Surviving Talladega

Another race weekend at Talladega has now come and gone. Everyone I know who has been there says it's really exciting and they all want to go back. As for me, Talladega scares me. In the short time I've been watching NASCAR I've seen the crashes that can (and usually do) happen. On Saturday I was watching the San Jose Sharks-Detroit Red Wings hockey game and changing over to the Busch race during commercials. Unfortunately I turned on the race just in time to see Kyle Busch crash into the wall, spin off into the into the grass and begin to flip. It was reminiscent of Elliott Sadler's 2003 flip but this one was worse. Elliott didn't crash into the wall and I think Kyle actually flipped more times. I was extremely relieved to see him get out quickly and walk away from what was left of his car. Then today he must have been having flashbacks when he once again crashed into the wall. I've lost track of how many times he's crashed this year already, most of them not really of his own doing. I can't say that I'm a big Kyle Busch fan, but I feel sorry for him - he seems to have some really bad karma going. Elliott started near the back but always seemed to find drafting partners and was able to move up. The one time that he lost the draft he was fortunate enough to be able to get back to the pack when a caution came out. In the end all three Evernham cars finished in the top 15 - Scott Riggs 11th, Kasey Kahne 12th and Elliott 15th - and all three in one piece. And contrary to the lap-by-lap report on nascar.com, Elliott did NOT clip Greg Biffle, causing him to collect Johnny Sauter. Elliott's in-car video clearly shows Biffle coming down across the front of Elliott's car. I also take exception with Tony Stewart's post-race comment, calling David Gilliland a "no-talent". It's funny how it's okay when Tony is taking people out, but the other driver is a "no-talent" when it happens to him. Tony is starting to sound like Jeff "It's never my fault" Gordon and it's becoming very tiresome. I hope other people remember the "no-talent" comment the next time Mr. Stewart takes somebody out. All in all, I'm just happy that everyone, especially Elliott, made it out of Talladega in one piece. Oh yeah, to all of those "fans" who throw debris at Jeff Gordon, I hope that that you don't ruin it for the rest of us. If this behavior continues I think that soon we will no longer be allowed to bring in our own food and beverages. It's expensive enough to go to the races without being forced to pay inflated prices for food and beverages.