I can’t agree with NASCAR’s decision to change plate sizes without any practice time. This allows a factor of pure luck on things like gear selection. This makes a crew chief guess on all types of setup options, and not use their gained knowledge which got them here in the first place. It would be much different if this were a race early in the year, but during the chase you’ve bound the top 10 to go with the setup they used during practice with a different plate.

Yes the cars are faster, but I think the safety improvements will allow us to flirt with 200 mph speeds. Better track and wall, along with better tires and driver safety equipment has made a difference in what a crash outcome will produce.

Gilliland’s pole can be attributed to one of 2 different factors. The first is his skill. I don’t know how much he has, but the guy who put him behind the wheel sure thinks he’s got it. I’m sure his opinion on this is worth something; ‘cause mine isn’t. Reason 2 comes to us from the wisdom of old DW; “He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know”. He gets it out there and mashes it to the floor. Not knowing any better can put you at the edge of wrecking, or push you over. This time he pushed the edge. Let’s see if he can keep it this side of wrecked in traffic on Sunday.

NASCAR’s qualifying system has saved us from Todd Bodine starting the race. Those of you watching for “The Big One”, you’ll probably still get it, but the odds have been lowered exponentially. Robby Gordon did make the race and practiced real fast. He should be able to get to the front of the field and take out a majority of the cars.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 11:59 AM