Let me get it out of the way right up front. NASCAR was absolutely correct in both of these controversial decisions.
On the question of whether or not NASCAR could have finished it under green it sure didn't look like they could have done that safely. By the time they got the debris cleaned up and the safety trucks back in their holes the best they could have done was a simultaneous green/white with a one lap dash to the checkers. NASCAR tried this a couple of years ago and ended up with a huge wreck and a lot of criticism after the race. Clearly they learned their lesson and made the right decision this time.
The second issue was who was in front when the yellow came out. Everything I saw looked like Gordon was still in front when the yellow flag flew. NASCAR bets their credibility every week on getting the correct winner into victory lane. This is exactly the type of decision that they are very good at making. Unless somebody comes forward with really clear videotape I'm going to go with NASCAR on this one.
Apparently, the fans that go to Talladega expect Dale Jr. to win and apparently will throw a hissy fit when he doesn't. Nice.
What we have here is partly NASCAR's own fault. Their marketing push to the younger generation is coming back to haunt them. They've been rebranding NASCAR to appeal to a younger demographic and Talladega is exactly the kind of racing that fits right into the current NASCAR marketing effort; lots of dramatic crashes for the short-attention-span set.
You couldn't help but notice that most of the trash was being thrown from the seats down front. These are the cheap seats that generally go to newer ticket holders. The longer you buy tickets, the higher up you get so you can see better. Fans who have been going to the races long enough to have good seats know better.
If you were one of those idiots throwing crap on the track please feel free to write in and let me know which reason you chose and attempt to defend your juvenile actions. You are a disgrace to true NASCAR fans across the country.
