JimmieJohnson
09-05-2007, 10:12 AM
1. Lowe’s High – For weeks now I’ve been wondering why everyone was depicting the Chase as a duel between Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. “Wait!” – I shouted, what about Jimmie Johnson? Heading into Fontana, Johnson was tied with Gordon for bonus points, 10 ahead of Stewart when the Chase starts, and tonight’s win moves him ahead of both Gordon and Stewart with 50 bonus points. Johnson’s team typically slumps in the summer but they turn it on when it counts. Don’t hand that Nextel Cup trophy to anyone else just yet. It’s also worth noting that Johnson and Matt Kenseth are now the only drivers to make the Chase all four seasons since its inception in 2004.
2. Enough Already! – Look, I like Dale Junior as much as the next person, but the tunnel-visioned focus of Sunday’s race broadcast on Junior’s quest to make the Chase was ridiculous. Last week, Earnhardt himself complained about the media’s obsession with his points situation, stating, “That’s all y’all talk about. I shouldn’t tell you that you dictate my mood. Now you know. But anyways, when we don’t make it, everybody makes a big deal out of it. They talk about it prerace, they talk about it postrace for a couple of weeks, and it’s a bummer.” Broadcasters, are you listening?
3. Thanks, ESPN – For once again treating NASCAR like the red-headed stepchild of the sports world. The network scheduled an abbreviated 15-minute Countdown show for the Busch race on ESPN2 Saturday, but couldn’t even squeeze that in due to a college football game that ran long (score 35-14 in the fourth quarter). While a scroll on the screen informed viewers that they could catch the prerace on ESPN360 (whatever that is), many fans who went to the website were greeted with this message: “Sorry, your internet service provider does not carry ESPN360.com.” The football game finally ended just as the race was about to start, but …
4. You’ve Been Warned – In addition to the above, my favorite NASCAR TV Critic John Daly (www.dalyplanet.blogspot.com) reports, “By the way, next week a live college football game precedes the NEXTEL Cup night race from Richmond on ABC Sports. I would suggest that fans plan well ahead for their viewing options, because all of the ESPN Networks will be busy with live football as well. Once again, NASCAR will be all dressed-up with no place to go.” And they wonder why TV ratings are down?
5. Keselowski Crash – If you didn’t see young Brad’s crash in Saturday’s Busch race, it was one of the most brutal hits in recent memory, head on into the wall at 140-plus miles per hour. Keselowski was airlifted to an area hospital, but reports are that he had no serious injuries and was treated and released with follow up scheduled this week in North Carolina. Kudos to NASCAR for making today’s cars safer than ever before.
6-10 at frontstretch.com (http://www.frontstretch.com/bgladden/11764/)
2. Enough Already! – Look, I like Dale Junior as much as the next person, but the tunnel-visioned focus of Sunday’s race broadcast on Junior’s quest to make the Chase was ridiculous. Last week, Earnhardt himself complained about the media’s obsession with his points situation, stating, “That’s all y’all talk about. I shouldn’t tell you that you dictate my mood. Now you know. But anyways, when we don’t make it, everybody makes a big deal out of it. They talk about it prerace, they talk about it postrace for a couple of weeks, and it’s a bummer.” Broadcasters, are you listening?
3. Thanks, ESPN – For once again treating NASCAR like the red-headed stepchild of the sports world. The network scheduled an abbreviated 15-minute Countdown show for the Busch race on ESPN2 Saturday, but couldn’t even squeeze that in due to a college football game that ran long (score 35-14 in the fourth quarter). While a scroll on the screen informed viewers that they could catch the prerace on ESPN360 (whatever that is), many fans who went to the website were greeted with this message: “Sorry, your internet service provider does not carry ESPN360.com.” The football game finally ended just as the race was about to start, but …
4. You’ve Been Warned – In addition to the above, my favorite NASCAR TV Critic John Daly (www.dalyplanet.blogspot.com) reports, “By the way, next week a live college football game precedes the NEXTEL Cup night race from Richmond on ABC Sports. I would suggest that fans plan well ahead for their viewing options, because all of the ESPN Networks will be busy with live football as well. Once again, NASCAR will be all dressed-up with no place to go.” And they wonder why TV ratings are down?
5. Keselowski Crash – If you didn’t see young Brad’s crash in Saturday’s Busch race, it was one of the most brutal hits in recent memory, head on into the wall at 140-plus miles per hour. Keselowski was airlifted to an area hospital, but reports are that he had no serious injuries and was treated and released with follow up scheduled this week in North Carolina. Kudos to NASCAR for making today’s cars safer than ever before.
6-10 at frontstretch.com (http://www.frontstretch.com/bgladden/11764/)