IMPRESSIONS ON NASCAR CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL 200 RACE AT TOYOTA SPEEDWAY IN IRWINALE

Source: Patti Ann Dugan
Date: 07/05/2008

For many race fans, the most difficult thing to do Independence Day was decide which racetrack would give them the best racing and most spectacular fireworks show. I opted not to go to a track, but instead chose to enjoy watching the neighborhood fireworks and watching the NASCAR Camping World 200 from the comfort of my George Smith sofa.

There has been so much talk of thin attendance at local tracks, but this certainly was not the case at Toyota Speedway on Independence Day. The fans filled the stands at the Irwindale facility.

Last week one of the RacingWest faithful accused me of not being a real fan since I chose to stay home, but with full stands I doubt my presence was missed, besides what would happen to the TV ratings if all us fans flocked to the track?

Now not to upset the NASCAR Camping World West series’ dedicated and devoted fans, but to be honest I again found the race to be a bit boring. Yes, a hard fought battle for the lead between Jason Bowles and David Mayhew, or was it? Seemed to me that the two cars and driver talent was just about equal but that Mayhew had grief making him an easy target for Bowles. The truth is he lost more than the lead to Bowles, because Mayhew also lost positions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to other competitors. 2 leaders and two or three lead changes at best, not that exciting.

The best entertainment in this race was the pileup at the end, triggered apparently by the Number 16 car of Moses Smith. I say apparently because I did not see any black flag shown for his action, which tells me what he did, was acceptable, certainly in the eyes of NASCAR. Of course Jeff Jefferson fans might feel otherwise having to watch their hero’s car turned into scrap metal in the twinkling of a second.

Drama is painted in the NASCAR press release regarding this incident with words like, “(the) race erupted in fireworks with a nine-car pileup.” Unfortunately NASCAR did not share the full story. NASCAR got the WHAT WHERE and WHEN down, but failed to mention the equally if not more important WHO and WHY. For anyone not at the track or watching the TV, that release left a big question mark.

As for the announcers, they were it seems a little under informed. I thought Mike Hogewood was brilliant however at trying to do a very professional job with the apparently limited information he had at hand. It is not possible for these guys to know all the facts on all the drivers. For instance the announcers referred to Austin Cameron’s early years as being wild. Actually that is not true at all. Cameron’s style is little changed from the time he was in the family owned #12 Chevrolet to his current ride in the #18 Bill McAnally Toyota. But it didn’t matter. You could tell Hogewood truly cared about the drivers.

I wasn’t impressed with the pit reporting, I think they could find someone with a little more knowledge, but hey, my husband thinks the gal in the pits is cute the way she wrinkles her nose like a piglet. So if that will get him to get out of the game room and come watch a race with me, I am all for it.

Now the same gal did hold up a mike to Bill McAnally in the pits and it was interesting to listen to McAnally talk, problem was it was taped and they played it not only during down time, but unfortunately continued to play it during the restart.

The split screen technology could surely have been put to better use. HDNet often featured two great shots of absolutely nothing. Why not keep one screen on the leaders and another on the tighter, closer racing in the middle of the field? Show us some passing, especially when the front is single file with large gaps between the cars.

As I am reviewing the entire HDNet program, may I also take a moment to comment on the ads? NASCAR has an ad featuring different drivers praising the home tracks. It shows Greg Biffle and Greg Pursley in isolated clips standing alone at a track fence. But, since when did these two drivers come from the same home track? Come on NASCAR get real.

But when it was all over in thinking back to the coverage, as much as it seems I picked on most of it, I have to say I enjoyed the race, enjoyed the announcers, and enjoyed learning more about the teams. I am definitely looking forward to the next race, especially because I can do so from the comfort of my home.

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