CBSSports.com's Brian De Los Santos and Pete Pistone provide analysis on three weekly racing topics.
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| 1. Big Daddy Brink asks: Did NASCAR handle this weekend correctly? | |
| Brian De Los Santos | Pete Pistone |
 I get that postponing a race is a hassle -- not just for the fans, but for everybody involved -- but sometimes you have to know when you're beaten. And Sunday NASCAR was beaten. The track wasn't ready from the start. I've heard that even before the wrecks there were drivers questioning why NASCAR was pushing things. I think officials were hoping the weepers would go away once the race got rolling, but instead they worsened. I also have an inkling that part of the reason NASCAR started when it did was because it knew more rain was likely and just wanted get to halfway before the next storm rolled through. But wrecks and red flags curtailed that plan. If it had reached halfway, there was no way NASCAR would have waited until 2 a.m. ET to call the race. I feel NASCAR did all fans (at the track and at home) a great disservice stringing them along like they did. Is a race that could end at 2 a.m. PT or 5 a.m. ET really in the fans' best interest? |  If by correctly you mean using no common sense, then yes they did. But in the real world, NASCAR did about everything as wrong as possible. The race should never have started Sunday in the first place with moisture visibly seeping up through the track. At the very least, there should have a few laps run under caution so all drivers could get a feel for the surface. The multi-car wreck that took out Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. was a direct result of the wet surface. Then to make fans at the track and at home watching on television stick around until past 2 a.m. ET Sunday night was ludicrous. You can't beat Mother Nature, but NASCAR sure could have handled the rainy curveball a lot better. |
| 2. granhopper asks: Do you think the merger of IndyCar and Champ Car will save the sport of open wheel racing? And can it ever be as big as NASCAR? | |
| Brian De Los Santos | Pete Pistone |
| On the one hand I think it's great that these two factions were finally able to settle their differences, but I must admit, I have no idea how the general public will greet the news. Surely the two series fan bases will come together, but how many people who weren't previously interested will suddenly come out of the woodwork to become open-wheel fans? It should be all about the product, and I've felt IndyCar racing has produced some great races and fantastic finishes rivaling NASCAR over the past few years. But few have noticed. Will this merger be the difference that opens people's eyes? I'm not so sure. I think for open-wheel racing to ever catch back up with NASCAR in popularity, NASCAR would have to do something stupendously stupid -- you know, something along the lines of splitting up into two rival series. | The unification will save open wheel racing from extinction, but it won't be a quick fix to bring the sport back anywhere near the popularity it enjoyed in the mid-1990s, when believe it or not it was bigger than NASCAR. The star-power of open wheel racing is watered down, and getting fans to come back will be tough. Getting together was the first right move, but now comes the hard part of getting a solid mix of tracks and venues, developing a competitive car and cultivating drivers and future stars, without letting them run to NASCAR. Open wheel racing will get healthier, but there's no way it will beat NASCAR's popularity anytime soon. |
| 3. Who would you bet the house on at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend? Who's worth a long shot bet? | |
| Brian De Los Santos | Pete Pistone |
| The odds-on favorite is none other than Jimmie Johnson. Las Vegas Motor Speedway has become Lowe's Motor Speedway West. As good as Johnson has been at Lowe's over the years, he has become just at good at Las Vegas, winning the past three races at the track. I really can't imagine much difference from the drivers you saw up front at California to the drivers you'll see up front at Las Vegas. It'll be a plethora of Hendrick, Roush and Gibbs drivers. For a long shot, how about Reed Sorenson? Just kidding, I won't go down that road again this week. Instead, take a look at Brian Vickers, just wait to make sure he qualifies for the race first. He has finishes of 11th and 12th this year and looked strong during Vegas testing. | I'm looking forward to going to Vegas this weekend so I can visit the money I've left there the past few years on this trip. While my better half would probably frown on the mortgage bet, I'd still be comfortable laying some heavy coin on the Hendrick bunch, including Jimmie Johnson, who is shooting for his fourth consecutive Vegas win. He and Jeff Gordon looked pretty good in the COT's mid-sized track debut in Fontana last week. As for a long shot, how about Martin Truex Jr., who has been quietly turning in some good runs to start the year. |
