Down in the Pits: Marlin wins big at Vegas
Sterling Marlin, an old country boy from Columbia, hit the jackpot in sin city last Sunday.
It was clear from the drop of the green flag that the two most dominant cars in the race wer Marlin and Tony Stewart. Six caution flags and 400 miles later there was only one dominant car, and that was Marlin’s Dodge.
The race was dominated by Dodges and Fords. Only Stewart’s Pontiac and Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet managed to break into the top 10.
It appears that the whining of Jack Rousch and Rusty Wallace has finally paid off. Rousch is the owner of a four-car team and Rusty has a known reputation for whining. They started whining even before Christmas in hopes that the NASCAR Santa Claus would let them have extra aerodynamics on their cars just so they could compete against the Chevrolets.
Well, the Chevrolet owners are doing the same thing now, so they can compete with the Dodge and Ford cars. To no one’s surprise, NASCAR will again change the rules.
During the course of the race there was much talk about gambling and comparing it to racing in Las Vegas. It should be noted that the Southern Standard has a contest of its own regarding the NASCAR races.
In the contest, you are required to pick the first three cars in order. There has not been a winner this year. The pot increases by $50 each week. If no one wins the $150 jackpot for today’s race, it will reach $200 next week and so on.
With a 36-race schedule, there is going to be some serious money on the line if this pot keeps building. Since picking the top three, in that order, is a tricky deal, there’s the possibility there might not be a winner. That’s why it’s in your best interest to enter each and every week.
At the end of race season, if no one has won the jackpot, it will be $1,800. And the folks at the Standard, good people that they are, want somebody to win. So they will take all the names from everyone who has entered the contest all year and put them in a big box. There will then be a random drawing to decide who gets rich quick.
Since I am not eligible to enter, I will give all of you some helpful hints so that you might win.
It’s really not more than a process of elimination. All 43 cars will start the race, but there are only about 15 with a realistic chance of winning. Last year there were 17 different winners. Five of these winners did so for the first time. Check the past history of how the different drivers have done on the tracks. Decide which drivers have a realistic chance and go from there. In most races, you can narrow the winners down between about five to seven drivers.
The road courses are a whole different bet. Since the Atlanta race is this week, I will give you an example of how I think it will go. Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, and Sterling Marlin. You will have to buy several papers to arrange the winner for that, but it sure makes it a lot more interesting to watch the race if you know you have money on it. In the case of this week’s race, there is $150 on the line.
Last week’s race in Vegas was great. I normally do not think much of the flat tracks but for some reason these guys figured out a way to run three abreast. Atlanta is a lot different. It is banked real high and believe it or not, it is the fastest track on the circuit. The reason why is simple. There are no restrictor plates.