I love Talladega. My first foray into NASCAR came at Alabama International Motor Speedway: May 1, 1983, when Richard Petty beat Benny Parsons to the stripe. I was hooked. ... And Sunday made me remember why.

That was racing -- man and machine vs. man and machine. The latest race at 'Dega was more slot-car racing.

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And fans, throwing NASCAR under the bus isn't the solution. The Car of Tomorrow is a work in progress; anyone who believes it is -- in its current form -- the end-all for stock-car racing is inhaling the wacky weed.

The COT does have its pluses, but it's time to focus on the minuses and get the car up to speed before Daytona. Do you really believe NASCAR wants the 50th Daytona 500 to be as follow-the-leader as Sunday was at Talladega?

OK, so changes (let's call 'em tweaks; it sounds less damning) will be made. The car has been run on short tracks, intermediate tracks and superspeedways as well as on road courses. The information is being raked over and adjustments will be made.

In the meantime, we always have our memories. ... But does anything ever measure up to how it "used to be"?

Random ruminations ...

• I admit it: I've long been a fan of Jacques Villeneuve. Forget the no rooting the the press box. Forget the J-school mantra of not getting emotionally involved with a story. I've put all that to the side. And yes, I love stock-car racing and also can appreciate the talent of the open-wheelers.

Villeneuve made a classy gesture once the green flag waved at Talladega. With little more than some Truck Series seat time on his NASCAR resume, Villeneuve qualified sixth. Still, he knew there were those who openly questioned NASCAR's decision to allow the newbie to race in the biggest wild-card event in the Chase.

So when the green fell, Villeneuve fell to the back of the pack. "It was the logical thing to do. Our car was set up for qualifying, and we didn't know how it was going to handle," said Villeneuve, who finished 21st in this Cup Series debut.

"The finger was being pointed at me before the race, and that was understandable," he said. "The goal [Sunday] was to stay out of trouble and not make enemies, so next time I come back, everything will be a little easier."

• Jeff Gordon's dash to the front on Sunday wasn't as memorable as Dale Earnhardt's in October 2000, but it was edge-of-your-seat; Gordon's move to the outside lane was gutsy. But while you knew the black No. 3 was paring down the field that afternoon at 'Dega, it was a little different to see Gordon's off-color No. 24 shearing its way to the lead. Strange.

• If there was ever any doubt that the qualifying procedure for NASCAR is ... um, outdated, well Saturday should be Exhibit A in the call to action.

Guys like A.J. Almendinger, Boris Said and Scott Riggs were denied a spot in the lineup because of antiquated rules. Even go-or-go-homer Kevin Lepage (185.765 mph) was faster than locked-into-the-top-35 David Ragan (185.255), who then failed post-qualifying inspection but was still allowed to start the race. ... Tweak -- no, change the rules.

Say What?

"I was driving around with one hand, running 15th just riding, on and off the gas. It's not racing. If we're going to do that, why don't we just make it a 100-mile race, and we'll tear them all up in the first 50."
-- Ryan Newman

Figuratively Speaking

3 -- Consecutive races in which Kurt Busch has improved his position in the standings but still fallen further behind in points:

Better late than never? Several Chase drivers dramatically improved their positions during the last 10 percent of the 188-lap race at 'Dega:

Up Next

Bank of America 500 | Charlotte | 7 p.m. ET Saturday | ABC
Race No. 31 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Kasey Kahne
• Most victories at the track: Jimmie Johnson (5)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (6.2 in 12 starts)
Active drivers only

Sound off

• This week's topic
Five of the 12 drivers in the Chase are more than 250 points behind leader Jeff Gordon. Is it too early to eliminate these drivers? If not, which driver is most likely to make a charge during the final six races?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

• Last week's topic
It seems NASCAR is more open than ever to interpretations. What would be the best way for NASCAR to handle these judgment calls? Is there a way to take out some of the interpretations so that the rules are more black and white -- and less detrimental to the actions of stock car racing?

mrevoix
What car sets the reasonable speed on any caution lap? The leader or the pace car? I always thought it was the pace car, but hey they could change that too if they needed to cover their blunder. NASCAR screwed up and now they will say anything to try and make sense of their blunder. Meanwhile, the sport suffers yet again because of NASCAR's whimsical interpretations of its own rules.

