“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to unload my next pick for the most disappointing race.
Welcome back to this special edition of The White Zone. Today, I’ll be unveiling my runner-up pick for the most disappointing race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
As a reminder, this is not a collaborative effort among the Speedway Media staff. This list is entirely my opinion. Also, this is not – I repeat, not – a list of the worst races of the season. This is a list of the most disappointing races. The definition of disappointing is “failing to meet expectations.” In other words, there may be or may have been a race or two on this list that I found to be “good,” but they left a bad taste in my mouth.
Yesterday, I listed the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on the bottom podium step.
Without further ado, let’s get this countdown back on track.
#2 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Leading us to green on the second podium step is the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Now there was one positive I took from this event. Just like with Richmond, it was nice to see a day race at Charlotte again. It was a nice throwback to back in the day at the home track for most of the NASCAR teams.
That positive, however, didn’t mask the fact that this race was terrible. The presence of the sun and the clear blue Carolina sky didn’t make the cars harder to drive, passing was near impossible for most of the race after the restarts, most of the lead changes took place during pit cycles and drivers that took the lead tended to stay in the lead during a green run. Joey Logano led 227 of the 334 laps on his way to starting his sweep of the Contender Round.
The combination of this season’s aero package, tires with very little falloff and a racing surface that despite being 10 years old, still looks like it was just freshly repaved lent itself to producing a lousy race at a track that carries significant importance in our sport. I love Charlotte, but we can’t have races like this at the home track for most of the NASCAR industry and the base of the Speedway Motorsports, Inc. empire. Just as with Richmond, I truly hope that the low downforce package next season brings back great racing to the Beast of the Southeast.
Now if this were a list of the worst races of 2015, this event would top my list hands down. While it was very disappointing, there was one race that left a worse taste in my mouth when it ended. While it wasn’t the most disappointing, the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway takes the runner-up spot on my list.
Do you agree with my list? If not, how would you rearrange the order? The white flag is out on my countdown. Tomorrow, I’ll recap the list, give some dishonorable mentions and reveal my pick for the most disappointing race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
