They Said It Couldn't Be Done
Dateline: 04/22/01
They said it couldn't be done. They said that putting 43 Winston Cup cars with restrictor plates was a formula for disaster. During pre-race interviews, driver after driver was quoted as saying that this race amounted to an accident waiting for a place to happen. Perhaps it was that thought, that fear that Talladega would see a major accident that brought the drivers to their senses and wound up making this year's Talladega 500 one of the safest, fastest and most competitive races in NASCAR history.
Fox Sports gave the credit to NASCAR's decree that no one would be permitted to drive below the yellow line. They reported that at Sunday morning's drivers meeting, NASCAR President Mike Helton laid down the law and drivers such as Michael Waltrip emphasized the point, but in my mind, the real reason that this year's race went so well was because of the "fear factor."
The drivers weren't afraid of Mike Helton, in my opinion. They weren't afraid of NASCAR's dreaded "black flag." Instead their fear was much more primal in nature. It came from their fear that if they didn't focus their complete attention on the track that they would run the risk of having their predictions come true.
No one believed that they could do it. No one believed that these 43 highly competitive men could spend three hours behind the wheel of a car and control their emotions and actions to the point that the inevitable would be avoided. But they did!
The result was probably the best Winston Cup race in modern history. No accidents, no injuries, not even a yellow flag. Nothing but pure racing excitement. A record number of drivers, over half the field, led the race at various stages. And it was the third fastest race in NASCAR history. In the end, Bobby Hamilton, with an assist from teammate Joe Nemechek swung around Tony Stewart and took the checkered flag on the last lap of the race.
Not only was the race free of yellow flags, but the first 23 positions were within one second of the leader at the checkered flag. No one ever anticipated that for 500 miles, 23 cars could run so tightly and so fast and not have someone make that one minor error in judgement that would turn this record breaking day into disaster. But they did.
If NASCAR wants to take the credit for forcing the issues of the yellow line, the black flag, and the safe completion of the race, so be it. In my opinion, each driver should take the credit and the glory for their ability to stay focused. They made this one of the best races in history. Their determination and skill proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that exciting, high speed racing doesn't have to have accidents to be entertaining for the fans. And no matter who we wanted to see in victory lane, for that we should all be thankful.
