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).

On Lap 113, driver Martin Truex Jr. lost his engine -- the second of the RCR/DEI collaborations to fail (watch video). Suddenly all eyes began to focus on the red No. 8 of Earnhardt, wondering if he would be next, and when (read more).

On Lap 115, Elliott Sadler led the field, making all of us wonder when the last time he actually won a race (it was at California Speedway in September of 2004, meaning he has gone even longer than Earnhardt without visiting Victory Lane).

Lap-by-Lap

Jeff Gordon led only one lap at Talladega, where there was only one Big One but more trouble for some Chase drivers.

• Lap-by-Lap, click here
• Race Video, click here
• Inside Chase, click here

Finally, on Lap 128, with 60 to go to the finish, it started looking like old Talladega again. There was three-wide and four-wide racing at speeds of 197 mph, with the cars just inches apart. Is there a better rush watching racing on TV than when it is like that?

With 55 laps to go, Tony Stewart led the field in his No. 20 Chevrolet, followed by Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Juan Montoya and Reed Sorenson in their Dodges.

With 52 to go, the crowd groaned as Earnhardt's engine all-too-predictably went after he had been running up front or near there virtually all afternoon.

With 44 to go, the Big One finally occurred when Bobby Labonte's strong run evaporated as his No. 43 Dodge mysteriously fish-tailed into the outside wall and then came down across the track, collecting collateral-damage victims all along the way (watch video). When the smoke had settled, 11 cars were damaged heavily enough to either end their days completely or at least terminate any realistic chance they had of finishing well, including hard-luck Chase for the Nextel Cup participants Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth (read more).

With 13 to go, Michael Waltrip's chances for a top finish also were lost when he cut a right-front tire and was involved in a mini-melee (by Talladega standards) that eliminated Greg Biffle, Tony Raines and Sadler from the hunt, as well as Waltrip himself.

Now the racers left battling in the lead pack were getting frantic. Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch eventually hooked up on the outside lane, following Stewart. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears teamed up and were coming hard on the inside line.

Stewart eventually made the mistake of attempting to block first the Hendrick gang low and then the Penske bunch high within a matter of seconds. It didn't work and he got shuffled out temporarily.

With eight to go, the top three were Newman, Kurt Busch and Montoya. But with five to go, Johnson led the Hendrick charge to the front, pushed from behind by Gordon and Mears.

If all of this sounds exciting, it was. It was as thrilling a finish as even Talladega has seen in a while.

On the final lap, Gordon jumped out from behind Johnson and in front of Stewart, who continually displayed why he may just be the most talented driver out there by again and again battling his way to the front even when he got shuffled out. But Stewart was to get shuffled out once more after pushing Gordon to the front -- and had to settle for eighth as Gordon headed to Victory Lane, with Johnson second (watch video).

How was the view from home? Well, I wouldn't know until well after the fact. I had to leave for a church function and tape the end of the race for later viewing (OK, so I had one of my kids actually do the taping).

When we emerged from church, my car wouldn't start. My youngest daughter even tried sprinkling Holy Water on the hood, to no avail. Who knew they were putting RCR/DEI engines in Dodge Caravans these days?

Two-man race?
If the end of the UAW-Ford 500 looked familiar in that Gordon and Johnson finished 1-2, perhaps we all should get used to it. The Hendrick Motorsports titans are 1-2 in the Chase points standings now, too, separated by a mere nine points.

With six Chase races remaining heading into this weekend's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, where Johnson often dominates, this is looking more and more like a two-horse race.

Clint Bowyer of Richard Childress Racing sits in third, only 63 points behind Gordon, and you have to admire how he has performed in the Chase so far. But in addition to lacking the experience of the two guys sitting in front of him, now one has to question the overall reliability of the engines currently being fielded by Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies.

About the only other driver left outside the top two with a legitimate shot at the title now is Stewart, who is fourth and 154 points off the pace being set by Gordon. For anyone else to have a chance, both Gordon and Johnson will have to screw up mightily -- an unlikely scenario.

Keep on truckin'
The Craftsman Truck Series continues to offer a brand of racing with its own fair number of thrills and spills.

The Mountain Dew 250 held at Talladega over the weekend wasn't settled until eventual winner and defending series champion Todd Bodine held off Rick Crawford and Johnny Benson, another former series champion, right at the finish line (watch video). Heading into the final turn, Crawford went high to try to get by Bodine and Benson went low. Bodine stayed in front and edged Crawford at the line by a mere 0.014 seconds, Benson by 0.028.

The points race for the season continues to hold race fans' attention, too. Mike Skinner entered Saturday's race with a three-point lead over Ron Hornaday and was leading the event when he had to pit under caution with four laps remaining to have his flapping hood tacked down. That ultimately forced Skinner to settle for 13th; Hornaday, who narrowly avoided several wrecks during his run, finished seventh and moved 14 points ahead of Skinner for the lead in the standings (complete standings).

Thumbs up
To the improved safety of the COT and the soft walls at Talladega, which permitted Kyle Petty to walk away virtually unscathed from a potentially serious wreck late in Sunday's Cup race.

Thumbs down
To ESPN's uneven television race coverage. Way too many commercials, for one thing. (Now I realize why so many fans have been e-mailing to complain).

Pit Stops
• Despite an early exit after a wreck in the Truck race, it was a surprisingly successful NASCAR debut weekend for former Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve (read more). He finished 21st in the Cup race and took the unique approach of offering to start at the back of the field because of his obvious inexperience, even though he had qualified a remarkable sixth.

• If Villeneuve can do what he did in his debut, why is former Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish Jr. having so much trouble getting into Cup races? Hornish failed to qualify again at Talladega and will have to try yet again this weekend at LMS in Charlotte.

• Despite his late wreck, Michael Waltrip stunned the racing world by winning the pole for Sunday's event and then by following it up with a strong run until the accident that forced him to settle for a 25th-place finish. Dave Blaney was even more impressive in his Toyota Camry for Bill Davis Racing (which also fielded Villeneuve's entry), starting second and finishing third. Villeneuve was the next-highest finisher in a Toyota.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.