1. Tony Stewart's Injury
When NASCAR heads to Watkins Glen, Tony Stewart is always one of the favorites to win, but this year will be different. On Monday night, Stewart broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg in Iowa racing sprint cars. The injury shocked the NASCAR world and left many thinking what the future would hold. We now know that Stewart will miss a few races and his Chase chances are pretty much crushed. Max Papis was named the driver for this weekend, but the rest of the schedule has not been filled. I was pretty shocked by the injury. It seemed like Stewart was invincible since he had not been injured before, but now he seems like he can be hurt. Most of the talk has been about why he would risk an injury in something that didn't matter to the Sprint Cup title. Personally, I love that he wants to race sprint cars. Most of the time, people forget that NASCAR isn't everything. Home grown racing is where the sport was born and drivers should race dirt more often. Am I saying they should race everyday, heck no. But I feel that getting in a sprint car, or anything on dirt, makes them feel more like a driver and not like a corporate puppet (See any interview after the Sprint Cup race). It does hurt Stewart's title hopes, but at least he was doing what he loved.
2. Road Course Racing in the Chase
This question comes up every time the series heads to a road course: Should a road course race be in the Chase? I say no there shouldn't be. The first reason is that it is too much of a wild card. If you have a race say at Watkins Glen and a race at Talladega in the Chase, drivers could lose the championship just for making a mistake at two different races. To me, it is too much to risk for championship contenders if they had both types of these races in the Chase. Finally, road course ringers can cause problems for championship contenders. Guys like Boris Said, Ron Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve, Victor Gonzalez Jr., and Tomy Drissi are only there to win the race or get a good finish for their team. Sometimes, they could care less who is contending for the championship or the race win. A good example of this is the feud between Boris Said and David Ragan with Greg Biffle in the 2011 race at Watkins Glen. Said spun Ragan during the race which caused a massive crash that led to David Reutimann flipping wildly on track. After the race, Said and Biffle would have a show off that led to a lot of discussion and harsh words. The thing about it is that Said had only competed in two races during the year while Biffle and Ragan were running the full schedule. Said's actions almost led to a lot of guys losing points heading towards the Chase. I just don't think a road course race in the Chase would be a good thing.
3. Road Course Ringers
A lot of people have said that the idea of a road course ringer has went away in NASCAR. I just don't feel this is the case. Just because they aren't winning as much doesn't mean they don't affect the race. Once again, the situation with Boris Said in 2011 is a good example. Plus, many of the road course ringers now are in cars that can't really compete. Paulie Harraka and Alex Kennedy come up because of the incidents they had at Infineon. I wouldn't consider them ringers to say the least, but they aren't regular Sprint Cup drivers and were put in to run the full race at a road course. Also, with guys like Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose being extremely successful on road courses, they seem like the new road course ringers and they can win every race that happens at a road course. If they were to win, they could jump into Chase contention. With all this evidence, I feel road course ringers are not going away and could gain more prowess.
4. Last Year's Finish
If you thought the finish at Watkins Glen last year wasn't impressive, you probably didn't see it. I mean, you had Kyle Busch getting spun while leading, Brad Keselowski taking the lead with a tire rub, Marcos Ambrose and Keselowski sliding around the track the whole last lap, dirt being kicked up everywhere, and Marcos Ambrose taking the lead in the last corner. Drivers were left with beat up race cars at the end and only Ambrose came out with the trophy. Lately, it seems like the road course race at Watkins Glen has become one of the most action packed of the year. Personally, I feel this year's race probably can't top last year's, but it should be one of the best finishes of the year.
5. My Pick to Win
If you take a look at the results from the previous two years, you will find the name Marcos Ambrose coming out on top and Brad Keselowski finding his way to second. I would be crazy to not pick Ambrose, but I have another card up my sleeve. I am going to go with Martin Truex Jr. Wait, why would I go with him? Other than having top 10s in the past two races at Watkins Glen, Truex won the previous road race this year at Infineon, he was fastest in the first practice, and he qualified in third place. I feel he is a good pick to win the race. If you would like some sleepers, I think Ambrose, Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch are also really good picks. Well, this is the first installment of My Thoughts and I hope you guys enjoyed reading my opinions.
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