So all of the cars stay in line and create packs of cars rolling around the track. That, in turn, in-evitably leads to “The Big One” — a multi-car wreck, sometimes as many as 20 cars, involved in one huge pile-up. With all of the cars in packs, there’s no time or space to avoid a wreck just in front of you; and even if you do, there’s no guarantee the guy behind will avoid your rear end.
All it takes is the slightest mistake. A bobble by a driver in the middle groove knocks him into the guy outside, who starts to swerve. Drivers immediately behind start to slow up; but maybe further behind doesn’t see the bobble and slams the back of a car in front of him.
Then, all hell breaks loose.
Cars dive out of the way or get hit or spun by others trying to avoid the wreck. One car seems to get through, only to be tagged at the end by an innocent bystander. When all the smoke finally clears, cars sit idle with varying degrees of damage. Some, inevitably, will return to the garage on a rollback.
The worst part of it is that there’s not always someone to blame. If a part fails, that’s surely something beyond the control of the drivers.
The perils of restrictor-plate racing are great for drivers; but it makes for great theater for the rest of us.
• Speaking of “The Big One,” today is a big day for me: The last day before vacation. My wife and I are heading to Oregon to visit family, so there won’t be any blog entries until Wednesday, July 12. Enjoy the races, and here’s hoping for a happy and safe Independence Day for all.

• France promised some tweaks to the Chase for the Nextel Cup following the 2006 season. Though the basics will remain the same — top 10 drivers and anyone within 400 points, final 10 races at the same 10 tracks — France said he’s exploring whether drivers should earn more points for a win.
My take: There’s not a whole lot to change. The Chase has worked well. Though through its first two seasons, most of the media reports talked about them being the closest championships ever. That seems artificially so, since points are re-designated after the “regular season” for the specific purpose of creating a tight finish. But there’s no question that the Chase has added a dramatic element to the Cup season, particularly the fall race at Richmond and at Homestead.
• The Car of Tomorrow is nearly complete. France said there are only minor changes to be made before the car debuts on a limited schedule next season. He added that he believes the boxier body will provide safety, cost and competitive advantages.
My take: The initial cost of replacing Cup fleets with the Car of Tomorrow will be difficult for some teams. But it’s a done deal; NASCAR is moving ahead with the plan, hence the lack of sniping from previously upset team owners. Moreover, it’s hard to argue with the safety element; whether the COT is in fact cheaper and provides more parity in competition remains to be seen.
• The Nextel Cup Series — the name, at least — is up in the air. With Sprint’s acquisition of Nextel, questions remain whether Sprint or Nextel or some combination will remain as the title sponsor, or whether they’ll sell the remainder of the contract to another corporation.
My take: France admitted that it’s not the best circumstance to have the title of his premier series change every three years. But it’s hard to fault him; the circumstances were beyond his control. One could have argued that, over the past five years or so, the telecom industry was in flux and entering into an agreement with any telecom would be a risk. But the merger-happiness of earlier in the decade seemed to have subsided until Sprint announced its purchase of Nextel.
• On the heels of NASCAR’s announcement that it would be moving to unleaded fuel, France said plans are in the works for a green — environmentally friendly —series. He said NASCAR’s Research and Development facility in Concord, N.C., will be building a “green” car over the next 10-18 months.
My take: France spoke fondly of the R&D center, saying it allows NASCAR to be more forward-thinking. At least in the area of gas, it still lags behind America’s open-wheel series, as has been noted here before. It’s a positive to see NASCAR taking a step in this direction, but it seems disingenuous to call the move anything other than reactive.
Other items of interest:
• Speaking of industries, France said he wants to see a healthy open-wheel series, whether that’s with the current Champ Car-IRL rivalry or with a unified series. “A healthy open-wheel series ... is in our best interests,” he said. He added that NASCAR tends to follow the tide of all professional spectator sports; a major problem in another sport altogether still causes a ripple effect that eventu-ally reaches NASCAR.
• No changes planned for the Busch series and the Cup drivers’ invasion of that series. France said he had mixed feelings about it, but didn’t indicate that any changes were being considered.
• France and NASCAR are comfortable with the policy in place regarding driver injuries. Tony Stewart’s broken shoulder has again raised concerns about potentially unfit drivers on the track because they can’t afford to lose championship points. But France said all injured drivers are checked out by doctors, and there is a minimum standard of fitness before they are allowed on the track.

Hauler driver Gale “Bandit” Wilson had only a few days to drive from Sonoma back to the Charlotte suburbs before turning around and heading south to Daytona. Fortunately for Wilson and his colleagues, Cup races are run in the eastern half of the country until September.
And Wilson is one of many anonymous faces that walk purposefully through the garage. According to a year-old Associated Press story, Hendrick Motorsports employs more than 400 people at its headquarters.
Considering there are four drivers, one owner and no more than six crew chiefs (four Cup and two Busch; Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch both drive in the Busch series as well as Cup), there’s a lot more people who don’t get any face time on television.
Their stories are interesting too, and I’m happy to see the O.C. Register tell one of them.

Looking at a map of the track, it looks more oval-shaped than any of the other road courses that NASCAR runs: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Infineon or Watkins Glen. At CGV, long straights are punctuated by the occasional chicane and dramatic hairpin turns at either end.
F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve, son of the late Gilles Villeneuve, takes fans on a virtual lap at his hometown track via BMW’s Web site.
If NASCAR does end up racing here — and the speculation is that it’s nearly a done deal — the track will pose an interesting challenge for engineers and engine builders.
In his virtual lap, Villeneuve points out that on the front straight, F1 drivers reach 330 kilometers per hour, or about 205 mph. Busch drivers won’t reach nearly that speed (about as fast as one would find at a restrictor plate race), but it does point out the stresses a race there could put on an engine.
Stock car engines don’t like being redlined; that’s why so many tend to expire at places like Pocono, where the long frontstretch pushes motors to their maximum. At CGV, the motors will test both extremes, revving high to get speed down the front straight and bottoming out around the hairpin turns.
Engineers will have to find a way to ensure that their engine goes the distance; engine builders will need to use hearty equipment to withstand the punishment it will be subjected to.
But they’ve got a year or so to figure it all out. One report had the race being held on one of Cup’s off weekends around the Fourth of July, so NASCAR could encourage its Cup stars to make the trip north.
Until then, NASCAR will trumpet its entry into Canada, while crew members will scratch their heads wondering how they’ll make it through the race.