A Simple NASCAR Question: Now What?
Monday night, after the Super Bowl. It marks the end of NFL season, but the beginning of a slow transition where NASCAR once again preps …
Monday night, after the Super Bowl. It marks the end of NFL season, but the beginning of a slow transition where NASCAR once again preps …
As NASCAR continues to make sweeping changes to the sport in terms of competition, yet another new round of changes has come about, this time …
Were you watching on that March Sunday as racing history was made? Were you on the edge of your seat? Did you think one or both of the drivers wouldn’t make it to the finish as neither one backed down an inch? Who were you rooting for to pull out the win: the brash youngster who already had the reputation of being hotheaded and aggressive but could drive a car almost beyond the ragged edge, or the beleaguered veteran who never quite seemed to live up to his potential? Were you holding your breath as they made the final lap?
When David Ragan crossed the finish line first during last weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega in the Sprint Cup Series, I immediately thought of another race.
The date was June 17, 2006; the place, Kentucky Speedway. Most of the players are different, save for one. On that day, another David slayed the Goliaths of NASCAR, this time in the then-Busch Series. Piloting a low-budget, all-black No. 84 Chevrolet, David Gilliland defeated J.J. Yeley en route to his first win, shocking a sport that had become so used to the big guns on top.
Since we last talked, we’ve gotten three races in. Martinsville went well; we ran great all day long. I felt like we should’ve gotten the win there, but all in all, it was a good points day and we led a bunch of laps. Then we went to Rockingham and got another pole–that was good. In the race, we had a pretty good finish–not as good as I wanted it to be but another good points day.