The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A drop in yellow flags
Fewer cautions translate to higher speeds, less drama on the tracks.
Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t the only NASCAR track dealing with a lack of drama. Recent Sprint Cup races on intermediate tracks have been relatively short on action — and caution flags — and they’ve also had some of the green-flag runs that didn’t prove to be popular in the Food City 500 at Bristol last month.
Last week’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway saw records set for race speed and fewest caution flags and laps run under caution. There were only three cautions at Kansas for 18 laps, breaking the old track record of five and 23 laps. That led to a record race speed of 144.122 mph by winner Denny Hamlin, topping the old mark of 138.077 set by Greg Biffle in October 2010.
The week before at Texas, there were two yellow flags for 10 laps, breaking the old track records of five yellows and 21 laps. That led to a new race record speed of 160.577 mph, breaking the mark of 152.705 mph set last fall by Tony Stewart.
And back at Auto Club Speedway, the rain-shortened Auto Club 400 saw just one caution, and it was for the rain that ended the race.
Jimmie Johnson, recently ranked by Forbes magazine as America’s most influential athlete for the second year in a row, weighed in on the issue at this week’s NASCAR teleconference. He said a big factor is the Car of Tomorrow and the way it races on the intermediate tracks.
“We completely changed the type of vehicle we race in to have parity in the sport,” Johnson said. “Now we’re virtually running the same speed [and] when you run the same speed, it’s tough to pass. ...
“In my opinion, it’s starting to focus on the tracks that we race on. There are some tracks that are more racy than other race tracks, and that’s the direction I’m looking in these days. ...
“Maybe we reconfigure some of these tracks and get rid of the mile-and-a-halves. I mean, there are plenty of them. Let’s get more [tracks of a mile or less] on the circuit.”
Johnson acknowledged that his suggestions aren’t easily implemented.
“Those are ideas easy from my point, because they don’t cost me any money,” he said. “But I think that’s the direction things are heading.” Wide Nationals in Charlotte, 2,050 racers competed in one of the 15 classes that make up the series. The Top Fuel class has remained steady with 19.6 cars per event. Funny Car participation is up 4.2 percent, and Pro Stock is up 2.1 percent over last year.
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 35 Cup wins at Richmond International Raceway, and the Toyotas from Joe Gibbs Racing have won five of the past six races there. It’s been a different story for Ford, which hasn’t won at Richmond since Kurt Busch won for Jack Roush in 2005.
Of Roush’s current stable of drivers, only Matt Kenseth has a win at Richmond, and that was in 2002. Biffle, the points leader who has never won a Cup race on a short track, hasn’t finished better than 13th at Richmond since a sixth-place run in 2006. Carl Edwards had his best Richmond finish, a second-place, last fall.
X-games and Rally Racing star Travis Pastrana is set to make his long-awaited Nationwide Series debut today in Richmond.
“I just hope I don’t hit a wall, don’t hit anybody else, don’t make anybody upset, and hopefully we can end up on a lead lap,” Pastrana said. “I think it will be a really strong goal for me.”