Restrictor plate-racing is random madness. You may as well have the drivers play rock-paper scissors until a winner is decided. At least a bunch of cars won't get wrecked in the process.
But this is the deal at Talladega and Daytona. The traditional pack of cars has been replaced by the tandem of twos — love bugs going nearly 200 mph.
"What would make the racing better?" Jeff Burton was asked Sunday, after he finished second to RCR teammate Clint Bowyer in what was an exciting finish (rewind the rest of the film to see of you found much of anything else compelling).
"I don't think anybody wants to answer that," Burton said, candidly, before making a pitch on behalf of NASCAR's corporate hierarchy.
"I personally think that there is an advantage to the tandem thing. There's some disadvantages to it. The one thing it does do is it does separate the field a little bit. That's not all bad. I've come here for a long time. Every time I come here, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get in a wreck. That's a little odd way to race.
"To me the tandem thing creates wrecks. But overall I think there's less cars wrecked because of the tandem thing versus not having it. So I think overall it's better. It does spread the pack out a little bit. But it doesn't do it in a way that's boring. The other way to spread the pack out is to make the cars drive bad and the fans aren't going to like that."
Of course, he doesn't speak for everyone in the garage or the growing number of fans who are getting tired of seeing love bugs go round-and-round.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. — a hater from the get-go — said he was "bored" with this style of racing, adding that "it's really not my style of racing. Being pushed and carrying on all day long. Trying to lead a couple of laps that are sort of meaningless really doesn't make a lot of sense either."
Junior's take reflects a growing sentiment among fans. The folks at Daytona International Speedway conducted a post-race survey following the Coke Zero 400 in July. In a survey of 1,000 racing fans, 10 percent said they dissatisfied with the race, up from 3 percent last year.
"The two-by-two racing was a novelty that has worn off," Speedway President Joie Chitwood said recently.
That may true, but unless NASCAR makes significant changes to the cars and the restrictor plates, that style is the only one that works for the drivers. You can't drive solo, unless you want to finish 43rd.
Expect more of the same in Daytona come February of 2012.
Gordon left hanging
The biggest controversy following the Talladega tandem drive was the split between Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon.
Gordon was under the impression that Bayne — whom he had worked with well at Daytona in February — would hook up with him after the final green-flag restart. But Bayne left Gordon hanging, presumably under an edict from Ford not to work with any other manufacturers. And since Gordon is a Chevy man, he was the odd man out.
"I'm not happy about what this has become," Bayne wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday. "It's too premeditated. We should be able to go with whoever is around. I would have rather pulled over and finished last than tell [Gordon] I would work with him and then be strong armed into bailing."
Well, maybe not….
"…there were no team orders, from myself or anyone at Roush Fenway, given to any of our drivers as to whom they could or could not choose to run with or assist, nor did I give similar directions or suggestion to any of the other Ford drivers," Jack Roush, owner of Roush Fenway Racing, said In a statement issued Tuesday morning.
"I've spoken with Trevor [Bayne] and understand that he was put in a situation requiring a split-second decision on the track and in his response to questions justifying his actions afterwards, where it was almost certain that not everyone was going to be satisfied. Trevor is extremely talented, but it is still very early in his career. Over time he will grow to understand that in such a high-paced, competitive and hostile environment it is unlikely that all of his decisions will make everyone happy. "
Bayne went on to admit that he did indeed leave Gordon on his own to help fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth.
"That was my dream opportunity to go race Jeff Gordon for a win since I was 5," Bayne told espn.com writer David Newton. "The whole situation, the way you have to race in tandem races, man, I was hurting after that deal on Sunday. I probably was way too hard on myself because that's what I needed to do and that was the right thing to do, but man, that was really hard to do."
NEEDS SPONSORS: Consider Mark Martin TBA for next season in terms of a ride. "I don't have anything," Martin said at Talladega last weekend, "although I did answer a question last week which got a lot of talk going, and I should have probably not answered the question, it was a fan at a hospitality, that asked would I be driving next year and I said yes, and I have a lot of confidence and the only full schedule that I have been considering is the truck schedule, but Nationwide racing, Cup racing would be more of a limited schedule, like I did in 2007 and 2008, that is where my heart is at, and with the things that are starting to move, there is starting to be a little bit of movement going on, I am confident that I will be racing."
LABONTE WILL BE BACK: Former Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte will race again next season for JTG Daugherty Racing next season. Owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty announced their plans for the 2012 season at Talladega Superspeedway. Todd Berrier has been named as crew chief and general manager of the group.
gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego
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