Wreck at Talladega costly to drivers

As "Big Ones" go, the big wreck at Talladega last Sunday wasn't all that spectacular, but it did ruin the runs of some drivers formerly pretty high up in the points, like Mark Martin.

As this goes to press last night's Richmond race hadn't yet been run. I hope Mark and some of the others who lost ground at Talladega were able to make some of it up last night.

It's the month of May, and that means the Indy 500 to race fans all over the world. Even with the curtailed schedule of recent years, the event still takes up a lot more time for race teams than any other race in the world.

This year six former Indy 500 winners and six Indy Racing League champions are entered for the race. Buddy Lazier and Dan Wheldon belong to both groups, while the other Indy winners are Al Unser Jr., Eddie Cheever, Helio Castroneves, and Buddy Rice. The other four IRL champs are Scott Sharp, Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Dixon, and Tony Kanaan.

Rookie orientation starts today and continues through tomorrow. Practice for all drivers begins on Tuesday, with Pole qualifying day this coming Saturday. For the first time in recent years it appears that there is little or no danger of fewer than the traditional 33 cars making the race. There are enough car/driver combinations that Bump Day might actually mean something this year. Given the rainy weather so far this spring (two Nextel Cup events have been held on Monday), it will take some luck to get all four qualifying days done in dry conditions.

The Indy 500 is the longest-running racing event in the country, and this will be the 90th time the race has been run. Since the first 500 miler in 1911, only two world wars have caused postponement of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," in 1917-1918 and 1942-1945.

For many years the race has been a sellout, and only for the past 30 years or so has it been televised live. I can recall listening to the race on the radio for many years, then abandoning that when they started showing it on same-day tape delay so I wouldn't spoil things by knowing who won.

Sadly, since the IRL/CART split, the race has become a shadow of its former glory. Seats are still available on race day and the cars are cookie-cutter "spec" machines. The long tradition of engineering innovation at Indy has long since gone by the boards, but I recall as an elementary schoolboy being enthralled by the Cummins Diesel Special.

Other innovations, like Andy Granatelli's turbine cars, met ignominious ends at the hands of hide-bound rules makers. On the plus side, the "spec" aspect of today's cars makes for close racing. The team that guesses best on the setup on race day and has the gutsiest driver will likely win only by hundredths of a second.

Unfortunately, we won't see anybody attempt the "1100" this year (500 miles at Indy, 600 miles at the Coca-Cola 600 Nextel Cup race), because Indy has moved its start time to later in the day, making it impossible for a driver to compete in both events. Not that any driver was particularly successful at it (Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, and John Andretti the most prominent of those attempting the feat), but it's too bad that nobody will be allowed to even try this year.

After Monday's delayed race at Talladega, most of the Cup teams trekked to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte for one of the few open tests allowed this year. Goodyear rolled out their new harder tire, and it was not warmly received. Many of the drivers felt they had left NASCAR and joined the Ice Capades, the new shoes were so slippery. The results were several cars in the wall, and a number of others spinning without contact.

After last season's tire-exploding experience at Charlotte following the "levigating" of the track, Goodyear is taking no chances of tire blowouts taking a similar toll this season. Unfortunately, the cast-iron compound it has come up with may create just as big a hazard due to lack of grip. That "law of unintended consequences" is a tricky one to get around.