Dover part 1: The arrival, the King, the races

I've had the pleasure of attending close to 60 NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup races. I've got my favorite tracks to go - places such as Bristol, Charlotte and Talladega (well, back in the day).

Over the last 15 years or so, I've enjoyed the opportunity to visit tracks for the first (and probably only) time. I've got the ticket stub, event pin, and Schaefer stories from places such as Texas, Loudon, Indy, Vegas, and Richmond. This year, I was finally able to notch one for Dover.

We had plenty of good times during the extended race-trip weekend. I'll try to focus on the races themselves and the track in this post. From there, well ... I'll see. I've got a few ideas rattling around in my head about how to 'theme' post them. Stay tuned.

Knowing this may well be our only trip to the Monster Mile, fellow Schaefer HOFer Philly and I wanted to do it right. As life-long Petty fans, we had no choice but to sit in the Richard Petty Grandstand.

Representatives of the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor rolled in at various times Thursday, September 29:

• SROH member 200WINZ from Trenton, NJ (and Dover fan since 1969) rolled into the grounds with his camper Thursday morning.
  
• SHOFer Uncle Dave from Cleveland, OH trucked 439 miles to the Philadelphia airport to pick up me.
  
• SHOF co-founder Philly charted a multi-hour, long, interstate drive from Charlotte, NC, and
• yours truly, SHOF co-founder TMC from Middle by-cracky Tennessee flew into Philadelphia airport, donned a Schaefer cap, and thumbed a ride at the curb with Uncle Dave.

The first recognizable sight Uncle Dave and I saw as we entered the campground was the full-flowing, old-school, red-and-blue, 43 flag. We immediately knew where our home was going to be the next 3 days.

WINZ landed an ideal camping spot - right in front of the track and Richard Petty Grandstand. We had a bit of highway noise at night, but we could also hear the roar of the engines from the track as practice sessions took place. An ideal, audial experience.

After shaking hands, settling our gear, celebrating the beginning of race weekend with a cold Schaefer (or two or three), etc., it wasn't long before we wanted to go eat. So off we headed for Sambo's, a local seafood tavern in Leipsic - about 3 miles from the track.

As we arrived, we spotted a familiar silhouette in the shadows of a street light. Sure enough, it was the King, Richard Petty! He and a few others had just finished their dinner. As he is with all his fans, he was gracious enough to stand for a photo-op and offer an autograph. Petty has been retired as a driver for 20 years. I was a fan then and still am today because of his simply stopping long enough to recognize a fan.

After parting ways, it was time for crab cakes, hush puppies, fresh shrimp and crabs, and plenty of cold beer to celebrate our fortuitous timing and good fortune.

Dover opened in 1969, and in some ways I'm not sure the track has changed much since. We were taken aback by some of the old school aspects of the track that remain.

• For instance, we sat near the top of the Richard Petty Grandstands. Near us was a stairway leading out of our section. Yet we had to descend multiple sets of stairs for bathrooms, concessions, and souvenirs. Unlike other tracks who have amenities on every concourse level, all of Dover is lower-level based.
  
• The bathrooms didn't have soap dispensers - seemingly a standard everywhere these days including just about every dive bar. But Dover didn't have the motion-activated ones or even the hand-operated kind. Instead, each sink literally had a bar of soap. I'm no germophobe, but even that cootie haven freaked me out a bit.
• Thirdly, the garage areas for the Nationwide and Cup teams were tighter than a CFO's cost budget in an Obama economy. I realize Dover was built before the days of tractor trailer haulers. And I understand they have a horse racing 'trotter' track inside the speedway that affects how much expansion the track can do. But it was amazing how close every team was to one another, now little room the teams had to maneuver, and how fans could easily have run over if you didn't keep your head on a swivel.
  

We spent Saturday morning touring the Nationwide and Cup garage areas. Saturday afternoon, we watched Cup qualifying from pit road and then slipped into the stands to watch Carl Edwards flat-out dominate the 200 lap Nationwide race. Carl's Ford was hooked up to be certain, but the overall racer quality was pitiful. At least 12 start-and-parkers - about 25% of the field - were back on their haulers within a handful of laps. And by lap 100, only 12 cars remained on the lead lap.

Carl in the process of completing his victory back flip...

