NHRA packs thrills; NASCAR just a drag

Sunday was the tale of two series.

NHRA's Little Supercharged Engine That Could had the happy ending, while NASCAR's 800-pound gorilla stifled its drivers with power-choking restrictor plates.

The NHRA Full Throttle tour enjoyed a near-perfect race day -- and weekend -- at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, featuring more than 700 race cars and intriguing matchups throughout Sunday's championship eliminations.

Meanwhile, at Talladega, Ala., NASCAR's Sprint Cup series provided a preview of what to expect in a few weeks in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

There wasn't enough sugar and caffeine in the energy drink that sponsored the 3-hour, 13-minute Cup race to keep spectators and viewers alert. A post-race release from Talladega Superspeedway touted 58 lead changes among 25 drivers for 13,438 green flag passes.

Well, the Tour de France also features lead changes -- and the last Cup race was almost as dull.

Until the end.

Ryan Newman used his car to impersonate Nadia Comaneci with five laps left, and Mark Martin mimicked Newman in overtime with a couple of flips to mercifully put an end to the race. Luckily, neither driver was hurt.

"It was a boring race and a ridiculous race," Newman said.

Jimmie Johnson coasted around the 2.66-mile oval in mid-pack for nearly 450 laps until the crashes helped him finish sixth and virtually clinch a fourth consecutive Chase championship.

But he was not happy.

"We're going to ride single file for 490 miles and make it boring and then wreck everything at the end," he said after the race. "So the only way we can get the racing to change is by changing the track. It's the only thing left."

Johnson's thought process must be fogged by thinking about his next trophy acceptance speech because changing the track would cost NASCAR's other arm -- International Speedway Corp. -- money.

News flash! Talladega announced this week it will begin a $13 million grandstand renovation project, with more than half of the stadium's grandstand seats being outfitted with larger seats and wider aisles; the wider exit paths could be useful the next time a race car goes sailing toward the grandstand.

Spend the bucks on the track first, or you won't need as many seats.

While the Talladega race became a fiasco, drag racing was enjoying perhaps its greatest weekend of the year in Las Vegas. Bigger -- in the case of NASCAR and its Cup series -- isn't always better. NHRA has areas that need improving, but the Las Vegas event was stellar.

Stock car yahoos should be jealous of drag racing for at least a couple of weeks.

NHRA's playoff format -- like it or not -- works, and NASCAR's doesn't.

A woman -- Ashley Force Hood -- is heading to Pomona, Calif., for the last event with a shot to win the Funny Car championship.

NASCAR's most visible females are the Miss Sprint Cup girls, and Danica Patrick teasing about joining its party.

Antron Brown still has a long shot to become the first black driver to win a Top Fuel championship. NASCAR remains as white as a Rush Limbaugh-hosted barbecue.

NASCAR officials could only dream of matching NHRA's diversity while they dozed Sunday.

Jeff Wolf's motor sports column is published Friday. He can be reached at 383-0247 or jwolf@reviewjournal.com. Visit Wolf's motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.