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Final Laps At Indy, Charlotte Leave Everyone Numb

Charlotte, NC (May 31, 2011) – As it turned out, the final two miles out of a total of 1,100 were the ones that really counted Sunday.

Both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 were decided in the final mile, each a featuring a jolting finish that left drivers, team members and fans alike numb in victory and defeat.

While our NASCAR stock car readers will probably argue the point, the finish at Indy was way more dramatic than the one at Charlotte. Seeing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win NASCAR’s longest race – after an even longer personal victory drought – would have been the climax to a great day. But as climactic as Indy? No way. With his competition all sucking air with dry fuel cells, there was a reasonable expectation that Earnhardt would run out of gas too.

What happened at Indy was way different.

Few expected leader J.R. Hildebrand to crash coming off the final turn and in sight of an Indy 500 checkered flag. Only a rookie mistake – trying to move out of the groove to pass a lapped car on the final turn – prevented Hildebrand from racing glory. Instead, the vision of Hildebrand’s crushed racer scrubbing its way along the outside retaining wall in a vain attempt to get to the finish line first will be a sports highlight that will live in infamy.

Earnhardt’s fuel miscue can’t compare to that.

While both Hildebrand and Earnhardt were obviously crushed during their interviews after they snapped defeat out of the jaws of victory, the beneficiaries of their misfortunes were also stunned by the chain of events.

Indy winner Dan Weldon, out of a ride heading into this year’s 500 classic, sobbed in Victory Lane, overcome with the turn of events that took him from a spectator to race champion.

Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick spoke openly about how he hates racing at Charlotte and never expects to do well there – all as he was showered with his sponsor’s beer in Victory Lane.

It was a curious way to end a great day of racing. Winners were rebuffed and unlikely victors wondered openly how the heck they got there. In the end, it was just another Memorial Day Weekend when auto racing at Indy, Charlotte and Monte Carlo (a great Formula One classic that was contested earlier in the day) reigned supreme.

We like that kind of party.

Last Call

Just about everybody has weighed in on the Kyle Busch speeding incident last week, so we will too.

While Busch showed extremely bad judgment piloting a sports car at nearly three times the posted speed limit, we also have to question the judgment of countless others who have pillared Busch because he wasn’t arrested on the spot after the incident.

We’re sick of the howling that Busch got preferential treatment by the authorities and was shown courtesies that a ‘normal Joe’ would not have received.

“If it was you or me who did that, we’d be in jail” they oink.

Bottom line – the decision to arrest was that of the officer making the traffic stop – it was his decision and his alone not to make an arrest. Busch had no say in that.

What was he supposed to do, beg to be arrested?

At the end of the day, it will be up to the magistrates to convict and pass sentence on Busch for what happened – his public, ill-advised high-speed antics. The rest of us also need to just stick to the facts and not convict Busch for what didn’t happen.

It’s a safe bet that he’s in enough trouble the way it is.

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