Credit: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

I'm not exactly sure how many fans the track can accommodate. Probably 120,000 or so. What I do know is that Saturday's Nationwide race couldn't have had more than 12,000 fans - despite being a companion event. Dover has already shuttered three Nationwide tracks it owns: Memphis, Gateway and Nashville. Now it can't even draw a respectable crowd to its one remaining, flagship track.

For the Cup race, the stands were barely half-full - this despite the track's attempt to cover many sections with ad banners. This economy is in trouble. This sport is in trouble. And this track is in trouble.

But we went to Dover to RACE baby - not be a voice of gloom-and-doom about the state of the sport. Despite brisk temps, a fierce wind, and misting rain, we made our way through the gates of Richard Petty Grandstand and settled in.

Our seats were great. I've been to many 1-1/2 mile tracks and short tracks. But Dover is right between them at one-mile in length. The track's banking, limited infield clutter, the one-mile distance, and our seat location made for an ideal setting to take in all of the sights of the race.

Earlier in the week, the weekend forecast was fantastic. Virtually no chance of rain, plenty of sun, and warm temps. The weather geeks nailed it - for Friday and Saturday morning. But after lunch on Saturday through Sunday, wow. Clouds rolled in, temperatures dropped, the wind picked up, and we got a good dose of rain Friday and Saturday nights. Fortunately, we didn't lose either race on Saturday or Sunday to rain - though Sunday's race had two cautions for a light misting shower passing through.

By the time I started earning my own way in this world and had the discretionary income to go racing, my hero's competitive days were behind him. With rare exception, Richard Petty fared poorly in the last few races I got to see in his final few years as a driver. Sadly, the drivers of his teams at Petty Enterprises and more recently Richard Petty Motorsports haven't fared much better when I've been in the stands.

So it was a fantastic, adrenalin-rush day to be there and witness the competitiveness of the legendary 43 with A.J. Allmendinger as the driver. Making the day even more memorable was that first-year RPM driver and Glen winner, Marcos Ambrose, was competing for a top 10 finish most of the day.

Nearing the half-way mark, A.J. was atop the leader board and I was on cloud 9.

A.J.'s spot atop the pylon was even more remarkable because of what happened on lap 7. Denny Hamlin doinked the 43 coming into turn 3. Incredibly, A.J. had the presence of mind to hang the car waaaay to the right and dirt track it through turns 3 and 4. Sure enough, the car bit, A.J. straightened it out, and he later climbed into the #1 spot. I really thought it was the team's day...

Credit: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

I expected Hamlin's nudge of the 43 would lead to an afternoon of retaliation, collateral damage, etc. In addition, with overnight rains washing rubber off the track, Chasers fighting for precious points, and many drivers auditioning for 2012 sponsors and rides, I thought we would see many wrecks. Instead, cautions were infrequent and mainly for yet-to-be-found debris, a light rain, and single car wall bangers.

Several drivers took turns leading a handful of laps. Their moments up front didn't really matter, however, because the 48 of Jimmie Johnson ran off and led for long stretches of the race. I wasn't happy at all that JJ and Chad Knaus were on their game and headed for victory because:

• Jimmie won both times I went to Loudon.
  
• He won when I went to Vegas.
• He won the Coke 600 at Charlotte in 2004 - my first time back at Charlotte in seven years.
• He won the only time I went to Darlington in what was then thought to be the final Southern 500.
  

When the teams pitted for the last time with about 40 laps to go, however, Kurt Busch's team made the right adjustments. He forged ahead of Johnson following the restart and motored away to the win. I'm not the biggest KuBu fan - but he did beat the 48 and that was good enough for me.

To be continued...

TMC

Pre-Race: Thrill of Victory or Agony of Defeat?

As I type this, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are first, second and third respectively in the Cup standings. Its "all in" for the three of them Sunday at Homestead.

Jimmie Johnson drew first blood today by qualifying solidly in the top 10. Harvick went out second of the three, but he could only muster a start in the mid 20s. Hamlin went out last, laid an egg and now must start in the Back 40 amongst the start & parkers and racing tards.

I have no doubt the three of them are pretty keyed up about now - but likely none more so than Hamlin.

Consider this about Johnson:

• JJ has won four straight Cups
• Many folks have forgotten forget JJ finished a close 2nd for the Cup the year before he started the Cup-winning streak
• His crew chief, Chad Knaus, has ice water in his veins.
• The 48 has 3 level-headed teamies who know the overall objective for the company and could play the role of spoiler if called upon to do so. Wait - Dale Jr. works for HMS, right? Sorry - JJ has two level-headed teamies.

