up and down. The same goes for the back of the car. So when you get behind a guy, your front end marries up perfectly with rear end of the guy ahead of you. So now, as you saw Sunday, you can lean into the guy in front of you but it doesn't get him all squirrelly and sideways. It just makes you both go faster.
When two cars hooked up on the outside — like Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray did a few times — they were at least 10 mph faster than the pack running down low around the bottom of the track. I haven't seen anything like that in ages. The old car had a lot of downforce, but this new car has a lot of side force. This car has a big tall flat side on it. Plus, it has the wing on the back of it with the end plates on the wing. When this car gets in yaw, or sideways, there's enough force of air on the side of the car and the side of the wing that it straightens it back up.
Look Sunday when David Ragan and Kyle Busch got together going into Turn 3 late in the race — that was a multi-car crash a year ago. But with this car, they were able to get it sideways but still recover and get it under control. I've seen it over and over again in other races so far this year. The old car was aerodynamically good at going straight, but not so good sideways. This car may not be as good aero-wise going straight, but really good when it goes sideways.
Because of those aerodynamics, it allowed the guys to do what they did yesterday and put on one whale of a show. Everybody seemed to be dreading this race because they were afraid it was going to be like last fall's race when this car ran there for the very first time. The car has evolved since then. Having tested and raced at Daytona, the teams have figured out a lot about these cars.
Folks, this car will continue to get better and better. It still could use a tweak or two, I think, but they have to be minor. Once these guys figure out the aero and chassis package these cars like, this car is going to be as good as the old car was. In fact, it may be even better because this new car offers things the old one couldn't.
In my mind, this new car has proven itself. It's safe, and in most cases, it has been competitive at most race tracks. We've had a couple of stinkers, but that's not unusual because we had that with the old car, too.
Also on race day, you didn't have any tire issues from Goodyear. The only tire issues were self-inflicted. Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards had their cambers wrong and they both blew out right front tires. I have said this before. I don't race anymore and I don't have a tire deal with Goodyear. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Goodyear doesn't build a bad tire. It's the things we do to those tires that make them bad. That's not Goodyear's fault.
Sunday was incredible because so many drivers had a shot at winning the race. There was a record number of lead changes. It also seemed like everyone in the field led the race. My brother Michael hadn't been that competitive earlier in the race, but when Jimmie Johnson hitched up to the back of Michael's car, he pushed Michael right into the lead. Denny Hamlin pushed a number of guys to the front. David Ragan pushed guys to the lead. Juan Pablo Montoya did it, too. It was amazing and fun to watch.
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I got to drive my NASCAR on FOX car Saturday and I knew right then and there that Sunday was going to be a really good race. I was motoring around that joint right around 200 mph. It drove excellent. That's a true Roush Fenway race car. It's not some old show car. That baby is ready to race. I told Hammond that this car drives excellent. I hadn't raced there in eight years, but I felt so comfortable in that car that even I could have gotten out there and been competitive on Sunday.
You have to be impressed with a number of drivers from Sunday's race. Juan Pablo Montoya is a great example of that. He likes the restrictor plate tracks. He had a great run going, and who knows what might have happened with he and Denny Hamlin if the race hadn't ended under caution.
If there is a downside to the Talladega weekend, it had to be what happened in the Nationwide race. Folks, I dread thinking about and telling folks we are going to have the Big One. Unfortunately, if you look at the races at Talladega, say for the last 15 years, there is always a big wreck. It's not anticipated anymore — it's expected.
What happened Saturday and the 15-car wreck that was caused was totally, totally uncalled for. It was a bad mistake on driver Kevin Lepage's part. I'm really not sure what Kevin was thinking. I haven't talked to the man. I can only tell you what I saw on television. It was an unfortunate mistake that caused a bad accident. I feel sorry for all the teams that got their cars torn up and I feel bad for Kevin because I know he realizes he made a bad mistake.
Someone could have gotten hurt seriously, similar to what happened to my neighbor, Dario Franchitti. The lick that Dario took in the driver's door on Saturday was every driver's worst nightmare. I don't care how safe your race car is and how many safety devices you have around you, when you get hit directly in the door by another car; it's about the scariest situation you can have. Dario broke his ankle, but I have to tell you, I am thankful that was all that happened to him. Having been there and done that, it could have been a lot worse. Dario will have to rest up and do some rehab, but I know he will be back pretty quick.
Oh, by the way
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| Ashley Force was the center of attention this weekend after becoming the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car event. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images) |
You know Danica Patrick won that race over in Japan a couple weeks ago and she had a good run going at Kansas, too. But there's been the question about whether she should or could race in NASCAR. Roush Fenway Racing had even talked her as recently as two weeks ago when we were in Phoenix about her plans. I never say anyone can't make it. You just don't know. It's like any of those guys that have already come over from IndyCar — man, if you can cut it, we are glad to have you. If we had a competitive female racing in NASCAR, it would be the greatest thing in the world.
Look at the NHRA this past weekend with Ashley Force going up against her father in the finals. Ol' John was going for his 1000th win in the Funny Car division and his daughter beat him. That's amazing. That girl can drive and she can drive a Funny Car. I don't know if she can drive anything else, but I can say for a fact, that she can drive a Funny Car.
That's the same way I feel about Danica. She can definitely drive an open wheel car. I don't know if she can drive anything else. My advice to both Ashley and Danica is to stick to what you know and dominate in what you are doing today. If you want to venture out, then set up a test or maybe even a race with one of the teams. But as the open wheel boys that have already come over, plus Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, will tell you — NASCAR is the hardest thing you will ever, ever do.
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