Dover underscores need to favorably manage failure

It was a four-hour, 400-mile, rolling course in crisis management. One by one, the title contenders in NASCAR's playoff took hits that on the surface seemed devastating -- a busted alternator, a flat tire, a broken bracket, a loose wheel -- only to use the misfortune of others as a crutch to prop themselves back up. By day's end, eight of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup had suffered some kind of mishap. Each of them left Dover International Speedway with the knowledge that it could have been much, much worse.

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For all the talk of how crucial it is to run up front in the Chase -- and it is, given how the top 10 in any given event is often stacked with title contenders -- it's equally important to manage failure, a fact underscored again and again on one long, wreck-filled afternoon in central Delaware. Sunday was a reminder of the often arbitrary nature of auto racing, a sport where even the best drivers, mechanics and car builders only have so much within their control. A NASCAR racetrack under green is a chaotic and perilous place, populated by drivers of vastly different skill levels, and cars of varying degrees of strength. Collisions are inevitable. The only question is how serious the damage, both on the track and off.

It raises the specter of the one great flaw in the Chase, a system that narrows point margins to almost incomprehensible slimness, and provides its contenders with only a handful of events in which to make up ground. The possibility looms that Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart could see their title hopes end because someone 42nd in points goes sideways in front of them. Just ask Kurt Busch, whose attempt at a repeat in 2005 ended because he tangled with Scott Riggs in the opener at Loudon and fell into too deep a hole. It's quite conceivable that someone like Paul Menard or David Reutimann could cut a tire at the worst possible moment, and inadvertently determine who sips champagne in Miami seven weeks from now.

But the strange thing about Dover was that most of the Chasers who found trouble only had themselves, or their team members, or happenstance to blame. Matt Kenseth's alternator went up in smoke. Denny Hamlin rammed into the back of Kyle Petty. Johnson lost two laps with a flat tire, while Kevin Harvick lost four with a loose wheel. Clint Bowyer broke a front bracket. Busch spun, igniting the biggest accident of the day. All of the title contenders knew going in that narrow, physical, high-banked Dover had the potential to cause calamity. They just didn't expect the place to claim so many of them at the same time.

It all added up to a race to see who could make the most out of the least. Wonder why teams work so furiously to get beat-up cars back onto the racetrack? Because of days like Sunday, when such quick-fixes can save a season. Every driver involved must have passed through a range of emotions, from anger to despondency to hope when he finally realized that so many others were in the same position. The Chase is no time for self-pity. In a playoff format where a mere 20 points seems like a huge lead, the ability to rebound and think clearly in the midst of struggle is as important as a 13-second pit stop.

"It's tough," Johnson admits. "It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done, and I think my experience last year in the Chase and winning the Chase has helped me a lot for this year as far as mental approach and mindset. I think that really gives the advantage to past champions. I'm not saying a guy like Denny [Hamlin] or Clint Bowyer, who's really young in this sport, can't do it. But it's a tough, tough deal to fight through week after week. Experience helps. You find all the good things out about yourself, and even the bad."

This Sunday offers something of a respite, a Kansas Speedway as wide as the prairie that surrounds it. But the big test still looms. Sinister Talladega, that car-flipping dream crusher, is up next week. Break out the duct tape and the hammers, boys. It's about time to go back to work.