Atlanta race proved that the more things change, they stay the same in NASCAR
We all went to Atlanta Motor Speedway last week with high expectations of what this new aero package was going to offer. It is comprised of a little less front splitter and a little less spoiler, which was designed to make the cars harder to drive and put the race back into the drivers' hands more. It was anticipated there would be more passing and more excitement.
I don't know if we saw all those things. What I will tell you is that from the FOX NASCAR TV booth, Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and myself saw a lot of action all around the racetrack. We saw cars running closer together in small groups. I also think we saw a little bit more of drivers being able to not only chase someone down, but pass them after they caught them.
What I think folks might have forgotten about going into Sunday is Atlanta has an old race surface. It's very abrasive and wears out tires pretty quickly. My point is that affects the racing more than anything. It comes down to who can manage their tires the best, not abuse them and make them last the longest.
I know you fans probably get sick of hearing about tires and I know as an analyst I get sick of talking about them, but the reality is, at a place like Atlanta with a worn-out surface, it really becomes the controlling factor in the race. That's why the No. 48 crew chief, Chad Knaus, made a gutsy call and short-pitted driver Jimmie Johnson. Most everyone was able to get about 40 laps out of their tires, but Chad was once again thinking outside the box and pitted Jimmie nine laps early to try and beat that No. 4 car of Kevin Harvick.
By pitting Jimmie earlier than everyone -- that's what I mean by short-pitting the No. 48 -- they were able to put enough gap between them and the No. 4 car to the point where Kevin Harvick simply couldn't chase Jimmie down. So Jimmie ended up winning the race in an overtime scenario.
This whole overtime scenario concept is really a story for another day, but let me touch on it briefly. I think maybe NASCAR initially just wanted it for Daytona and Talladega because of the fiascos we had there last year with the greenâ white-checkers. Everyone agreed they needed to clean that up, so they came up with the overtime line. NASCAR was simply trying to make is simpler and quit wadding up so many cars on greenâwhite-checker restarts, particularly at Daytona and Talladega.
I'm not so sure we need an overtime line everywhere, and to be honest, I don't know if an overtime line will work everywhere. I'm thinking NASCAR might want to get a handful more races under their belt with it and then make a determination of whether it needs to be adjusted or not. Personally, I think it does need to be adjusted because I just can't see where we need it everywhere but, hey, that's for NASCAR to evaluate and decide. Anyway, it was another Atlanta race where Kevin Harvick led the most laps and didn't win. I think that is something like the third year in a row that's happened for him.
Now back at Daytona three weeks ago, NASCAR reduced the restrictor plate by 1/64 of an inch. While that doesn't seem like a lot, it really translates to about 15 horsepower. Ironically, that's basically what teams were able to find in the off-season as the engine guys are always tweaking all year long on their restrictor-plate program to try and find just that teeny-tiny edge. Knowing and anticipating that, NASCAR reduced the restrictor plate and was spot-on.
Basically the same concept happened for the 2016 aero package. Remember, NASCAR and the teams ran this package twice last year, first at Kentucky Speedway and then at Darlington. They reduced the splitter, spoiler and radiator pan to reduce the downforce. In totally round numbers, they took away seven hundred pounds of downforce from the cars. Basically it was 350 pounds on the front of the car and 350 pounds on the rear of the car to keep it balanced.
In only its third race, remember the two last year and now last Sunday, I am already hearing the teams say they have figured out ways to get that downforce back. So it shows that NASCAR is being proactive and always looking ahead. Just think if NASCAR hadn't adopted this package? If they hadn't, then the teams would have even more downforce than they had in 2015. What was the result? Well, from where I stand, Jimmie won last year at Atlanta and Jimmie won this year at Atlanta.
By looking ahead NASCAR is simply keeping everyone in check. It's their way of keeping teams from going so far off the reservation that not even George Custer could bring them back. Our sanctioning body is trying to keep a level and even playing field for every team on the track.
So Jimmie won the race and reached a remarkable milestone. He tied the late Dale Earnhardt with 76 wins. I loved the fact that Jimmie's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished second on the day Jimmie tied his dad for seventh on the all-time NASCAR win list. Any way you look at it, since he entered NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, he has put up some truly amazing numbers. Like I said, 76 wins plus he has six championships. Can he win 100 races and seven or eight championships? I say absolutely Jimmie Johnson can because he has a lot of racing left in him.
I found it ironic that Kyle Busch won the pole but failed post-qualifying inspection and so it was his brother Kurt who inherited the pole. Kyle really showed me something Sunday. He started in the rear of the field, and while most figured he would beat and bang his way to the front, it didn't play out that way. Kyle very patiently ... yes, I said that, Kyle patiently and methodically made his way to the front to bring home third spot. That shows not only maturity but also the mark of a champion. They put the adversity behind them and worked together all day long to bring home a great finish.
Man, what a fiasco Kyle's teammate, Matt Kenseth went through on Sunday. If you look at the slo-mo replay our FOX NASCAR bunch put up on the screen, the gasman had a wedge wrench in his hand, and while he was gassing up the car he laid it on the trunk. I know that seems harmless enough, but it clearly states in the NASCAR rules that he can't do that, so NASCAR busted the No. 20 for it.
Remember, all these pits have a camera over them. I call it the "Hawkeye System." It's like in your hometown when you run a red light and get a ticket in the mail because they busted you on camera. So Big Brother is watching you all the time, and if you make a mistake or violate a rule, they are right there to call you on it.
On a more positive note, I think young Chase Elliott bounced back from a discouraging Daytona wreck. He minded his manners Sunday in Atlanta to finish eighth. It was his first top-10 NASCAR Sprint Cup finish of his young career. It is something to build on, and I just think things will continue to get better for Chase. I think he just needs to get some more races under his belt and I think we're going to see some pretty amazing things from that young man.
So now we head out for the start of the West Coast Swing. Stop No. 1 is Sunday in Las Vegas. Kevin Harvick won the race there last year. For you newer fans, don't naturally assume that because Atlanta is a 1.5-mile track and Vegas is a 1.5-mile track that the racing will be the same. All tracks have their own personality. Las Vegas, for instance, has different banking and a much newer race surface than its sister track in Atlanta. So I'm excited to get out there because you can't judge what's going to happen this Sunday by what happened last Sunday.
