NASCAR and the races have been taking a little fan heat with talk of not enough excitement.

There is not enough close racing. They aren’t bumping and banging like they used to. There isn’t enough action.

Yeah yeah yeah….

Driver’s want to finish. Owners want to finish. Sponsors don’t want their logo in the garage and out of the spotlight. The points are tight.

Yeah yeah yeah…

Well fans, we give you Dover. A big smash up, some engines blow, a pit action near miss, Johnson in clown hair…

What more do you want?

The only thing really missing was a stereotypical Stewart blow-up in the interview following the big pile up. “Smoke” was amazingly reserved following the incident. Coming out of turn 2, the #83 tried to come to the inside but Stewart’s #14 was already there. As the #83 touched the right front of the #14, the Burger King Toyota began to slide up the track as Tony checked up a bit. Here comes Regan Smith into Stewart and both of them go sideways. A big check and smash as more cars come around the turn.

Stewart was calm and collected after his car was docked in the garage.

“The 83 was trying to get down to the bottom… We were both in the wrong place at the wrong time… It wasn’t Regan’s fault… He was right behind us and didn’t have anywhere to go, either…”

Perhaps the days of “Smoke” going off and blowing his top after the fact are behind us. Perhaps he was just not having a good weekend to begin with and he was just ready to get out of there. He is still in the top 10 in points so perhaps he is just focusing on the next batch of races. Whatever the deal, we’re not ready to see the “Smoke” fizzle as the defending champion.

Engines were an issue for a few teams. Both of the Busch boys had trouble. Kyle brought his car in with a suspected valve problem. Kurt blew his with a puff of smoke on the track. Jeff Burton also went to the garage with a hot engine.

All in all a strange day for Stewart-Haas as Ryan Newman, Stewart’s teammate, caused some dancing in Clint Bowyer’s pit box. Newman was making the exit from his pit as Bowyer was coming in. Newman, to avoid colliding with the #15, turned back towards the pit wall and through Bowyer’s stall. Several of the #15 crew were already out ready to take on Bowyer’s car and some quick jumps, brakes and a hood slap on Newman’s #39 by a man with a jack were the scene of the almost nasty result. If you ever wondered why the pit crews where helmets and full gear this incident explains why.

By the way, it was just last week that Tony Stewart was spun around in the pits…

Then we have a clown wig.

We get it. It was just… Yeah. You know.

With 31 laps to go, Johnson edges Kevin Harvick on the restart. Johnson maintains and holds on for the win at Dover in the #48 Lowe’s Madagascar Chevrolet. The “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” movie is out and was a co-sponsor of the Lowe’s #48. In the movie, the characters apparently wind up in a circus with clowns and…

Well, it explains the wig.

Johnson is a lighthearted fellow, after all, and not beyond his style to have a little fun. The wig was there at driver intro and made the appearance in Victory Lane. We’ve seen Johnson’s fun side on several occasions so a clown wig doesn’t really throw us off…

All in all a good day at Dover for the fans. It is ironic that what may be a good race for the fans usually makes it a very bad day for some drivers with cars in the garage. But “That’s Racin’…!”

It was also a good weekend for the focus of the event. There were some good moments over the weekend for raising awareness of families and children facing the struggle of autism. The “FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks” showcased the efforts and obstacles overcome by those who live day to day with a disorder that only now is beginning to be understood.

If putting Johnson in a clown wig makes a few heads turn toward the race showcasing these efforts then everyone wins.