JAMIE MCMURRAY WINS AT ‘DEGA: SOME DRIVERS “FLIP OUT”

We remember what happened at Talladega during the spring. The race ended with carnage on the final lap, which included several injured fans. This race, however, was just as dramatic, and the carnage stayed on the race track. When it was all said and done, Jamie McMurray stayed out of the most trouble and pulled off his first win of the season. It was also his first win since that dramatic finish at Daytona in July of 2007, when he beat Kurt Busch by 5 thousandths of a second.

McMurray stayed out of trouble, which seems to be the goal at Talladega nowadays. It’s not about trying to win the race…it’s about trying to miss the big wreck. As the ABC announcers pointed out, if you were trying to miss the big wreck, you would frequently find yourself starting the big wreck anyway. A couple of big wrecks involving Ryan Newman and Mark Martin each flipping upside down really added to the level of danger these restrictor plate races present. ABC’s camera crew was able to spot the flips instantly, despite the drivers traveling at over 200 miles per hour in a sickening pack of cars.

As far as implications in the chase, ABC ended up filming a lot of disappointed drivers. I admire the pit reporters for having the courage to go and interview Ryan Newman after his nasty flip and after being trapped in the car for well over 5 minutes while it was upside down. They dealt with his frustrations of having to wait to be rescued from a pretty nasty crash which saw him slide for numerous yards down the back straightaway and came to rest in the grass.



I have to give ABC a 9. It was a solid broadcast, bringing into perspective that this was anyone’s race, by far the most exciting set of circumstances. However, notice that they had no audio for the end of the race! (Video below) They were able to get drivers excited about the race, including McMurray, and some frustrated drivers, including Mark Martin, who also flipped over at the end of the race. The camera work seemed rather easy since the pack was all together. It just fell into ABC’s lap for excellent ratings and a sound technical presentation.



Johnson has extended his point lead to infinity, it seems. It’s 184 points as we head to Texas…the Lone Star state. I’ll go out on a limb and say that Johnson is going to win again. Last time I said this was at Charlotte, and Johnson pulled together a win. ABC will need a great broadcast to try and get viewers into the race as Johnson pulls away further and further to his 4th championship.