KenK1
NASCAR is the new WWF. "Too dark?" to finish the 3 lousy laps??? It's sad when even the announcers then started chiming in "Well, it is kinda dark out and TV makes it look lighter ..." Where is Mean Gene Okerlund and Jesse the Body ... that's all we are missing now!!!

mzmomm2
Get over it! Had it been Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon in Biffle's place half of the "whiners" whining would not even be here. Sick of those two receiving better treatment than the rest and they are always whining about something ... get over it!

OnebadDAD
The pace car sets a safe speed. The leader (like always) can speed up or slow down.

HMSFAN1956
Someone else needs to officiate the races. NASCAR needs to hire about 50 officials to call the race. They need to rotate the officials to insure none are on the take. NASCAR will never be able to call a race to please everyone! So let someone outside NASCAR call foul!

24jeff
NASCAR did what was right, according to them. I agree with their decision even though I am a Hendrick fan. I don't care to see a Roush driver win, but he was still moving. I see a lot of people complaining about NASCAR's decision-making and if you don't like the show you don't have to watch.

sbx2424
It's not that we don't like the show, we want some consistency. It's that simple!

PoorSpellor
The definition of reasonable speed is NASCAR's interpretation and always has been. The 16 crossed the stripe first so move on. And where is the inconsistency? Don't give me that Robby Gordon excuse. That point has been proved moot in at least five blogs and on television through interviews with NASCAR officials as well as drivers and respected TV hosts in the know (not ESPN).

3CMAC8
Maybe the field should be frozen and positions maintained as long as the car can roll unassisted across the finish line on the final lap if under caution. That gets rid of the "reasonable speed" part of the equation at least. Takes judgment out of it altogether. Either they make it across the line or they don't. If they don't, then their fuel mileage gamble would cause them to finish as the last car on the lead lap.

Frevr3fan
I agree with the call that was made on behalf of Greg. He was rolling at a reasonable speed. His car did not come to a complete stop. And at that time the field was already frozen. Usually it's the lead car that sets the pace behind the pace car anyway. When they go back to green flag racing, a driver cannot pass the lead car until he passes the start finish line. The problem that I had with the situation, was why wasn't Jimmie and Bowyer penalized for passing under yellow? They both went by Biffle. The race wasn't over at that point.

Read all the responses ...

Reality TV

Johnny Sauter only thought ABC's NASCAR in Primetime was going to be his brush with drama. Then came word that Haas CNC had signed Scott Riggs.

But the team isn't expanding. With two cars -- Nos. 66 and 70 -- that means either Sauter or Jeff Green will be the odd man out after Homestead.

Matt Borland, the team's director of competition, will have a say in which driver keeps his ride, and both Sauter and Green are being evaluated during the remainder of the season.

So in true Pinks fashion, here's the tote board for who keeps their ride:

Six of one ...
Chase drivers with momentum heading to Charlotte:

• Jeff Gordon -- Three top-five finishes in the first month of the playoffs. Wait until he gets warmed up ...

• Clint Bowyer -- Finished 11th at 'Dega; the other three Chasers with DEI/RCR engines averaged a 35th-place finish.

• Jimmie Johnson -- He's learned a lot from Gordon, but Jeff obviously hadn't shown him all the tricks up his sleeve.

• Tony Stewart -- Even at 154 points back, you've gotta think he's among the 10 fighting for third place after Homestead.

• Kurt Busch -- Penske needs just a little more umph! in its engines; six top-10s in eight plate races for KB ain't shabby.

• Denny Hamlin -- Talladega marked his first top-five finish since Michigan on Aug. 21.

(Originally this nugget referenced "Aug. 19," but a reader pointed out: "No race occurred that day ... or the day after ... in case you forgot, for the first time in 60 plus years, two day rainout ... so the stat, as stated is impossible." 'Tis true.)

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Carl Edwards -- I kept thinking he was biding his time. ... And then time ran out.

• Kyle Busch -- It was only a matter of time before Jeff and Jimmie put Kyle in the rearview mirror ...

• Martin Truex Jr. -- OK, so what -- Teresa sabotaged Martin's engine, too?

• Kevin Harvick -- He's completed 99.6 percent of his laps at 'Dega (2,633 of 2,644) with zero DNFs in 14 races.

• Jeff Burton -- He's the Chicago Cubs of the Chase: Wait 'til next year ...

• Matt Kenseth -- Has failed to finish on the lead lap in three consecutive races. The last time that happened: Atlanta-Phoenix-Darlington in Oct.-Nov. 2004.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.