The NASCAR Cup Series is finally back on the right side of the Mississippi, going from the sprawl of Metro Los Angeles (13.1 million population) to Martinsville, Va. (13,755).
And the circuit is back to its roots of short-track racing at that charming little paper clip of a track, with its close-quarters competition. Think tempers have been hot on the track already? Wait till Martinsville gets them riled up.
The “West Coast” swing through Phoenix, Las Vegas and Fontana, Calif., has been wrapped up, with the usual suspects (except defending champ Jimmie Johnson) distinguishing themselves and NASCAR grasping for all the mainstream attention it could grab.
As usual, the stop at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway was painted as another “NASCAR goes Hollywood” extravaganza, despite being 50 miles from Hollywood and the “celebrity” connections being bafflingly unfamiliar (Jax Taylor? Vanessa Minnillo? Ariana Madix?) for those of us whose subscriptions to “Us Weekly” and “People” have long lapsed. (Disclaimer: This celebrity cynicism comes from a guy who still has a photo of himself with the waitress from “Wings,” taken in the Phoenix garage area in 1994.)
What I think we’ve learned from the first five races of the season – other than it’s a good idea to make Kyle Larson your fantasy team’s first pick – is that we’re not quite sure what to think about this “stage racing.”
For what it adds to in-race drama, it adds to an already long telecast (ratings are in a nosedive; more on that later). And frankly, it still just feels like another desperate gimmick for a sport that won’t address the root issue: Its events last too darn long for today’s short attention spans.
Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the stage points through five races. It has very few surprises.
* Ten stage wins have been divided among six drivers.
* Martin Truex Jr. leads the top 16 drivers with eight playoff points (earned by a stage win or race victory), followed by Kyle Larson with six and Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman with five apiece.
* Twenty-two drivers have collected stage points by finishing in the top 10 in one of the stages, but it’s a fairly top-heavy list at the moment: Larson with 70, Chase Elliott with 63, Keselowski with 58 and Truex with 53. Languishing in the bottom half of the list are drivers like Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and AJ Allmendinger, for whom having stage points is like a wallet full of Monopoly money.
Bottom line, until we live through a Chase in which we see the points’ impact, we can’t yet appreciate what these numbers mean now or know if they’re just Monopoly money for everybody.
Last Race: Kyle Larson earned the second victory of his Cup Series career during a dominating weekend in Fontana. The points standings leader also won the pole for the race and won the previous day’s Xfinity Series race.
Next Race: STP 500, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, 2 p.m. EDT Sunday, FS1.
Pick to win: Denny Hamlin.
Pit Notes: Atlanta Motor Speedway listened to drivers: There will not be a repave of the track until after the 2018 race. The track had planned a new surface to be placed this year, but after what president Ed Clark called “an overwhelming campaign” against that idea, it’s been put on hold. Since the Daytona 500, TV ratings have dropped precipitously. Atlanta ratings were down seven percent, then the next three races’ ratings were down more than 17 percent from the previous year. Blame basketball, good honey-do weather – or maybe NASCAR has a problem it needs to address in putting out a good TV product. In most cases, a driver with only one top-10 finish in five starts and a 17th-place standing in points wouldn’t have his team clamoring for him to sign a contract extension. Of course, most drivers aren’t Jimmie Johnson. Expect word soon of a new deal for him at Hendrick.
Fast Five: 1. Larson, 2. Keselowski. 3. Truex, 4. Joey Logano, 5. Elliott.
What they’re saying: “It’s great to be Kyle Larson right now.” – Larson
Contact Mark McCarter at markfmccarter@gmail.com.