The biggest cause of the craziness, or whatever else you want to call the finish at Talladega Sunday, is plain and simple pressure on the drivers. And leave it to a guy with no pressure what so ever in Jamie McMurray walk away with the victory.
Pressure on the drivers varied on Sunday, but the number one pressure on most drivers was the chance of winning that no other track besides Talladega offers. Which is why the racing at Talladega is great. Now, that pressure was on most drivers, guys that normally struggle at intermediate tracks can find themselves upfront, boosting that ego, as well as getting much deserved TV time for the sponsors, or getting that unsponsored machine TV time to pick up a sponsor. I’m talking about these guys: Michael Waltrip finished 7th, Brad Keselowski finished 8th, Elliott Sadler finished 9th, Bobby Labonte finished 10th, Reed Sorenson finished 16th, and Robert Richardson, Jr. finished 18th. Not to mention John Andretti and David Stremme ran up front for quite sometime during the 500-mile event.
Another pressure is expectation of winning. Let’s face it when your last name is Earnhardt, you’re expected to run well at Talladega. Add five W’s into the win column, and welcome more pressure from your fans to win, as well as your sponsor since it was their race. When one sees six-time Talladega winner in the stat line, one would think Jeff Gordon could be a contender.
Then add on the pressure of a “must win” for guys like Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle, and what do you get? A big pressure cooker that tends to overflow at the end of races.
Does it need to be changed? Yes, by whom though? Well drivers say NASCAR, but honestly can we say sponsors? Not really it’s their dollar they can do with it what they please. Let’s go back to NASCAR, can the sanctioning body change it? Not really. You put all rules in that you want and this will still happen due to our beloved pressure. So who can really change it? Drivers. Yes I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, drivers are the problem with Talladega. If every driver went into Sunday’s race with the feeling of no pressure, as Jamie McMurray did, the race would go alot smoother, and be better, and have less wrecks. Everyone would be having fun instead of feeling the need to get to the front right away. Why do you think the truck races turn out well at Talladega? No pressure for guys like Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, and other drivers are having fun like Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, and Johnny Sauter. They’re having fun because that Sprint Cup pressure isn’t there.
There will always be pressure to perform in NASCAR, as long as the dollars continue to flow in, but the way a driver feels it is up to himself. Since he’s leaving Roush-Fenway Racing at the end of the year, Jamie McMurray was just out having fun, and with a clear, pressure-less mind, was able to make the right moves to win. Something other drivers should look at.