Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 | 9:22 p.m.
I don’t make predictions. Why should I when there are more predictions flying around about the 2009 NASCAR season than there are mosquitoes over a stagnant pool of water?
I’ve heard them all. Jeff Gordon is going to win the Daytona 500. Carl Edwards is going to win the championship. This will be Mark Martin’s year to grab the Sprint Cup title. I’m not buying any of it.
How can anyone predict anything about a sport as fluid as stockcar racing? A flat tire can ruin a driver’s day. A few DNFs can send a championship bid into the trash heap. The failure of miniscule and relatively inexpensive parts can park a racecar in the garage before a race is even half over. Heck, even Mother Nature can ruin a race with her negative karma. And at every turn, the wall is just waiting to reach out and grab its next victim.
As far as the Daytona 500 is concerned, anyone has a chance to win on a restrictor-plate track. It doesn’t always matter what position a driver qualified for, luck or mastery of the draft can send a 10th-place car to the front on the last lap.
Making predictions about racing is like trying to predict when the next earthquake will hit Southern California or where Osama bin Laden’s cave is.
How many times can you think of a prediction about the sport that ended up as true?
The only prediction I’ve heard that makes any sense is that Jimmie Johnson will not win the championship in 2009. The odds are too large against four in a row.
So when my friends ask me for a prediction about the 2009 NASCAR season, I just shrug and avoid answering.
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This week’s StockcarToon takes a look the conspiratorial nature of some NASCAR fans. Below is one of the ideas I chose not to use.
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