Harvick you say?

• His car owner knows a thing or two about winning championships having won six of the big Winston trophies with a driver named Earnhart.
• As the third dog in line, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
• He plays head games at an exceptionally far better level than Hamlin or Johnson.
• If he wins, his team gets to celebrate with an unlimited supply on his incoming sponsor, Budweiser, vs. his outgoing sponsor, Shell/Pennzoil.

And Hamlin?

• Toyota hasn't won a Cup championship in its limited time in NASCAR.
• A Virginia driver hasn't won the Grand National/Cup championship since Joe Weatherly in 1963.
  
• The team's conservative call at Phoenix resulted in a loss of about 3 dozen key points, and the poor qualifying effort today is going to hurt his catching sight of the 48 early as well as a less-desirable pit stall.
• One teammate cares little to nothing about the overall team. The other teammate will be too busy trying to keep his Adam's apple inside his driver uni to help 11 hang onto the 48.

So who do I pick? My pre-season pick for the Cup was: Denny Hamlin. In the office pool today for a winner-take-all on the champion, I drew at random: Kevin Harvick. But in the end, who do I now fear will win yet another Cup: yep, Big Johnson.

If Hamlin prevails, he'll be elated - as will I for having called for him to do so in February. If he loses - especially if its because of an avoidable error...

Well, check out Darrell Waltrip's reaction after losing the 1979 championship in the final race to Richard Petty. (DW went into the final race with a 2 point advantage over the King.) I'll hand it to Waltrip. He conducted the interview with digity. But the pain of seeing it slip away is so very real.



TMC

2010 Coca-Cola 600: Entry 1

Now how's that title grab ya there m'friend? That's about the only title I've got right now for many reasons:

• I've got to start somewhere.
• Everyone else on the web but me already has their Coke 600 thoughts posted.
• I'm not sure how many entries I'll end up posting to recap the weekend so "entry 1" seemed to give me more logical options than "entry A". (Hold on folks - this could run on for a while.)
• It was late the night I started typing this, and my headline-writing creativity has been low all week.

Furthermore, as blogged elsewhere, an uncle of mine with whom I was very close died Thursday. Its put a bit of damper on my enthusiasm to blog about all-things-fun. But I'll proceed.

So let's jump right in shall we?


The sponsors

OK, so what was up with Matt Kenseth's sponsor? JEREMIAH WEED? Apparently, its some sort of Vodka drink.

Well that was news to me because Jeremiah was a bullfrog the last I heard. He was a good friend of mine, and I helped him a'drink his wine. So somehow I'm not really sure vodka is involved here anywhere.

It was good to see the blue/yellow Best Buy colors back on the #43 of A.J. Allmendinger rather than the whacked-out, green-tinted yellow of Insignia that's been on the sides much of the year.


I realize patriotism and an appreciation for the military spikes on Charlotte raceday. But all the star-laced Hendrick Motorsports' cars were a bit much to follow. It was hard to find them on the track - except when the 48 wrecked. Believe me, the crowd quickly found the wrecked Jimmie Johnson car.

It just seems to be the age of vinyl "paint" schemes for NASCAR has become analogous to early users of PowerPoint? Remember all the bad presenters you saw back then - in college, in work training, seminars, etc.? All the animation, swoosh sounds, slide transtions - all that crap detracting from the message. When NASCAR went from a bucket and brush to vinyl and squeeges (and multiple primary sponsors), the ability for fans to identify with a car diminished greatly.

The races

The Busch brothers took the hardware, split the dough and left town. Kyle took the Nationwide 300 on Saturday, and Kurt turned in a dominating performance on Sunday to take the 600.

Even more remarkable was Rowdy's run back to the front in the 600 after getting caught up in Jimmie Johnson's pit road snafu. He had a fast car, got a lap down, and rallied back to finish 3rd. Say what you will about New Kyle vs. Old Kyle. Kyle is good. A lot has been made about the success Steve Addington is having with KuBu after previously serving as crew chief with KyBu - and its merited. The Miller Lite Dodge is running much better and winning more frequently than in 2009. But the 18 team is no slouch either.

The 600 generally has two or three themes to it. A rabbit often sets an early pace but fades as the sun sets. A strong car then often takes over but doesn't always win because of fuel strategy, an unforseen broken part or other bad luck as the race nears the end. And the last couple of years, a surprise winner has emerged.

