Weekend That Was: 'Dega

Sometimes life can be cruel and full of irony.

Take this past weekend, for instance. It was this reporter's job to comment on the Nextel Cup scene from afar this time, as the actual races we cover on-site are rotated amongst the staff. Look at it as all of us running a part-time schedule, like the one Dale Jarrett apparently will begin running next season for Michael Waltrip Racing -- only we don't need championship provisionals to stay past Saturday in the infield media centers.

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Normally it is best to be where the action is. But if you are going to take a weekend away from the track and watch the Cup race unfold on television, there usually is no better spectacle for that assignment than a race at Talladega Superspeedway.

This is normally made-for-television stock-car racing at its absolute best. For years they have battled side-by-side, three-wide and sometimes even four-wide, lap after lap at speeds approaching 200 mph as everyone sat on the edge of their seats, wondering what was going to happen next.

This time, an element of the unknown was added to the mix as the Car of Tomorrow made its Talladega debut in the UAW-Ford 500. No one knew quite what to expect, but everyone seemed certain it was going to be wild -- even wilder than usual.

So it was with great anticipation that everyone tuned in for Sunday's 188-lap event at the 2.66-mile track. And exactly what happened? Well, let's recap:

By Lap 40, it became clear that more single-file racing than was the norm with the old Nextel Cup car was on tap for the day with the COT. This was fine with the majority of the crowd in attendance as long as Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the conga line, which he did on two occasions for the respectable total of 30 laps.

But overall it didn't make for very exciting racing to watch at this point, to say the least. Interesting, at times, like when the 43-car field split into three distinct single-file "packs" (if you can call them that), including one that brought up the rear and was constituted, for a time, solely by Ford drivers. It was as if the race was named at least partially for their manufacturer, and they knew something no one else did.

Actually, they were just trying to stay out of trouble. That's what most of the drivers did for most of the day. They were content to follow the leader in single-file style until it came time to make their move.

On Lap 50, Earnhardt was so relaxed he asked for the score of the Washington Redskins' game in the middle of a green-flag run. Told it was 14-3 in favor the 'Skins, he probably could have steered with his knees for a minute and pumped both fists in the air without running into anybody or anything -- the mere thought of which never would have even occurred in years past at feared 'Dega.

By Lap 70, there had been 20 lead changes among 13 different drivers. A nice statistic that made it sound more exciting than it actually was.

On Lap 92, driver Jeff Burton lost his engine -- the first of five cars powered by an engine out of the new combined Richard Childress Racing/Dale Earnhardt Inc. engine shop to do so (watch video). (Continued)