Hitting the Road Again (But Not Bashing It)

Every sport known to man has its share of evergreen arguments--debates that seem to have been going on since the dawn of history and seem destined to continue until the end of time. Some examples: Would baseball be better off getting rid of the designated hitter? Should college football institute a playoff? Does golf really count as a sport?
For you gearheads who found this blog, there's another argument that could go on forever: Should NASCAR be racing on road courses?
For the non-gearheads out there, road courses are those that require drivers to turn both right and left, as opposed to the "oval" courses, which demand turning in one direction only. In the Sprint Cup series, NASCAR uses two road courses: Watkins Glen in central New York and Infineon Raceway in northern California, which will host its annual stock car spectacular on Sunday.
NASCAR is quick to tell you that it has been running road races since the very beginning, and many people enjoy the racing that these tracks produce. Others think that road courses should disappear from the schedule altogether, especially if some teams are going to pull their drivers in favor of road "ringers."
But there are plenty of reasons to keep the roads on the roster.
For one thing, NASCAR's open-wheel cousins have no problem asking its drivers to demonstrate skill on both oval and road (and street) tracks.
For another thing, shifting gears from Michigan International Speedway's 2-mile oval to Infineon's 2.5-mile serpent of a course can't be that much more traumatic than shifting from Talladega's 2.66-mile restrictor-plate special to Martinsville's half-mile "paper clip," as the Sprint Cup drivers will have to do in October during the Chase.
Besides, every reporter who can be cajoled into riding on a road course end up saying things like "This was a thrill like no other."
When was the last time you said that watching a pitcher bat?

Fearless Predictons - Charlotte

As Sunday's double dose of auto racing approaches, it's time to offer another set of predictions for the top 10 finishers, this time for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. Last week's predictions went 4-6, leaving us with a season record of 51-59.

1. Jimmie Johnson. This seems to be about the time of year when the No. 48 team starts to exert its will on the rest of NASCAR.

2. Kyle Busch. Some drivers seem to do their best when they are ticked off at the rest of the world.

3. Denny Hamlin. And some seem to tick off the rest of the world when they are putting up their best results.

4. Ryan Newman. Here's a driver who must like the home cooking. He's on the pole for this race for the second year in a row.

5. Kurt Busch. Another driver enjoying the NASCAR home stand in Charlotte. He won the Sprint All-Star Race, and he's on the front row with Newman.

6. Kasey Kahne. The good folks at Yahoo Sports tell us that Kahne has finished in the top 10 in the last five races here.

7. Joey Logano. The 600-mile race is supposed to favor the veterans, but Logano finished in the top 10 in both Charlotte races last season.

8. Greg Biffle. 12 races, eight finishes in the top 10. Lather, rinse, repeat.

9. Kevin Harvick. Oh, did we mention the Sprint Cup points leader?

10. David Reutimann. Yes, he's in our medium-to-long-shot slot this week. But he is, for better or worse, the defending champion of this race. Yes, he got an assist from Mother Nature, but he still had to put himself in position to get that assist.

Oh, and here's a bonus prediction: Look for Dario Franchitti to win his second Indianapolis 500.

We'll be back with race results.