MPM2Nite

Regretfully, gentle readers, this will likely be my last commentary column, at least for the foreseeable future. I’ve been at this NASCAR writing gig for sixteen years now and trust me, it’s tough to walk away. For all my cynicism, bitching, and occasional panic if I’d be able to find anything interesting to write after a boring race, I’ve loved every minute of it, being able to provide many of you with a few minutes of enjoyment or making you think on various issues while reading my columns. Your comments, both positive and negative have made a better writer out of me after a near hopelessly amateurish start to my so-called career.

It’s been over a decade now since Tim Richmond last competed in a Winston Cup race. There’s little mention of him in NASCAR’s official literature, and if you’re a new race fan, sadly, you may never even have heard his name. But for those of us privileged enough to have watched Tim Richmond drive a race car, during that all too ephemeral time that marked the peak of his career, there is no forgetting the magic. The tragic circumstances of a young man’s passing, and the way NASCAR officialdom dealt with it, is the subject for another article. Instead, my purpose here is not to mourn Tim’s passing, but to celebrate his life and talent. For if there ever was a “natural” at driving a race car, it was Tim Richmond. Lap after lap, fans watched in wonder as he hit the same mark time after time – but when it came time to get around another driver, it was like the laws of physics themselves stepped aside a few moments, content to be suspended and watch in wide-eyed wonder at what Tim could do in a race car, driving the line everyone else thought was impossible. And it was impossible, for everyone else.

While I enjoy stock car racing at Pocono, race weekends at the track are also tinged with a bit of melancholy. For more years than I care to recall, all my best buddies and I used to attend one of the Pocono races together, gathering from near and far for the annual “male-bonding weekend.” (Which is a polite way of saying drinking a truly epic amount of beer, carrying on outrageously and, in general, reinforcing every negative stereotype of stock car fans we could manage.) I can’t say whether I’ve been to more races at Dover or Pocono, or that the best races I’ve seen have been at this track, but I can say I’ve had more fun at Pocono than any other track on the circuit.

Some of you might not realize but after Sunday’s race at New Hampshire, the Cup regulars get a weekend off before the Brickyard 400; that off-weekend will be the last one of the season. Right now we’re in the midst of a 12-day heat wave that has sent temperature soaring into the triple digits, and by the time the Cup season ends I’ll likely be burning my wood stove. I’ve said it before and I’ll reiterate: the Cup schedule is simply too long and needs to b e shortened by 25 percent, with a few off weekends added during the summer especially.

So before my week off, I wanted to comment on a few topics causing a buzz amongst the fans right now.