NASCAR Sprint Cup ddrivers are supposed to be the best in all of the sport - just ask them.
But when a race starts to wind down to the nitty gritty especially on a restrictor plate track like at Daytona on Saturday night, a bunch of kids in drivers ed would be an improvement.
After a very clean first two-thirds of the Coke Zero 400, the last 40 laps were nothing but an expensive demoltion derby with one multi-car accident after another marring what was shaping up to be one of the better races of the season, which I know isn't that tall of an order given the snoozers we've endured for much of this Sprint Cup season.
The last plate race at Talladega was one of the best races of the year but was also spoiled by the caution flag mania in the closing stages.
I know the plates make it difficult to pass and using the draft with a friend or teammate is about the only way to move ahead.
But why are these guys able to do it without tearing up equipment in the first 350 miles but then seem to lose their minds - and touch - at the end?
Certain people Saturday night deserve special mention. Brian Vickers, for running over just about everything else on the track with four wheels, and Jeff Gordon, who somehow kept his composure after being punted out of the front of the field on the final restart by Carl Edwards.
I am a proponent for ending the season at Daytona, the perfect place to begin and finish a year. Unfortunately that would mean capping the schedule, the season and the championship with a plate race.
Based on the behavior Saturday night, that would be a very bad idea indeed.
