The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday was everything a NASCAR fan should want in a race. Cars running three- and four-wide, bumper-to-bumper at nearly 200 miles per hour and lead changes almost as often as lane changes are all a race fan can ask for.
Denny Hamlin had it right when he said “if the fans don’t like that, you just don’t like racing.”
A far cry from the boring parade they called a race at Talladega in the fall, Sunday’s action couldn’t have been better unless someone named Earnhardt had won. While there were wrecks, there wasn’t anyone being really stupid to cause them. Most of the wrecks on Sunday came from blown tires and holes closing up (which happens when you go four-wide into the turns).
But aside from the wrecks, the racing was fantastic, even when the race went green for 100 or more laps. Hamlin, who finished third behind teammate Kyle Busch and runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya, said the package they brought to ‘Dega just worked really well.
Hamlin would know as he pushed guys to the front all day long. His third-place finish on Sunday was a career best for him at the track in the Cup Series.
Fans who turned out for the race shouldn’t have gone home disappointed, even if their favorite driver didn’t win. Those who filled the grandstands and infield definitely got their money’s worth, seeing an awesome battle between heavyweight teams Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing for most of the day. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon could run up front – right up until Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart or Kyle Busch decided to take the lead. That went back and forth throughout the 188 laps, with a few Dodge drivers getting into the mix periodically.
Hamlin attributed the good racing to the package used at Talladega this time as well as the grip of the new asphalt.
“I think that has a lot to do with the package which we have,” he said. “We have smaller restrictor plates, the track has a lot of grip, the tires have good grip, and you know, the cars were just savable. You could really push a guy through the corner, and he could even have his rear end lifted up and he still could maintain control.
“That’s why the racing was as tight as it was. Even when the cars were able to make contact, they were able to save it because there was so much excess grip out there.”
The third-place finisher even called the race at Talladega the best of the season.
“For sure it’s the best race we’ve had,” Hamlin said. “Daytona was really good, too, just looking back and watching it, it looked really good there at the end and … at times this race kind of had the complexion like it had over the last three races and just kind of single file and everyone is just kind of … taking their time, didn’t want to do anything crazy till the end.
“But I mean, every time you come to superspeedway racing, it seems like it’s with 25 to go, just really kind of busting loose and it gets kind of crazy.”
While it may have gotten “crazy” there at the end, it wasn’t the dangerous kind of crazy like Saturday’s Nationwide Series race where cars got airborne after other drivers make stupid decisions. Sunday’s version of crazy was a wild finish, which is just what people expect to see at Talladega.
And it sure beats the snoozer we saw in the fall.
