From the May, 2006 issue of Stock Car Insider
Last Week's Headlines
The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race of any major racing circuit in the world. It is a grueling, hot, and incredibly long race for the fans; just imagine what the drivers go through! I will go out on a limb and say that even the supposed world's greatest driver, Michael Schumacher, would shrivel up like a raison if he had to endure 4+ hours of 120+ degree heat. After all, he is used to racing only 60 laps with the top down.What makes the 600 fun to watch are all the races within the race. Drivers might dominate certain segments of the race but fail to appear at the critical end segment of the race. Take Scott Riggs for example. In the early portions of the race, Scott had one of the strongest cars in the race. However, as the sun went down and the track began to cool, so did Scott's car. After making critical mistakes in the pits with 40 laps to go, the #10 Valvoline Dodge wasn't strong enough to work it's way to the front again.
What was surprising with the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 was the lack of engine blow-ups. Typically, a 600 mile race will claim a number of engines. I thought this would especially hold true this year with the mandated smaller fuel cells. The smaller cells were implemented by NASCAR to help solve the tire problems from last year. A smaller fuel cell means the car holds less gas and requires more pit stops. This would in turn give teams more opportunities to change tires. However, in a 600 mile race, more pit stops mean more rpm cycles for an engine which could cause problematic.
Most importantly, this Coca-Cola 600 is dedicated to all the young, gorgeous, bikini-clad beauties who rank Kasey Kahne as their American Idol. As long as these young beauties are happy, they'll continue to watch NASCAR, along with the shirtless bear of a man sitting behind them!
