Look, I won't mince words here -- the California race Sunday was one of the worst of the season. Not because Jimmie Johnson won -- okay, let's get this out of the way:
No, the California race was painfully dull because, for the most part, it was yet another parade of cars. Were it not for the late cautions that killed the Chase hopes of Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson would have finished 10 miles ahead of the field.
The track does everything it can to attract fans -- my emailbox is stuffed chock-full of promotions and storylines pumped out by the track -- but for any of a number of reasons, fans aren't coming to the track. And, as Hart pointed out Sunday in the chat, the big concern about regrading the track is -- what if they spend millions and people still don't show up?
Regardless, the weak attendance on Sunday and the less-than-compelling racing probably means that the idea of California losing a race is back on the table. (It's never been off the table for many NASCAR fans, of course.) It's tough to see how anyone can continue to justify two races at California when the fans are voting with their absence and the racing just doesn't match up.
So, congratulations, Jimmie -- even if you were probably the worst driver, from a PR perspective, to get the win at this track, you deserved it.
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