But this year, KuBu's put the #2 Dodge in the wind and stayed there all night. Only Jamie McMurray's brief run at the front offered a late-race challenge to Kurt. But when the final pit stops took place, Addington's men did what they are paid to do and got their car back out front. Once that happened, Kurt finished the job.

As the race hit the 80% completion mark, Jamie was in the lead and Kurt was 2nd. A trivia question hit me as I looked at the scoring tower: Had a car #1 ever won a NASCAR Cup race with a car #2 finishing second?

I did a bit of research this week. From what I can tell, it hasn't happened before. And because Kurt was able to get back around McMurray on the final restart, it STILL hasn't happened.

Tailgating and Fun Times

I sawthis discarded funnel and empty pack of Newport smokes as we walked to the track Sunday evening. About the time I walked by this spot, I was hedging a guess many folks were hurting badly somewhere.

My uncle and parents started taking me local Saturday night late model races when I was 9 years old. Earlier this week, I had my umpteenth anniversary of my first Cup race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 1978. Because I started going to races as a kid, I always have a blast watching kids enjoying themselves at races. Sometimes they watch the races with great intensity or amazement. Other times, they simply want to be there for all the trappings - the concessions, the military jet flyovers, fireworks, whatever.

I dare you to tell me the following kids weren't having big fun.

This one for instance...

How about this dirt trackin' fan?

And even these two... now, wait a minute...

I'll save stories and pictures of our well-honed tailgating skills for additional entries. But before you form any stereotyping thoughts about us, check out the touch of class provided our area by one of our guests from Darlington, SC. Now ain't this arrangement just purty?

Stay tuned for entry #2.

TMC

Bristol Ramblings

A coherent themed blog entry be damned. It's time to Ramble On about Bristol! Why not start the video and groove to a Zep classic as you continue to read.

Combine the following ingredients into a NASCAR jambalya and what do you get?

• Jimmie Johnson's 4 championships, late 2009 wins, and early 2010 wins
• Dale Jr.’s continuing losing streak with few signs he's about to end it anytime soon
• The economy - including continuing limits on corporate sports marketing/entertainment expenses
• Continuation of 3 night overpriced minimums on hotels
• High ticket prices especially as compared to corporate-sister track Charlotte
• A faceless Nationwide series
• $3/gallon gas
• A re-designed track surface that rewards side by side, multi-groove racing and eliminates the need for a bump and run to make a pass.

I'll tell you what you get - empty seats and plenty of ‘em at one of NASCAR’s bellweather tracks. NASCAR, ISC, and SMI all have to be concerned about how long this flat to downward attendance trend is going to last. I think I'm safe in saying the acid test for NASCAR is attendance at Daytona (500), Bristol, Texas, Indy, and Charlotte (600). The 500 and 600 have been down for the last few years, and Bristol finally failed to sell out this year. It will be interesting to see the crowds at Texas and Indy.

Regarding the last point above, I don't put a lot of stock in it personally. I think the multi-groove track is great. It's more like old school Bristol. But a lot of nouveau fans who only started watching Bristol during the Earnhardt, Rusty, and Gordon years think the one-groove, bump-and-run track is the old school. They are wrong, but I think they are also some of the ones who haven't returned since the re-design.

When is someone gonna “bully up” and take on Jimmie Johnson? He can’t be beaten fair and square in the preparation, performance, or closing areas. So is it gonna take someone getting fed up enough to dump him or ugly him up a bit? First you’ve got to catch him I guess, and then you have to face your sponsors and the oval office if you choose to act that way. But you’d likely pick up a bunch of fans in the process.

I’m not advocating wrecking him. I’m simply saying it seems one of the few logical choices yet to evolve. The guy has won 4 straight Cups. He has zero rivals and has had zero feuds. Sponsors of other drivers have got to be pulling their hair out seeing Lowe's get all the attention. Left unchecked and with Chad on the pit box, Jimmie quite possibly could leave the King and Earnhardt in his dust with his future Cup championships.

