The Allstate 400 at the Tire Graveyard

Update: I see that Valli shared my strange fascination with the spectacle. See? See? See what I did there? Because IMS calls the 500 the gre... Never mind.

Whoa! That was... different. And probably the worst ratings for a NASCAR race which ran the full distance in the modern era. I can't imagine anyone but me and my fellow hard-core fans sticking around for more than 10 minutes of that one.

Ahem, does no one else remember what happened 3 years ago and approximately 0 miles from that disaster? In case you don't, I'm referring to the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix. That's the race which every team supplied by Michelin refused to run because of catastrophic tire problems. I believe back then it was because of grip rather than wear, but it certainly earned F-1 a week's worth of unflattering headlines.

Warning: gearhead talk ahead, but just a little
Hey NASCAR, did you really think that you could reduce the downforce on your car by nearly half and raise the centre of gravity and nothing odd would happen? Hello? Atlanta? Bueller?

With all that said it made for a pretty interesting race. It was basically heat races leading up to positioning for the last tire change. Never has the truism that races are won in the pits held like it did today. And face it, aren't we all a little happy that the #18 didn't win? Not that I have anything against Kyle, but it was enough already.