"We wanted Batman and Robin!" they would scream at mommy and daddy, who no doubt took a swig of the spiked egg nog to take the edge off.
As adults, drivers are programmed the same way. When it comes to restrictor-plate racing, they never quite seem to know what they want.NASCAR officials tinkered with the car setups to do away with the tandem racing style that had become snooze-city for many fans in Daytona and Talladega. The return to traditional pack racing has brought another chorus of boos because car temperatures are spiking and cars are overheating. This is happening because the modified setups don't allow the drivers to stay in contact for very long, thus breaking up the tandem packs.
Good? No. Bad!
Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers who got zapped with engine issues at Talladega. Others now worry about what will happen next.
"I don't know what we are going to do in Daytona in July," Jeff Gordon said. "There is just that fine line between getting the temperatures right and not being able to push. To me right now we are teetering on the side of having to be just a little too conservative. I'd like to be up there taking it three-wide, pushing cars and making some good exciting moves because I know we have a car that can be up front, but it's just too risky at this point in the race. That is why we were in the back where we were."
Gordon makes a valid point that drivers shouldn't be racing like nervous Nellies monitoring their temperature gauge. But the flip side is going back to snooze city, and that's the far worse of the evils.
Fans simply don't like it, and that's why NASCAR modified the setups during Speedweeks in February to do away with tandem racing.
"The most thankless job in sports is the referee because everyone wants an advantage,' said Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway. "It's a competitive desire to be No. 1. NASCAR is in a really tough position because no matter what they do people are going to be unhappy."
The best advice for everybody is to embrace the lunacy of restrictor-plate racing. Strategy is pointless until the final laps because there are too many X-factors. Witness the events that transpired last weekend, when just 19 of 43 cars were left on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski pulled off two brilliant moves to outgun Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch at the end, but it was way late for a bunch of other drivers who got collected in the usual assortment of bumper cars or went down with over-heating issues.
"I made it further than I thought I would before I got crashed," said Tony Stewart, who got bumped off on Lap 187. "I call it a successful day."
Be careful what you wish for, boys. You just might get it.
gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego
Earnhardt's impact
The tragic legacy of Dale Earnhardt continues to impact NASCAR — in a positive light these days.
Eric McClure is very likely alive today because SAFER barriers were in place at Talladega when he slammed into a an inside retaining wall during a Nationwide race in Talladega last weekend. There was an apprehensive silence for a while as McClure had to be cut from his car, but he escaped relatively unscathed.
McClure was released Monday evening from the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham. He was airlifted there after suffering a concussion and mild internal bruising and is expected to make a full recovery. McClure is expected to talk to the media in Darlington on Friday.
McClure's wife posted on McClure's Facebook page that the family is "so thankful that he survived. It is nothing short of a miracle that he was not hurt more than he is."
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