Fuel mileage races happen in NASCAR racing, but more times than not there is supposed to be an actual race.

By Sharon Bundy
 
Someone posed the question: If fans are not going to races, why are they not watching at home? Last Sunday at Michigan holds the key to the answer. The last lap was the entire race. While everything comes down to that final lap, the preceding laps should be a buildup to the climatic ending of the race. But yet again, fans endured 399 miles of boredom for a race that came down to fuel.
 
Fuel mileage races happen in NASCAR racing, but more times than not there is supposed to be an actual race. That really isn't happening much lately in NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson pretty much spanked the field but lost on fumes. It happens. Maybe for Anti-Jimmie fans it was a great finish. Perhaps Mark Martin loyalists were overjoyed that the old man can still win and the Ford fans are just not happy. But key racing was missing and that's a problem.
 
Regardless of who won and how it played out, it wasn't all that thrilling. Most teams took the risk of running out of fuel. But what else could they do? Jimmie Johnson just dominated the entire race. If any team had a shot, there had to be a gamble. Although the gamble for some didn't look to  be worth it when Johnson took back the lead in the final 10 laps.  I just don't like the fuel mileage game.
 
NASCAR really needs to do something about the racing or lack there of this season. There are reports of possible changes to the COT to make it "sportier". At this point, I will be happy with any change that is made to the car.
 
It's getting harder and harder to get pumped up for race day anymore. I'm finding other things to do on Sunday. Having DVR is great, it allows me to skip most of the race and watch the car who coasts to win at the end. Not much else to see in between, is there?

Sharon Bundy is a free-lance writer. In addition to appearing here, she is a regular contributor at insidethepitbox.com. When Sharon is not writing about races or going to races, she enjoys spending time with her two children. Sharon is looking for more writing opportunities and can be reached at sharon_bundy@hotmail.com.