So where could such a rival come from:

• Kurt won’t do it. He's spent the last 3-4 years getting the Penske Polish. He's already had his ears pinned back surgically. He's certainly not going to go through that again by rough driving over the 48.
• Denny Hamlin can’t do it. He tried a year ago at Martinsville only to get out-muscled by JJ when the chips were on the table. Plus, this year the 11 team can't finish the job on the track - much less affect someone else's day.
• Jeff Gordon has too much at stake to do it. He's now one of the elder stateman and has an equity stake in the team.
• Smoke has too many conflicting priorities to do it. He may have the temper and passion to do it. But doing so would negatively and severely affect his 'technical alliance' with Hendrick Motorsports.

Montoya, Harvick, and maybe Keselowski may be the only ones with the stones to do it. Bobby Allison reached his boiling point in the early 1970s. He said he was tired of Richard Petty getting all the breaks and the wins. So he spent a large part of 1972 finding Petty on the track and roughing him up about as much as he could. Later in the 70s, DW risked being the bad guy and ascended by running his lip and saying he was going to knock the King off his throne. Where is the mouth today that’ll say the same thing about JJ and then back it up?

Best lame excuse I've heard in years: Greg "The Possum" Biffle claiming his radio cord was unplugged from his helmet. He supposedly couldn't hear his spotter which in turn contributed to his drifting up and hooking bumpers with Mark Martin to end GoGrandDaddy.com's day.

Second best lame excuse I've heard lately: Happy Harvick claiming JoLo was "chop blocking" him in Saturday's Nationwide race. So he couldn't wait anymore and did what he had to do. Or something to that effect. One of my sayings my wife hates is "Well, it is what it is." She'll holler at me "that doesn't make any sense at all." Well, Harvick was in the news all weekend for sound bytes that also didn't make much sense at all - yet paradoxically were understood by everyone.

I’m glad I didn’t go all the way to Bristol, spend the money, sit in the rain, and then watch the 48 win again. I enjoyed my time in Vegas a few weeks ago despite Johnson's win. And I’m afraid I may well see him win yet again at the 600 in May – even if the track is no longer named Lowe's Motor Speedway. No way would I have wanted a tri-fecta of personal misery.

So Darrell Waltrip blamed the attendance woes partially on the weather? Geez, is this guy even remotely sane anymore? Does he honestly think today’s races have a large walk-up attendance segment? Jaws, this is 2010 man – not 1973. And for the love of Pete, would someone, anyone duct tape his hands under the desk. The constant pen handling and/or thumb-wars on TV is almost as unbearable as "boogity, boogity, boogity".

During my trip to Bristol last year, I really enjoyed the old timers race – even if it was a mis-matched field. I cheered lustily for every driver introduced having watched most if not all of them during my youth. I felt a bit embarrassed other fans - those who even chose to stick around after the Nationwide race - didn't show the same enthusiasm for the legends who returned for their entertainment.

Having drivers like Sterling and Rusty compete against 70+ year-olds in cars they prepared themselves wasn’t right. This year’s edition was better balanced as the drivers weren't allowed to bring their own cars; however, Larry Pearson’s and Charlie Glotzbach’s injuries make me wonder if we’ll see the legends race return. I pray Pearson's and Chargin' Charlie's injuries will heal with time.

Source: TheDalyPlanet's Twitpic

Truthfully, while it's cool to see these old fellers run Bristol, me thinks perhaps the race should return to a slower, flatter track like the ¼ mile flat surface at Texas or Charlotte.

Here's one idea I've got to help ensure the races continue and the drivers are better protected. As the Nationwide cars begin their transition to their own version of the COT, it seems to me a perfect dumping ground for otherwise perfectly good cars would be for the old timers race. The Nationwide cars are bound to be safer than those things the old guys have run the last two springs. Plus the engines would be far more capable of running Bristol speeds and not give up within a few laps of being tested. I realize no one likely wants a 72 year old running the same speed as the Nationwide or Cup cars, so maybe the engines could be restricted with a plate, reve limiter, etc. while still keeping the durability for a short run.

Each time I see today's Bristol - whether it be in person or in that great panoramic TV shot from between the turns, I'm reminded of just how far this little track has come. Though the track first opened in the early 60s, I didn't get to go until I was in college in 1986. I was at the spring race to see Rusty Wallace's first win in the #27 Alugard Anti-Freeze / Blue Max Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2 owned by Raymond Beadle. The car had a beautiful paint scheme on top of a rotten looking stock car body.

Check out turns 1 and 2 from this 1987 shot. Hey dude, who stole my stands?

