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Well… it happened again, didn’t it? Much like the end of the race at Atlanta, Las Vegas once again proved a race isn’t over until it’s over. Martin Truex, Jr. had a dominating performance and won the first and second stages but didn’t look like the final segment was going to be his. Well, that is until the leader on the final laps began to slow because of some type of equipment failure and that allowed Truex Jr. to pull into the lead and take the win. Of course, you being a NASCAR fan would know that the person he passed was Brad Keselowski and Brad did look as though he was going to cruise to his second victory in a row for the 2017 season. As is often the case in racing, and in particular in NASCAR racing, stuff happens and it often happens quite unexpectedly.
As a NASCAR fan I have to admit I really expected Kevin Harvick to have a much better day than he did. I don’t blame the Goodyear tires (well at least not specifically) but tire failures, like other things that go wrong unexpectedly, happen and there is almost nothing the driver can do. Usually, (and I don’t claim to be an expert), right fronts have problems because they are being over-taxed or pushed a little too hard and at other times they run over something that causes it to blow. Now, when I say over-taxed I am talking about how much camber they use in the setups or when the driver wants the car tightened up. The driver adds more wheel to force it to turn which in turn eats up the tire faster and can be the cause of the failure. Whatever the reason the tire failed, Harvick hit the wall and his day was done.
Brad Keselowski in the other hand just had something break with about two laps to go and Martin Truex Jr. was able to drive past him for the win and even Truex was surprised at the outcome. This was another one of those NASCAR Cup races where it wasn’t over until it was over.
Interesting that the end of the race wasn’t the end of the drama, emotion and intensity for the day as Kyle Bush got dumped by Joey Logano on the final lap and Kyle was definitely not happy about it. He proceeded down pit road and confronted Logano with a “punch” greeting and then the crew members got involved in the minor scuffle. It was all over pretty quickly and Logano came away with his usual “I didn’t do anything wrong or intentional” attitude. Kyle was still noticeably upset and, from this fan’s view, there will come a time in the not too distant future when Logano might need Kyle to cut him some slack but it probably won’t happen. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying Kyle will do anything wrong or intentional, but he just won’t give Logano the break when he needs it. Remember… that’s just this fan’s opinion but don’t be surprised when it happens. I promise though, I won’t remind you that I said it would happen… Nah, that’s not true, I probably will…
Well, so far this season has gotten off to a very interesting start and I do have to admit it looks like NASCAR was correct again in deciding to add the stages to the races. From this fan’s view, they really do seem to add to the intensity and excitement of the racing even in the middle of the races. I’m sure adding the points to the mix didn’t hurt either and it remains to be seen how it turns out when the season winds down in November. As it stands right now, I really can’t wait for this coming weekend at Phoenix and look forward to what this fourth race for the 2017 season has in store for us. So far, it has been very interesting…
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© March 14, 2017 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated