4LT GS RoadsterFive things we learned at Talladega Superspeedway on a crisp fall afternoon:
1. Jimmie Johnson will be the 2009 Sprint Cup champion. The only way anyone was going to catch Johnson, who held a 118-point lead heading into Sunday, was if he either wrecked or had a mechanical problem at Talladega. Well, neither happened. For Johnson, the key moment of the race took place when the second big wreck of the afternoon erupted with one lap left. Mark Martin got the worst of it -- he ended up airborne -- while Johnson expertly navigated his way through a slew of spinning cars and emerged unscathed. This is exactly what he was able to do last year at 'Dega and it propelled him to the championship. Here we go again.
4. Aside from the last few laps, Sunday's race was a snooze fest. You know a race is boring when even the drivers admit that they're having trouble staying awake, which is what Tony Stewart announced over the radio on Sunday. But that's what happens when NASCAR prevents drivers from bump-drafting in the corners. Instead of racing each other hard this weekend, drivers simply played follow-the-leader for the majority of the afternoon.
What should be done? Well, it would cost millions of dollars, but if the banking in the corners, which is 33 degrees, were flattened out, then drivers would have to use their brakes. This would spread the cars out, lessen the importance of aerodynamics and the draft, create an atmosphere for better racing, and, obviously, reduce speeds. An ancillary benefit of doing this: the racing would be safer.
Jamie McMurray*takes Talladega, but Jimmie Johnson widens lead - Lars Anderson - SI.com
