They waited until the white flag. It was as if someone said “last chance to smack it all silly!”

There were some close calls earlier in the race at Talladega. A touch, a spin, a slide up the track or down to the infield but somehow most checked or got by…

Until the last lap.

The racing had gotten hot. Gordon had made a run up. Earnhardt, Jr. had a run. Johnson was there at some point. Kahne started on pole and ran with it. Kenseth was there at the end but it looked like Stewart could make a run and go.

It was Tony Stewart, he had gone up the track a bit and was coming back towards the inside on the white flag lap. It was a green-white-checkered run following a touch-up with Jamie McMurray being tagged by Harvick.

Stewart, on a dive back to the inside, did not catch the speed that Michael Waltrip had worked up. The left rear of the #14 tagged the right front of the #55… (more…)

How about that? Brad Keseowski won at Dover.

Or rather, his fuel tank won at Dover…

The push for position in the latter half of the race combined with pit stop strategy from other teams not quite working to the end put Keselowski in the front spot at the checkers.

A win is a win, right…? Yes… Fans want to see the drag race finish but it doesn’t always work that way. Hamlin and Busch had good cars and were in position but the fuel wasn’t. Rather than push and risk an empty tank and possible fall back deeper in points they went in for a “splash and dash” allowing others to take the front.

This win for the #2 Miller Lite Dodge is the second in the “Chase” and fifth for the entire season. Ironic that a Dodge is running well while making a manufacturer exit for the next season(s)… (more…)

Talladega was a merry-go-round of sheet metal. A number of cars were damaged and put off or out. There were five yellow flag situations. Cautions and crashes. On average, a bit light on yellow for Talladega.

Then came Darlington. Green flag racing for the first half of the race. The last half of the race brought the yellow but for the most part it was a NASCAR call for “debris”. There were some spins and wall slides but no real field-changing sheet metal bang-ups.

Fan excitement. The debate is on… Again.

At some point in the week following Richmond on the way to Talladega one of the many “race talk / preview / review” shows on TV brought forth the subject of fans and attendance and viewing. One of the sub-topics included was cautions, crashes and what fans want to see. It seems the 2012 season is below average for crashes and cautions. Apparently, there is just too much green flag racing to keep the “fans” interested. (more…)

The AARON’S 499 at Talladega set a winning scenerio for some big names to present themselves in the final laps and the finish. Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger. Big, long names…

Four laps to go at Talladega and an impulse move takes out a chunk of the top challengers. It also set up a restart scenario that left the door open for the BK/KB train to rail to the front.

Denny Hamlin was crunched into a spot on the outside and when the two lines separated enough to make hole in the middle, he went for it. A.J. Allmendinger made an impulse move to keep the 11 behind him but he went without looking and Hamlin’s FedEx #11 was already nose in. The #22 of A.J. clipped and slid in front of Hamlin’s nose and dipped into the low row. The #22 straightened with contact on the inside row but the chain was off at that point putting the field on the brakes and into the wall and each other. (more…)