Good Points Finish As Important As Victories
Jun 03, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
“I was just riding it to the finish. I knew it was going to be a big points day.”
What’s wrong with this picture?
Everything.
When Jeff Gordon, one of the faces of NASCAR is telling people you have to be happy about a fifth place finish, that just about it says it all.
And then you listen to Carl Edwards, who finished second to Kyle Busch in Sunday’s race.
Edwards was noticeably angered with a second place finish.
Yes, get that, he was upset that he didn’t win.
Busch and Edwards have won more than half of the races run this season in the Sprint Cup Series. They go against the grain in that they’re actually racing for wins, not points.
The fact is Jeff Gordon will sell just as many t-shirts next week at Pocono Raceway whether he finished first or fifth at Dover. And so too will Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has on a number of occasions this season made it clear that good points finishes are just as important as victories.
It’s a sad but true testament that “riding” to good points finishes has become the accepted norm.”
