Top Row Seat - Atlanta Preview
Dateline: 11/03/98This weekend the 1998 50th Anniversary Winston Cup season finally yawns to a halt as the Winston Cup drivers visit the more-dangerous-than-Talladega-and-Daytona-combined Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although the Winston Cup battle has long been decided, and television ratings are threatening to hit 5 year NASCAR lows, this is still a very important race for many drivers.
Last Battle
The most hotly contested points position has Bobby Hamilton clinging to a slim 26-point lead over John Andretti for tenth place in the season long battle. This battle is critical for both of these drivers because only the top-ten in points get to be on stage at the Waldorf in New York City during the Winston Cup banquet. Eleventh place quietly receives a check in the mail while tenth place gets the opportunity to plug the sponsor in front of a national television audience.
These two guys are very aware that tenth place means a great deal and will be keeping very close track of each other during the race on Sunday.
End of an era
Darrell Waltrip and Tim Beverly have announced that Ole DW will not be returning to drive the car in 1999 and that he is now free "to pursue other opportunities." Sadly, I'm not sure that DW will find many offers (if any) for next season so this could possibly be Darrell Waltrip's last ride.
Wouldn't it be great to see him prove that he can still get it done and find his way to Victory Lane this weekend?
Safety First
However, despite these great stories and the dozen other great personal races on the race track Sunday, the most important battle is to bring everyone home safely. Since the Bruton Smith redesigned the classic Atlanta Motor Speedway into a new high-speed tri-oval death trap just so he could squeeze in a couple more luxury boxes this racetrack has ended careers and even taken lives.
Here's hoping that everybody finishes the race in one piece. NASCAR needs to take a serious look at improving the safety of this facility before it claims more victims.