Source for above 3 pictures: CloseFinishes.com

On that spring day...much like yesterday...and March 2008 when I was there...it rained. A lot. I'm pretty sure Noah had the pole. We paid $18 on race morning for an SRO ticket and stood on a hillside of the back stretch where all those magnificent stands and terraces are now built. We couldn't sit because of all the rain and mud.

Eventually the rain cleared out, the track was dried, the crowd roared, the race began, and Rusty claimed his first of many wins on the Tennessee half-mile. My ankles were killing me in class on Monday from standing up all afternoon on Sunday. My toes were pointed down about 25 degrees on the bank behind the concrete "stands" forming a day-long obtuse angle from my lower leg to my foot.

On to Martinsville. Hope you enjoy it. Tell me how it ends because I'm not gonna watch it. It's one of the 48's best tracks. I've seen enough of him this season to last a lifetime - no sense in giving up 3 hours of my Sunday afternoon for more of the same. The shame of it, however, is my wife has a Lowe's gift card from Christmas she wants to use for a storm door. So while I plan to avoid the Marty race, I may still find myself face to face with all-things Lowe's this weekend. Argh, just shoot me now.

TMC

NASCAR in Vegas - Sunday

After a Saturday evening (and lengthy portion of Sunday early morn) of Vegas activities, we headed to the track for the main event: The Shelby American Sprint Cup race.

This was my first NASCAR race to attend where the race name didn't include a number - whether it be laps, miles, or kilometers. From the time Watkins Glen returned to the schedule in the 1980s, their race name has always been "[Sponsor X] at the Glen". But I've never been there (though I want to go).

Last year's race was the Shelby 427 I think - named for a Ford engine. This year's race was just the Shelby American. By dropping the number, NASCAR and the speedway kind of hid the fact from everyone the race distance in 2010 was shorter than in 2009.

It was just as well because the race was boring enough with the length they ran. With the way Jeff Gordon stunk up the show, I would have been OK with them calling it The Shelby Delaware and running a 25 lap heat race.

Our plans were to arrive at the track bright and early to tailgate with other fans. That's our M.O. at just about every other race we attend. But our M.O. also includes packing the coolers the night before, loading the truck, and hitting the rack at a reasonable hour - three things we didn't do on this trip.

As a result, we got a late jump towards the track and were greeted with the inevitable volume of race traffic - many folks who most likely were out until the same hour as us.

At many other tracks I've attended, most of the parking isn't controlled by the track. Entrepreneurs and volunteers often staff pastures, small businesses, and roadside shoulders selling parking for $10 - $20 per vehicle. However, Vegas controls its own lots (from all that we could see), and there was zero charge for it. Props to Bruton Smith for that decision!

Once we parked, I reached for the cooler. My head and stomach said "no" but my heart and race tradition screamed "Yes!". A couple parked next to us were from Reno, but they were originally from New Jersey.

When she saw me pull the Schaefer sign from the trunk, she said "Shayfa? That's a northern beeah. I haven't seen a Shayfa beeah in yee-uhs." When I retrieved four of them from the cooler for all of us to share, she exclaimed "OH MAH GAHD, it really IS a Shayfa!" She quickly started drinking it and then laughing between sips like a teenager sneaking her first brew and wondering if she'd get caught. We had her autograph our Schaefer Ring of Honor sign.

After sharing one with our new friends, I retrieved a second Schaefer to drink as we walked and packed two more in my gear bag to smuggle into the track. Knowing this would likely be my only visit to a Vegas race, I wanted to have one in the parking lot AND another as the race itself began.

After a night of Vegas, though, neither of us were moving too quickly. The first Schaef went down better than I thought it would. The second one was a major challenge as we walked. Because outside beverages can't be (legally) brought into the track, we had to finish it off before entering. Whether it was the beer getting a bit warmer or the fact I was running on 7 cylinders I don't know, but that final 2 ounces was some of the roughest beer I've ever had the displeasure of consuming.

We got to our seats in the Richard Petty Terrace just as the command of "Gentlemen start your engines!" was given. Unlike Saturday, the weather was perfect. Clear, blue skies - warm temps - a nice breeze - and an incredible mountain vista in the background of the track.

The view behind turn 2:

The view behind turn 3:

I settled in and turned on my scanner to listen to PRN, A.J. Allmendinger, Tony Stewart and a handful of other drivers with reputations of chatting a bunch - either with legit information about the car or with colorful descriptors about the day's events. Once those engines fired and my head started to pound though, I was kind of wanting to find a frequency streaming some relaxing Miles Davis jazz.

