Michigan fuel-mileage mayhem

By Mike Smith (contact)

Monday, June 15, 2009 | 7:52 p.m.

I usually don’t enjoy fuel-mileage races, especially when a driver limps to the finish line with the transmission in neutral. But Mark Martin’s dramatic win at Michigan International Speedway wasn’t a typical fuel-mileage win and it produced an exciting finish to what was otherwise a lackluster race.

We can all complain that the COT and the cookie-cutter tracks produce the snooze-o-rama races that we loathe, but nothing produces duller racing than a driver’s domination. Jimmie Johnson led for 146 laps. Isn’t one of the goals of mechanical parity to produce racing that is more competitive? Instead, we seem to have a few teams that have the COT figured out and are able to consistently run at the front.

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Mark Martin started the race in the 32nd position. He rapidly moved through the field, but it wasn’t until lap 27 that TNT gave us its first report on Martin’s progress. By that time he had managed to fight his way to the 16th position. It would have been nice to see some footage of Martin’s march toward the front of the pack.

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Kyle Busch is the gift that keeps on giving. But are Kyle Busch’s antics good for racing or are they good for the media? The media love his behavior since it creates constant fodder for headline writers and columnists. But is he creating interest in the sport with his bad boy image? Fender-to-fender racing, slim margins of victory and the strategic chess game played by the crew chiefs are what make for interesting racing. Everything else is just a sideshow that creates water cooler chatter for a brief time, but won’t hold fans’ interest for the long term.

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General Motors is scheduled to meet with Sprint Cup teams later this week to map out the company’s future financial contributions to the Chevrolet teams. Can a company in bankruptcy justify continuing its involvement in a sport where its race cars are virtually indistinguishable from Fords, Dodges and Toyotas? Yes. Having a Chevy in victory lane projects an image of winning that is sorely needed by General Motors at this time. The majority of Chevy teams will still run the Impalas even if there is no factory support and will continue to visit victory lane. But a continued financial involvement, even if it is reduced, is what will allow the manufacturer to lay some claim to Chevy’s success in NASCAR. Success creates a positive image no matter what the car may look like.

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