Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog

NASCAR hopes to put tire fiasco behind it with a couple of big races”

NASCAR is trying to get the egg off its face as it heads into the second race at Pocono this week.
Last weekend’s race was an embarrassment to NASCAR, and rest assured it won’t forget it, nor will the fans let it.

Due to uncharacteristic wearing of the Goodyear tires at The Brickyard, NASCAR was forced to exhibit the caution flag every 10 to 12 laps to get teams to come in and put new tires on their cars. The tires they had were not holding up on the abrasive racing surface.
Not the kind of racing anyone wants to see, or compete in either.
Jimmie Johnson (48) ended up winning in a seven-lap shootout at the end.
From a fan’s perspective, I wasn’t pleased with the race to say the least. But, speaking as a fan of the late Dale Earnhardt, who lost his life in a racing incident seven years ago, I must say NASCAR stuck out its neck to keep its drivers safe, and for that I have to give it credit.
You can’t have a car travelling at nearly 200 mph entering a corner on tires that have the cords exposed due to wear. So NASCAR did what it had to do regardless of the fallout and, as a result, not one driver was seriously injured or killed.
Now we have Pocono, the relatively flat, triangular racetrack that may cause similar tire issues as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. One thing in NASCAR’s favour is the teams have already run a race here in June with favourable results.
Most of the talk entering this weekend’s race will be about what happened last week.
Drivers to watch include Kasey Kahne, who won the race in June, two-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin, current points leader Kyle Busch and former Cup champs Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who all run well statistically at this track.
With all the drama leading into the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono, I hope the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Montreal doesn’t get overshadowed as last year’s inaugural event was a really exciting race.
With an entry list containing an abundance of aces, I don’t think the NASCAR Nationwide race will disappoint. In fact, it might even be the better of the two NASCAR races to watch this weekend.

Full article can be found at thespec.com
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

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