The race itself? Terrible. One of the worst I've attended. Jeff Gordon jumped out front, stayed there, and built a monstrous lead. Everyone else soon dropped in single file and stretched around the track.

Kasey Kahne had a reasonable day for Richard Petty Motorsports and finished 9th.

A.J. Allmendinger's weekend pretty much stunk from the time they unloaded the 43 until they put it back on the hauler. At least his car looked cool in the Valvoline retro-look.

Here he is behind the pace car - before they gave him the wave-around to make up a lap. Sadly, this was as close as A.J. would get to sniffing the lead.

After the pot hole incident in Daytona, NASCAR surely wanted to put that incident to rest. Instead, two races later Vegas had not one - but two - cautions for a faulty caution light. I'm not sure now well it was explained on TV. From what we could tell, the race had a caution, followed by a green, followed by an immediate caution again because the yellow light never went off and the green on (forgive the fractured grammar - it was tough to watch and understand much less explain). This happened twice. Bizarre.

The Kim Kardashian-sponsored car driven by Mike Bliss didn't run too many laps before Bliss scrubbed the wall. This prompted the PRN Radio announcer to re-name the sponsor Kim Carcrashian.

The only real excitement of the race (other than the little catfight between the two Chip-N-Dale, Inc. drivers) came with less than 40 laps to go when the final pit stops took place. We decided we wanted to be near victory lane regardless of who the winner would be. So it was off to the Neon Garage where we watched the final 20 laps and the quickly-settled battle between Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

It was a conundrum for me. I really enjoy seeing Jeff Gordon lose, but I've equally tired of seeing Jimmie Johnson win- particularly at those races I've been fortunate enough to attend. Yet, you can't help but give kudos to the 48 team. Jimmie may well have to end his career before I begrudgingly give him his due. But Chad Knaus? I'm ready right now to say he is indeed amongst the top 5 crew chiefs of all time and maybe the best ever.

Even with a ton of people already surrounding victory lane, we surprisingly were able to stake a pretty good position along the rail in the upstairs concourse overlooking the ceremonies. I had a birds' eye view of the #48 as Jimmie did a screamer between the barricades to victory lane.

After the "hat dance" and tons of press pictures taken, Jimmie quickly moved to his left to join Speed TV's Victory Lane show with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, and Kenny Wallace. We moved along as well. I was able to snap this pic of Kyle using his cell phone to take a pic of Jimmie. Great timing on my part because Kyle then tweeted that very picture.

Source: @kylepetty on Twitter with his Tweetphoto

Once the victory lane hullabaloo wound down, we made a final trip around the Neon Garage. Here's a view of the start/finish line of an emptying track:

Four Richard Petty Motorsports haulers:

Finally, we exited through the infield tunnel and headed lazily towards the parking lot. Along the way, we were passed by several haulers getting ready for the long trip home. Among them were rigs for Montoya, Newman, Elliott Sadler, and Kasey Kahne.

It took us a good long while to find our car. If I could make a recommendation to the track, it would be to install reference markers. All the lots look the same - they are all flat and covered in fine rock. For a while, I thought we were going to face the daytime version of the nighttime car search two days earlier when the Pontiac was hauled away. After roaming around a bit aimlessly for a while, I thought about changing my nickname from toomuchcountry to Moses because it felt like we'd been wandering the desert for 40 years.

But shortly thereafter we found it. The race had been over for about 90 minutes, but traffic was still at a standstill. It made no sense to force the issue. We still had iced Schaefer in the trunk, and I had my iPod with a Vegas-tailored playlist of tunes. So we popped one, queued the tunes, and spent time lounging on the hood and in the front seat with eyes partially closed waiting for the right opportunity to head back to the hotel.

From there, it was time to clean up and head back ... somewhere. Following a shower and change of clothes, we decided the excitement of Vegas had taken its toll on us. We ate dinner at the Luxor and went to Paris to meet a fellow Allmendinger fan. (Read her blog about her Vegas experiences as well and follow her on Twitter @dingerworld. She's been a race fan for a long time, but she was a race rookie and a Vegas rookie and had a great time too.)

Beyond stepping out for those new happenings, we opted out of further yada yada yada as we had a plane to catch on Monday. All good things must come to an end.

TMC