Tweet
You sorta had to see it to believe it, but last night at Orlando, the 2008 mini stock point championship was decided "demo derby style"; between two wrecked cars that could barely move.
The top two cars came into the feature tied. Randy Blakeslee and R.J. Arnone had been at the top of the heap all year, so it came down to whoever finished better in the feature.
In the middle of the race, R.J. got around Randy, and then immediatly started having problems. His car has been rock solid dependable all year, so when it started slowing down, he caught everyone off guard, including Randy who got into him and spun R.J. out. It looked like Randy "took him out", so they both went to the rear.
On the restart, R.J. also started having trouble with the rack! It was locking up and he could barely steer. Naturally, he and Randy got together again. This time, Randy ended up with a flat right front tire and suspension damage of some sort. The race stayed green, and these two raced to the championship at no more than 20 mph.
It looked like Petty and Pearson at Daytona in 1976, the year they wrecked coming to the flag.
Anyway, R.J. limped around for the last lap and a half to cross the line no more than 4 car lengths in front of Randy's crippled car. I talked to both guys and there appeared to be no hard feelings. It was just one of those wierd racing things that unfold in the heat of battle.
All in all, an interesting night, although there was some bitter-sweet news at the drivers' meeting that will no doubt be discussed in the near future.
The top two cars came into the feature tied. Randy Blakeslee and R.J. Arnone had been at the top of the heap all year, so it came down to whoever finished better in the feature.
In the middle of the race, R.J. got around Randy, and then immediatly started having problems. His car has been rock solid dependable all year, so when it started slowing down, he caught everyone off guard, including Randy who got into him and spun R.J. out. It looked like Randy "took him out", so they both went to the rear.
On the restart, R.J. also started having trouble with the rack! It was locking up and he could barely steer. Naturally, he and Randy got together again. This time, Randy ended up with a flat right front tire and suspension damage of some sort. The race stayed green, and these two raced to the championship at no more than 20 mph.
It looked like Petty and Pearson at Daytona in 1976, the year they wrecked coming to the flag.
Anyway, R.J. limped around for the last lap and a half to cross the line no more than 4 car lengths in front of Randy's crippled car. I talked to both guys and there appeared to be no hard feelings. It was just one of those wierd racing things that unfold in the heat of battle.
All in all, an interesting night, although there was some bitter-sweet news at the drivers' meeting that will no doubt be discussed in the near future.
Comment