From a NASCAR Fan’s View
Taking on the Monster at Dover is no easy task, and taming the Monster is a must for someone needing a win. Of course, there are some who want to win and some who need a win, and the only way for them to achieve that win is by taming the Monster.
Wow! That’s a strange opening couple of statements even for an old guy who’s been following NASCAR for many years. The thing about those statements is that they are true. The Monster Mile at Dover is one tough track, and it not only takes a fast car and driver, but also one who can move up through the field either through aggressive driving or good strategy. There is one other thing that affects the outcome, even with the items mentioned above. The one that will end up in Victory Lane will also have to have “good racing luck.”
Speaking of ‘racing luck’, I can’t think of any one driver that could use a change in his racing luck other than Kyle Larson. Since trying to be successful at doing the double back in May, his season has been – dare I say it – miserable. For someone who started off the season with such seeming strength, his performance has been what some would call lacking. Others might say he is in a slump. Wow! Nothing like stating the obvious. This fan’s view is only slightly different. I say that not all that has kept him from performing well has been his fault. It has been a mixture of bad decision-making, being in the wrong place at the right time, and being on the wrong side of what this fan commonly calls ‘bad racing luck’.
There is one bright note to the thing called ‘bad racing luck’. It can turn on a dime just like it started. I would say Kyle is ready for the turn. Things don’t usually bother him too much, but I am sure he is at the point where he might be thinking, “What’s going to go wrong this week?” There is one other factor that I haven’t mentioned yet. His car just hasn’t seemed to have the speed to be competitive lately. He hasn’t qualified well and he hasn’t run well. That makes it challenging to compete for wins. My guess is he is hoping things begin to turn around today at Dover. Larson isn’t the only one struggling with bad luck, but he has been the most obvious from this fan’s view.
SVG had a great three road race weekends in the last four weeks. I guess you could call that an understatement and a half. He has definitely established himself as the road race ace, and it is beginning to look like there is no one to challenge him. Sure, we have some more road races coming up, but this fan wonders if he is going to win all of them as they come up. Yes, he has been that good. There hasn’t been anyone who has even come close to his mastery of the road courses. Now, it remains to be seen if he can carry that momentum to the oval tracks (which seems to be his weakness so far). I guess we’ll have our answer to that question when this one at the Monster Mile is over.
It is difficult to tell how this race at Dover is going to go. Since the weather didn’t cooperate yesterday, practice and qualifying were rained out. The starting lineup could have been completely different. That could mean that things at the very start could be difficult, and there might be some complications caused by over-aggressive drivers who have faster cars and want to make up as much ground as possible at the start. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened, but we won’t know that either until the first few laps are in the book.
As I look at the starting lineup, I see several drivers who haven’t been qualifying all that well lately starting in the top eight to ten spots more because of how they finished recently than the speed they have been showing in the practices and qualifying. That could spell trouble from the very start. Of course, we all know drivers can be patient at all starts and restarts. (Yeah, right!)
This is another one of those races that I’m just not sure of how it will start or how it will finish. I do expect it to be hard fought, and I do expect the pit crews and crew chiefs to try to do their part to make a difference for how the drivers can best make their moves on the track.
(And hey, I didn’t forget there is still that thing going on for the million dollars. Some would say that’s like a race in a race. Unfortunately, I think I agree… It’s a two-fer, and someone will tame the Monster… )
Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
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Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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