What we learned: Happy Fourth

Yowza. Did you see the end of that Cup race at Daytona?

In the overhead views of the final laps, everywhere I looked there were cars banging and bumping … those Cup drivers must have thought they were back at their local short tracks.

You know I’m against finishing a race under yellow: had NASCAR’s ruled allowed for a finish under green I’m not sure Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards would have won given the way the February race went.

And I know you’re tired of hearing me say it (or should that be ‘reading me type it’?), but seeing that close racing really reminded me of what I get to see most Saturday nights out at Evergreen Speedway.

One last thought: Regular reader Diana Moss tipped me to try the “Racebuddy” feature available on NASCAR.com and TNT.com. I’m not sure if it is always free, or if it was just a free trial, but if you’ve got high-speed you should check it out. You get four race views to pick from (or you can have all four on the screen at the same time). There are interactive polls, chat, etc.

I watched the first 40-or-so laps of the race from Tony Stewart’s car (pretty neat seeing him strap in, too). I had the race on the TV next to my desk, and that was a bit of a problem because TNT’s broadcast was delayed a second or so. Once I got used to the difference it wasn’t a big deal.

Kyle Busch did win his sixth Cup victory of the year on Saturday, in the process adding more bonus points to his already fat total for the Chase.

My pick to win was Kasey Kahne, who finished seventh after starting 41st.

Thanks to the Enumclaw, Wash., native, I have moved up into the top half of the NASCAR Race to the Chase Media Challenge. I am now in a three-way tie for 47th out of 127 entries (note: more media-types entered over the past week.)

It was a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep at Daytona, as Denny Hamlin — my pick — won Friday’s Nationwide Series race.

That race featured some not-so-veiled comments by the non-Toyota owners and drivers, who feel they are at a disadvantage because Toyota is running its Cup engines in the second-tier series.

I have not yet watched my tape of the IndyCar race at Watkins Glen, but saw that Ryan Hunter-Reay got his first IRL victory. My choice, Graham Rahal, finished on the lead lap in eighth.

I take some solace in being correct that a former-Champ-ster would win.

My pick, Lewis Hamilton, won a very rainy British Grand Prix. I did get to watch this race on tape, and I have to say it was somewhat entertaining, but not great.

I don’t think you can say any race is great where the winner crosses the finish line more than a minute ahead of second place.

It was fun to see those multi-million dollar cars running through the rain, throwing up rooster tails and hydroplaning off the track — or as the British evidently say, “aqua-planing” off the track. I’m not sure how any following drivers could see where they were going.

Halfway to the end of the season there is a three-way tie at the top of the Formula One standings.

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa all have 48 points. Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber is just two points behind the top three.

As I said, I’m not such a big fan of F1’s type of racing, but it is nice to see such a tight battle at the halfway point of such an all-or-nothing racing series. Especially good to see Kubica and BMW Sauber giving the Big Two a run.

Seeing the emptiness of the grandstands during Friday’s Nationwide Series race at Daytona really has me wondering about the direction NASCAR is going.

Yes, the economy is not good. Things are expensive. And yes, it was the Fourth of July so a lot of folks may have had other plans.

But with a Cup race the following day, the out-of-towners in for the weekend should have numbered more than what I saw in the stands on Friday night.

That tells me the two-race package deal was just too expensive, or that a whole lot of folks made the trip for just one day.

TV ratings are up, attendance is down. Stock car racing — like any form of entertainment — will have its ups and downs. It’ll be interesting to see how deep the down goes, and what, if anything, NASCAR tries to smooth it out.